Now before we begin, please take a moment to understand what exactly you are getting yourself into by playing single-game Showdown Slates. We love to have some skin in the game, for sure, but these slates are, for all intents and purposes, a lottery ticket. Sure, there are times when the chalk hits and everyone shares in the prizes, but, more often than not, you need to hit on that random dart-throw that differentiates your lineup from that of the herd in order to claim the top prize. As a result, we encourage you to play responsibly and not over-invest. Stick to the GPP contests (single-entry preferred), don’t blow your whole bankroll, and understand that, unless you are a max-entry player, you should prioritize having fun.

 

OK. Lecture over. Let’s get to tonight’s action.

 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs New England Patriots

Spread: Buccaneers -7

O/U: 49.5

 

Weather: Mostly cloudy with temperatures in the low 60s; 60-to-80% chance of light rain.

 

Notable Injuries:

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Rob Gronkowski, TE (Ribs) - OUT

Giovani Bernard, RB (Knee) -OUT

New England Patriots

James White, RB (Hip) – OUT, Placed on IR

DVOA Defensive Rankings

Buccaneers

vs Pass: 17th

vs Run: 7th 

Patriots

vs Pass: 4th 

vs Run: 28th 

**Please note that players not listed below are not necessarily a complete fade and any player listed can certainly be used as the MVP/Captain. These are merely suggestions for players to use when setting Showdown lineups.

MVP/Captain

Tom Brady, QB – I mean….Of course. Brady is heading into New England as he figures to pass Drew Brees to become the all-time passing yards leader. Brady is off to an incredible start, completing 68.8-percent of his passes for 1,087 yards and 10 touchdowns with just two interceptions. He is the top priced player on the board but anything less than three touchdowns tonight would be very surprising.

Antonio Brown, WR – I am a big believer in “revenge games” and Brown has a bone to pick with the Patriots after they signed him and then released him after just one game due to conduct issues a few years back. He hooked on with Tom Brady and the Buccaneers last season and helped them win a super bowl. With Rob Gronkowski out due to an injury it would make sense for Brady and Brown to connect on a score or two tonight to pour salt in the wound.

Mike Evans, WR – Evans has had back-to-back strong outings and the Patriots secondary does not have the size to match up with him, especially in the red zone. I look for the Bucs to win this one running away and Evans should figure into that outcome.

Buccaneers D/ST – I know the Bucs defense has not been very good to start the season but the Patriots offensive line has been abysmal this season and they will be without Trent Brown tonight as well which is a big part of their line when healthy. With rookie Mac Jones being one of the most hit QB’s when in the pocket, it would makes sense for the Bucs to dial up the pressure and get after the young QB.

Mid-Tier

Chris Godwin, WR – Obviously Godwin is an elite talent so if you want to use him as your captain tonight you certainly can but for me the price, compared to the other receivers on Tampa Bay makes me look at him for my utility spots instead. 

Jakobi Meyers, WR – Pretty much the only receiver in New England that you can trust to be consistently targeted and actually catch the football. In Week 3 he had nine catches on 14 targets for 94 yards. He just does not score touchdowns but maybe that will change tonight in this matchup against Tampa’s poor pass defense.

Hunter Henry, TE – Henry caught five passes on six targets in Week 3 and after Jonnu Smith’s poor performance last week I think Henry is the tight end in New England we want to look at in this matchup. Again, I am expecting Tampa to take a big lead here so some garbage time yards can be expected.

Dart Throws

Tampa Bay RBs – Whether it be Leonard Fournette or Ronald Jones, the Patriots run defense has been horrible this season. With Gio Bernard ruled out that means one of these two will be used on third downs. I like the idea of Fournette here given the poor play from Jones. That said, neither back has looked great this season.

J.J. Taylor, RB – James White is out for the season and Rhamondre Stevenson is inactive which means we should see Taylor fill in as the pass catching back in this offense and with New England playing from behind there may be decent upside here. Of course, we could also see Belichick go and use Brandon Bolden in this role instead to spite all of us.

Kendrick Bourne, WR - Last week we saw Bourne finish with six catches on eight targets for 96 yards and a touchdown. If you want to chase the points, we expect the Patriots to be throwing a lot tonight and Bourne has been more involved than Nelson Agholor to the point.

Tampa Bay Tight Ends – With Gronk out we are going to see both Cameron Brate and O.J. Howard take the field and get some usage. Which one ends up making the biggest impact is really the question to ask and picking the right tight end could be your key to cashing tonight. If I had to pick, I would lead Cameron Brate but Howard is an elite athlete and has some real nice upside.

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