The Monday Night Football doubleheader is back! We've been getting one great game and one stinker with the doubleheaders recently. Tonight's matchups appear to be set up for a similar fate, but maybe Chargers vs. Cardinals will surprise us.
We went 2-for-2 last Monday night: James Cook was surprisingly ruled out so we didn't get a chance to go 3-for-3. The two-game slate gives us a better chance to have a big night since their are twice as many options available. Here are my NFL PrizePicks plays for Monday Night Football.
NFL PrizePicks: Monday Night Football
Zay Flowers
More Than 61.5 Receiving Yards
Flowers has dominated this Ravens passing game in impressive fashion. He leads the team with a 26.6% target share, and no other player is above 15%. Flowers has been at or above a 25% target share in all but one game: 25%, 35.4%, 26.6%, 11.1%, 29.2%, 36%. The one outlier was the weird Week 4 blowout against Buffalo where Baltimore only threw it 18 times, and half of those attempts went to running backs.
Flowers faces a Tampa Bay defense that has been torched through the air. They have allowed the fifth-most passing yards per game. Starting cornerback Jamel Dean has been ruled out for tonight's game with a hamstring injury.
On offense, Tampa Bay seems equipped to hang with Baltimore. They just hung 51 points on New Orleans and come in as the second-highest scoring offense in the league through Week 6. Opponents keeping pace with the Ravens is important when it comes to the passing game, as Baltimore will look to lean on Derrick Henry if given the opportunity. The Ravens are only 3.5-point favorites, and this game is in Tampa Bay.
Trey McBride
More Than 50.5 Receiving Yards
Speaking of dominant pass-catching targets, McBride has been the clear top option for the Cardinals. He leads the team in targets (38) despite missing Week 4 with an injury. McBride's 25.7% target share easily leads the team and is the best mark in the league for a tight end through Week 6.
Marvin Harrison Jr. is expected to return from a concussion suffered in Week 6. Harrison's presence dims McBride's ceiling a bit, but this number reflects it. PrizePicks opened at 57.5 when it seemed like Harrison would miss this game.
The Chargers have been an excellent matchup for tight ends this season. They've allowed the eighth-most yards and the second-most targets and receptions per game through Week 6.
Rachaad White
Less Than 27.5 Rushing Yards
This number keeps trending down but it still isn't low enough. Tampa Bay's backfield situation is a nightmare and this is the worst matchup in the league.
White missed last week's game, and backups Bucky Irving and Sean Tucker exploded for 200+ rushing yards and two TDs. When asked about how he'd utilize the backs moving forward, head coach Todd Bowles had this to say: "We're going to need all three of them. All three are good football players and all three will play when they're all healthy. As the game goes, we'll go with the hot hand and who's running what style and how it fits the game and go with that guy." That's the last thing you want to hear as the incumbent starter.
White is averaging 3.7 yards per carry this season and has struggled with rushing efficiency for his entire career. It's hard to imagine him being the "hot hand" Bowles referred to, at least on the ground. He's a capable pass catcher and should retain that role. I'm expecting the rushing work to trend toward Irving and Tucker.
Baltimore has the best run defense in the league. They're first in rushing yards allowed per game, rushing yards allowed to running backs, and yards per carry allowed to running backs through Week 6. Tampa Bay has no problem airing it out, so they might just ditch the ground attack entirely.
