- Cooper Kupp has -141 odds to score a touchdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
- Chris Godwin has -110 odds to do so, and Mike Evans has even odds to do the same.
- Antonio Brown contracted COVID-19, which could leave more touches for Evans and Godwin.
LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles Rams will face one of the toughest teams in the NFL as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers visit SoFi Stadium for a matchup that could preview the NFC Championship game.
The two are the two highest rated teams in the NFC, according to online sportsbooks, which give the Buccaneers +525 odds to win the Super Bowl and the Rams +1100 odds.
The two teams both wield dangerous receiving weapons, with the Rams putting Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods into space, while the Buccaneers wheel out Chris Godwin and Mike Evans - with Antonio Brown’s status for the game unknown after he contracted COVID-19.
With so many dangerous receiving weapons on the field, it makes sense to take a look at the odds for them to impact the game in a major way.
Anytime Touchdown Scorer
- Cooper Kupp -141
- Chris Godwin -110
- Robert Woods -106
- Mike Evans EVEN
Los Angeles Rams: Kupp And Woods
Cooper Kupp is the most likely of these players to score a touchdown, which is intriguing given his recent productivity.
Kupp has been Matthew Stafford’s main target through two games, finishing both with more than 100 yards receiving and scoring three total touchdowns.
His explosion has taken focus off of the dangerous Robert Woods, who entered the season as the 1b to Kupp’s 1a, but has been more of a WR2 in this offense than many expected.
Woods’ time may be coming, however. He had nine targets in Week 2 and though he only converted on five of them, his yards per target went up from 6.75 to 7.11.
Woods was also on the field for 98% of snaps in Week 2, whereas in Week 1 he was on the field for 77% of snaps.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Godwin And Evans
On the Bucs side, Chris Godwin looks to be a major beneficiary of Antonio Brown’s battle with COVID-19.
Godwin and Brown perform similar roles in the offense, and while Brown will be replaced with Scotty Miller, it seems likely that Godwin sees a usage uptick in his absence.
Godwin saw 14 targets in Week 1 against the Dallas Cowboys, but was quiet in Week 2 against the Atlanta Falcons, only getting five targets.
His usage changed drastically between the two games - as did his role. Against the Cowboys, his yards per target was 7.5, but against Atlanta, it was 12.4.
Basically, he went from a volume based slot receiver against the Cowboys to a more downfield player against Atlanta.
His versatility is key to this Buccaneers offense, and it works in tandem with the singlemindedness of Mike Evans’ playstyle.
Evans is a pure wide receiver, a player who can win 50/50 balls, a dominant red zone force, and a unique player on the Buccaneers.
He’s been forced to share red zone targets with the revitalized Rob Gronkowski, which is why Evans is the lowest on this list in terms of touchdown odds.
However, he has racked up two TDs in Week 2, after being held silent in Week 1, and the Buccaneers were clearly looking to get him going.
This could be a high scoring game, and it’s possible that some or all of these players end up finding the end zone.
Online gambling fans have to figure out which of them they believe in the most.
The game begins Sunday at 4:25 p.m. EST on FOX.