New Orleans Saints vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers Pick & Prediction DEC 19TH 2021
Jimmy Liu
As we near the end of the season, more divisional games will be played. Each of these games is vital to playoff positioning and standings, which is why they're playing later in the year.
We've got another divisional matchup here, between the No.1 and No.2 NFC South teams. The New Orleans Saints head to Tampa Bay to face the Buccaneers for the second time this season.
For those of you that might've forgotten, the Saints won the first meeting, 36-27. Tampa Bay hopes to repay the favor when the Saints come marching into town.
The Buccaneers are pretty much guaranteed a spot in the playoffs, but a win here gives them the division. They have a few players on the injury list, though, so this could be a tough one for the Super Bowl champs.
Saints vs. Buccaneers Odds (Spread, Moneyline and Total)
TV: NBC
MONEY LINE: Saints (+400) vs. Buccaneers (-505)
SPREAD: Saints +10.5 (-105) vs. Buccaneers -10.5 (-115)
GAME TOTAL: Over 46.5 (-110) vs. Under 46.5 (-110)
Saints at Buccaneers Preview and Betting Trends
The Saints have had quite the roller-coaster season, but things are pretty bad right now. Before their win last week, the Saints had lost five straight games.
They've got Taysom Hill in at quarterback right now, and he'll likely get the start against the Buccaneers, but is that a good idea? Hill can do a couple of things well, but he isn't the best at passing the ball.
The good news for Hill is he gets some help with Alvin Kamara behind him. The downside is they have a depleted receiving corps, and the Buccaneers have a great run defense.
Essentially, Taysom Hill will be forced to throw the ball, which could go bad for the Saints. The last thing they need is to turn the ball over to Tom Brady and the Buccaneers.
On the offensive side of the ball, the Buccaneers could be missing two running backs. Both Giovanni Bernard (IR) and Leonard Fournette (questionable) are dealing with injuries.
On the defense, the Buccaneers could be without Richard Sherman and Antoine Winfield Jr. With injuries plaguing the team, the Buccaneers will have to play at the top of their game.
The good news for Tampa Bay is they're led by one of the best to ever do it, Tom Brady. Brady has performed well this season and has his team at the No.2 spot in the NFC.
However, Tom Brady can't play on defense, although he might try. So we can't deny the fact that there is a chance for the Saints to keep this game close.
Saints vs. Buccaneers Picks
Saints 20 - Buccaneers 27
We saw how the first game went between these two teams. However, plenty was different for the Saints at that time, mainly Jameis Winston being at quarterback.
Still, the Saints come into this game as 10.5-point underdogs, and we believe they can keep it within that margin.
The Buccaneer's defense is depleted, and they've had some uncharacteristic losses recently. With the injuries piling up, we can't trust them to cover 10.5-points, even at home.
Plus, if the game gets too out of hand, they could decide to rest Tom Brady. With that being said, we'll take the Saints, not to win, but to cover the spread.
EXTRA POINTS
1. The New Orleans Saints are 6-1 ATS in their last seven games against Tampa Bay.
2. In their last ten meetings, the Saints are 7-3 ATS against Tampa Bay.
3. The total has gone OVER in 6 of Tampa Bay's last nine games against New Orleans.
Best Bet: New Orleans Saints -10.5
New Orleans Saints vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Drew Brees threw four touchdown passes and Tom Brady threw three interceptions as the visiting New Orleans Saints defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 38-3 on Sunday night.
Brees entered the game one touchdown pass behind Brady for the NFL career lead and finished the game with 564 to Brady's 561. Brees completed 26 of 32 for 222 yards and 12 different receivers caught passes on the night.
The Saints (6-2) won their fifth consecutive game to pass the Buccaneers (6-3) for first place in the NFC South. New Orleans swept the season series after beating Tampa Bay 34-23 in the season opener in which the Saints intercepted Brady twice.
This is the first time in Brady's career that he has lost twice to the same team in one season. He completed 22 of 38 for 209 yards in the most lopsided loss of his career.
The Buccaneers ran just five times, the fewest in NFL history.
Saints All-Pro receiver Michael Thomas returned from injury to play for the first time since the season opener and had five catches for 51 yards.
New Orleans led 31-0 at halftime, the largest halftime deficit ever faced by Brady.
The Buccaneers recovered a Brees fumble on the first possession of the third quarter and drove to the Saints' 1-yard line, but Brady threw an incompletion on fourth and goal.
Neither team scored in the third quarter and Brees threw a 3-yard touchdown to Josh Hill early in the fourth quarter for a 38-0 lead.
Ryan Succop's 48-yard field goal with 5:52 left enabled Tampa Bay to avoid a shutout.
Brees tied Brady on the Saints' first possession when he threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Tre'Quan Smith for a 7-0 lead.
He added a 7-yard touchdown pass to Adam Trautman for a 14-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Brees' 12-yard touchdown pass to Emmanuel Sanders increased the lead to 21-0.
David Onyemata intercepted Brady, setting up Alvin Kamara's 1-yard touchdown run for a 28-0 lead.
Wil Lutz added a 36-yard field goal for a 31-0 lead late in the second quarter. It stayed that way going into halftime after Marcus Williams intercepted Brady at the New Orleans 19 in the final minute of the quarter.
--Field Level Media
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