A Super Bowl XXXVII rematch is (sort of) on tap for Week 7 as the Las Vegas Raiders will host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Of course, the Raiders called Oakland home at the time of that championship game, but their first year in Vegas has been a generally uplifting one thus far. The Raiders (3-2) entered their Week 6 bye off of a road upset of the reigning Super Bowl champions, Kansas City, scoring 40 points in the process. Quarterback Derek Carr threw touchdowns to three different receivers, and running back Josh Jacobs added two scores of his own. Rookie WR Henry Ruggs saw just three targets, but he caught two of them, and that’s all the speedster needed to pile up 118 yards and a touchdown.
The Buccaneers (4-2) made a statement in Week 6 with a 38-10 thrashing of the formerly undefeated Packers. Ronald Jones recorded his third straight 100-yard game with 113 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries. That run game plus a ferocious defense which sacked Aaron Rodgers four times and took back a pick-six was more than enough for Tampa Bay to win its fourth game in five weeks.
TV Info
Date: Sunday, Oct. 25
Time: 8:20 p.m. ET
Channel: NBC
Broadcast map
Notable Statistical rankings (Football Outsiders)
Bucs: #1 Overall — #7 offense, #1 defense, #17 special teams
Raiders: #21 Overall — #6 offense, #31 defense, #21 special teams
DraftKings Sportsbook odds
Bucs: -3, -162
Raiders: +3, +143
Total: 53
Injury report
Bucs
Coming Saturday
Raiders
Coming Saturday
Fantasy football start/sit advice
Bucs
Ronald Jones, RB, $6,200
Jones’ price keeps creeping upward, but considering the roll he’s on right now, he’s worth every penny. He’s averaged 20 carries over the past three games, and he’s done more than enough with that work to make Leonard Fournette an afterthought even if he plays in this game. The Raiders have permitted the second-most DraftKings points per game to RBs, including eight total touchdowns, so fire up the USC alum again.
Rob Gronkowski, TE, $4,600
Don’t chase points at tight end. It’s a largely volatile position, and it’s highly unlikely that Gronkowski will have an immediate repeat his season-best line of 5-78-1 on eight targets. Yes, he’s playing more snaps and getting a few more looks, but Gronk isn’t anywhere close to being the matchup nightmare he was in his younger days. This is still the same guy who caught four passes for 81 total yards in Weeks 4-5. The Raiders couldn’t stop Travis Kelce, but they have otherwise been pretty stout versus tight ends this year.
Raiders
Henry Ruggs, WR, $4,800
As we saw against the Chiefs, it doesn’t take much for Ruggs to return value on his modest price. But considering the Bucs’ pass rush, which is tied for the second-most sacks in the league at 22, Derek Carr may not be given enough time to find Ruggs on those deep routes. Plus, for as aggressive as Carr was in Kansas City, he typically isn’t someone who likes to take shots downfield. This feels more like a “bust” week instead of a “boom” week for Ruggs.
Darren Waller, TE, $6,100
Waller is the third-most expensive tight end on the slate. He’s finished only one game within fewer than 10 DraftKings points while the Bucs have allowed only one TE (Jared Cook) to reach double-digit points this season. Granted, they haven’t faced a Murderer’s Row of tight ends, so Waller remains a confident season-long start. You may want to take a chance on a cheaper option in DFS, however.