luckadjusted
NFL Week 3 · 2026

NFL · Week 17 2026 · Sunday, January 3

Rams vs Buccaneers prediction and pick

Our Los Angeles Rams at Tampa Bay Buccaneers pick: Rams by 3.2, 60% to win. The forecast starts from what each team’s play has been worth once the luck is adjusted for, adds last season, who starts at quarterback and who is out hurt, and home field. No betting information goes in.

An early look, 14 weeks ahead: it sharpens as the game comes up. Updated every day until kickoff, then frozen and scored. After the game this page shows who deserved to win.

Why the curves are so wide: luck. Even with both teams’ strength known exactly, one game’s bounces, kicks, calls and sequencing move the final margin by about ±12.1 points (one standard deviation, measured from every play since 2019). These forecasts carry ±13.4, so about 81% of the width is that luck; the rest is what nobody knows yet about the teams. That is why a 7-point favorite still loses about 3 times in 10.

Rams at Buccaneers

Sun, Jan 3, 1:00 pm ET · Raymond James Stadium

Rams by 3.2 · 60% to win

Show as a table
OutcomeChance
Rams win59.5%
Buccaneers win40.5%
Middle 50%: Rams by 13 to Buccaneers by 650%
Middle 90%: Rams by 25 to Buccaneers by 1990%
Middle 95%: Rams by 29 to Buccaneers by 2395%
Exactly Rams by 38.3%
Exactly Buccaneers by 37.5%
Exactly Rams by 75.3%
Exactly Buccaneers by 74.2%
Exactly Rams by 144.0%
P50
Half of games like this end between Rams by 13 and Buccaneers by 6.
P90
9 in 10 between Rams by 25 and Buccaneers by 19.
P95
19 in 20 between Rams by 29 and Buccaneers by 23.
Where the forecast comes from
Last seasonRams+3.8
Home fieldBuccaneers+2.3
QuarterbacksRams+1.5
This season, adjusted for luckRams+0.3

The season so far

TeamRecordCoin-flip winsLuck in wins
Rams 1–2 1.3 −1.0
Buccaneers 0–3 1.5 −0.7

Coin-flip wins: the wins each team’s games were worth with only the kicks, bounces, drops and calls re-rolled, the record adjusted for luck. Luck in wins: actual wins minus what the play was worth.

Rams vs Buccaneers: questions and answers

Who will win Rams vs Buccaneers?

Our forecast picks the Rams, with 60% to win; the Buccaneers win 40% of the time.

What’s the spread for Rams vs Buccaneers?

Our spread: Rams −3.2. The betting line isn’t out yet. Ours uses no betting information, so where the two differ is where our read of the teams differs from the market’s.

When is Rams vs Buccaneers?

Sunday, January 3, 2026, at 1:00 pm ET, at Raymond James Stadium.