Bucs beat Cleveland for only road win of season

Football Betting Lines

12/24/2006 - Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Michael Pittman ran for 86 yards and a touchdown, as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers battered Cleveland, 22-7.

Derrick Brooks returned an interception for a touchdown for the Buccaneers (4-11), who snapped a four-game losing streak. Tim Rattay, making his first start of the season, went 16-for-26 with 212 yards and was picked off once for Tampa Bay, which secured its first road win since winning at Carolina, December 11, 2005.

Derek Anderson had a tough day as he went 10-for-27 with just 123 yards and was intercepted four times for Cleveland. Reuben Droughns carried the ball 19 times for 92 yards for the Browns (4-11), who have dropped their last three games.

After stopping the Browns on their first possession, the Buccaneers marched the ball down the field and capped off a 12-play, 75-yard drive that ate up over six minutes of the clock with a 23-yard field goal by Matt Bryant for a 3-0 lead with 7:05 left in the first quarter.

Tampa Bay threatened on its first drive of the second quarter when the team got the ball deep in Cleveland territory, but with the ball at the nine-yard line on a 4th-and-1, Mike Alstott was stuffed for no gain and Cleveland got the ball back.

However, Jermaine Phillips picked off a pass by Anderson and six plays later Bryant punched a 24-yard field goal through the uprights for a 6-0 lead with 6:18 left in the first half.

The Buccaneers scored on their first possession of the second half when Pittman took the ball around the right end and into the end zone from 11 yards out to complete a nine-play, 74-yard drive less than six minutes in. The extra point attempt was blocked and Tampa Bay led 12-0.

The Browns almost got on the scoreboard on their next possession, but a 31- yard field goal attempt by Phil Dawson was blocked by Jeb Terry.

After stopping Tampa Bay on its next possession Cleveland got the ball back, but a pass by Anderson was picked off by Brooks and he rumbled into the end zone from 21 yards out for a 19-0 lead 48 seconds into the fourth quarter.

Cleveland finally got on the scoreboard, but not with its offense as Kamerion Wimbley sacked Rattay, who coughed the ball up and Daven Holly grabbed it and took it into the end zone from 40 yards out to make it a 19-7 game with 11:33 to play.

A 37-yard field goal by Bryant with 5:46 to play capped the scoring.

Game Notes

Tampa Bay hosts Seattle next Sunday and Cleveland travels to Houston to wrap up the season...Tampa Bay outgained Cleveland, 355-187...Alstott finished the game with 22 carries for 56 yards...Tampa Bay held the ball for 37:16 while Cleveland only had the ball for 22:44...Phillips had two interceptions in the game.

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Football Betting

NFL Football Betting Online

The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.

Thursday, August 21

NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37

NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road

In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.

Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):

* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games

Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.

Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.

Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.

That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.

Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.

CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)

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