Week 4 of the 2021 NFL season is almost here, and there's one game creating most of the headlines.
It is, of course, the Sunday night matchup where Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady returns to Foxboro to play against his former team, the New England Patriots, for the first time.
Brady and the Bucs are one of just three road favorites in the opening point spreads for next week. They are currently favored by six points over the Patriots.
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Tampa Bay suffered its first loss of the season in Week 3 -- a 34-24 road defeat to the undefeated Los Angeles Rams. The Bucs defense played poorly, particularly in the secondary. Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford threw for 343 yards with four touchdowns. Tampa Bay has allowed 29.3 points per game through three weeks.
Despite those defensive struggles, the chances of Brady losing back-to-back games are pretty slim. The Bucs also are a much better team than the Patriots, who are 1-2 after an abysmal home loss to the New Orleans Saints on Sunday. The Patriots offense couldn't really get anything going against the Saints, tallying 300 total yards and averaging only 2.9 yards per rush. Rookie quarterback Mac Jones threw three interceptions, too.
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New England Patriots
Brady also should be highly motivated to beat the Patriots and send a message to head coach Bill Belichick. This game has all the makings of a Buccaneers blowout win.
Here are the opening spreads for the Week 4 games (matchups without lines will be updated when that info is available) -- odds provided by our partner, PointsBet Sportsbook.
PointsBet is our Official Sports Betting Partner and we may receive compensation if you place a bet on PointsBet for the first time after clicking our links.
Thursday, Sept. 30
Jacksonville Jaguars at Cincinnati Bengals (-7.5)
Sunday, Oct. 3
Detroit Lions at Chicago Bears (-3)
Tennessee Titans (-7.5) at New York Jets
Cleveland Browns (-1) at Minnesota Vikings
Washington Football Team at Atlanta Falcons (-1)
Houston Texans at Buffalo Bills (-17)
New York Giants at New Orleans Saints (-8.5)
Indianapolis Colts at Miami Dolphins (-1.5)
Arizona Cardinals at Los Angeles Rams (-6)
Baltimore Ravens at Denver Broncos (-1)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-6) at New England Patriots
Monday, Oct. 4
Las Vegas Raiders at Los Angeles Chargers (-3)