The New Orleans Saints went 2-0 SU and ATS against Tampa Bay this season, defeating the Buccaneers 34-21 in New Orleans and 38-3 in Tampa. The Saints will go for the season sweep and try to punch their ticket to the NFC championship game with another win against Tampa Bay on Sunday.
- Date/Time: January 17, 6:40 p.m. ET
- Stadium: Mercedes-Benz Superdome
- TV Coverage: Fox
- Sportsbook Odds: Saints -3.5 | O/U 51 (Line History)
- Buccaneers vs Saints Matchup Report
Sportsbook Odds Analysis
The Saints opened as a 3.5-point betting favorite at home, but early betting action on Tampa Bay has moved the line down to New Orleans -3. Since Sportsbook at 51 points, the total in this postseason matchup has moved up slightly to 51.5 points. The OVER is 15-5 in Tampa Bay’s last 20 games against NFC opponents.
Tampa Bay News & Notes
The Buccaneers appeared to be on their way to an easy win and cover when they entered the half with an 18-7 lead over the Washington Football Team last Saturday. Washington pulled to within two points by making it 18-16 in the third quarter, but Tampa Bay eventually pulled away to win 31-23, failing to cover the spread as a 10-point favorite but still improving to 5-0 SU over its last five games.
Tom Brady finished the day going 22-for-40 for 381 passing yards and two passing touchdowns.
Now, Tampa Bay will need to try to figure out the Saints. The Buccaneers are 12-3 SU and 9-6 ATS against all other teams in the NFL this season, averaging 33.3 points per game on offense and allowing only 20.4 points per game on defense in those 15 games. In its two games against New Orleans, Tampa Bay has scored only 12 points per game and allowed an average of 36 points.
New Orleans News & Notes
The New Orleans defense put together another dominant performance in its wild-card win against the Chicago Bears, holding the Bears to only 239 total yards and nine points, with 99 of those yards and a touchdown coming on a meaningless game-ending drive.
The Saints finished the regular season ranked fourth in the NFL in total yards allowed at 310.9 per game and were fifth in points allowed at 21.1 per game.
Drew Brees completed 28 of his 39 pass attempts on Sunday for 265 passing yards and two touchdown passes with no interceptions. One of those scoring strikes was to Michael Thomas, who has struggled with injuries this season and hadn’t caught a touchdown pass prior to this one.
If the Saints can get things going on offense and continue to play at the level they’ve been playing at on defense, they could be the team to beat in the NFC.
Betting Pick: New Orleans -3
Tampa Bay has the tools on both offense and defense to beat anyone this postseason. But with the Saints playing great and owning Tampa Bay’s number this year, it’s hard to go against New Orleans as such a small favorite at home.
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Buy Sports Picks Now- Tampa Bay is 6-0 SU in its last 6 road games.
- New Orleans is 8-1-1 ATS over its last 10 games.
- The OVER is 5-2 in Tampa Bay’s last 7 games vs New Orleans.
