The Week 5 NFL schedule kicks off with an exciting 'Thursday Night Football' matchup as the Dallas Cowboys host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at AT&T Stadium. The Cowboys enter the game with a record of 2-2, following a victory over Houston in Week 4, while the Buccaneers remain winless after losing to the Packers, with quarterback Baker Mayfield expected to miss another game due to a thumb injury. Rookie Jalon Daniels will make his second start for Tampa Bay.

Kickoff is set for 8:15 p.m. ET, and the latest odds favor Dallas by 9.5 points, with an over/under of 47.5 points. Before making any predictions, it's crucial to consider insights from the SportsLine projection model, which has shown impressive results, being up over $7,000 for $100 players on top-rated NFL picks since its inception.

Key betting lines include:

• Spread: Cowboys -9.5
• Over/Under: 47.5 points
• Money Line: Cowboys -481, Buccaneers +385

After running 10,000 simulations, the model predicts that the game will go Over 47.5 points, largely due to Dallas's defensive struggles, ranking 29th in scoring defense and last in yards allowed per play. While Tampa Bay's defense is slightly better, they still rank in the bottom half of the league in critical categories.

Dallas has a perfect record of 4-0 to the Over this season, while Tampa Bay has split its four games. The model projects a total of 56 combined points, indicating that the Over hits 70% of the time in this matchup.

For those looking for more in-depth analysis, the model also highlights one side of the spread that hits over 50% of the time. Discover the picks at SportsLine and prepare for an action-packed game.