Though many didn't forecast this to be a titanic clash before the season began, two of the NFL's most prolific offenses will duel in South Florida on Monday.

After an 0-2 start, the Baltimore Ravens are acting like last year's AFC regular-season champs again. They've won four in a row and dispatched the upstart Washington Commanders by a touchdown last week at home.

Though the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were a win from last year's NFC Championship game, many forecasted they'd come down to Earth in 2024. A 50-burger last week against the New Orleans Saints punctuated a season where they've topped 30 points in four of six games, and Baker Mayfield might unironically be the league's MVP at this stage.

Who continues their hot streak?

Using the NFL odds at FanDuel Sportsbook as a guide, here are the best bets for this week's first Monday Night Football contest.

All NFL projections via our numbers at FanDuel Research, and NFL odds references are to FanDuel Sportsbook. Lines may change after this article is published.

Monday Night Football Betting Picks: Ravens at Buccaneers

Buccaneers +3.5 (-110)
Buccaneers Over 23.5 Points (-102)
Buccaneers Moneyline (+158)

All three of these wagers start from the same place in numberFire's forecast of this game. The wrong team might be favored.

The model doesn't pull in preseason expectations, so it doesn't really see the gap between Baltimore and Tampa Bay given what they've put on the field thus far. While the Ravens have been dynamic as numberFire's second-ranked schedule-adjusted offense, the Bucs aren't far behind in fourth.

On defense, Tampa (19th) has actually outshined B-More (24th) in the latter's first season without defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald. Surrendering 7.5 passing yards per attempt (YPA) so far as nF's sixth-worst pass defense, it's hard to not see Mike Evans and Chris Godwin finding success in this one as they have all season.

The only two games the Bucs have been held below 30 points this season came against the model's second- and fourth-ranked pass defenses. Baltimore is objectively poor in that department. FanDuel Sportsbook actually has the Bucs scoring fewer than 24 points (a key scoring number) slightly favored, but that would significantly defy this trend.

Wrap it altogether, and the numberFire model is all about the Bucs in this game. It projects Tampa Bay as 58.2% likely to win and 70.5% likely to cover a 3.5-point spread. Its total scoring expectation for them is 26.0 median points.

Some of the beauty of an analytical model like this is that it's entirely blind to one of the most public NFL betting trends at present. Lamar Jackson is 22-1 in his career in starts against NFC teams. The problem with that win-loss trend is that it's usually come with a top-10 defense that Baltimore doesn't have anymore. In a "last one to touch the ball wins" sort of enviornment, this current version of Mayfield -- one of the league's all-time underdogs -- is as live of a 'dog as it gets.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.