The Tampa Bay Buccaneers currently have the longest playoff drought in the NFC, but that will almost certainly come to an end this season. Tampa Bay is 6-2, and the Buccaneers are the favorites to win the NFC Championship despite last week’s narrow win over the New York Giants. A victory over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday Night Football would give the Buccaneers some cushion in their bid for the NFC South title, yet a defeat would make it tough for the Bucs to win the division after Week 1’s loss to the Saints.
NFL Odds at Bookmaker.eu
New Orleans Saints +5.5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 5.5
Total 51.5
Two of the best quarterbacks in league history are currently jostling for the career passing touchdowns record. Drew Brees has a substantial lead on Tom Brady in terms of career passing yards and should surpass 80,000 yards by the end of the month, but Brees has thrown one less touchdown pass than Brady. These two legends continue to exchange the record, and while Brees is 17 months younger than Brady, he has not looked as his fellow future Hall of Fame counterpart.
Brees is completing a high percentage (73.1 percent) of his passes once again this season, but he is no longer stretching the field. All of his passes are within 30 yards of the line of scrimmage, and both of New Orleans’ pass plays over 30 yards this season were the result of YAC gains from Alvin Kamara and Jared Cook. That has made the Saints imminently more beatable, especially with Michael Thomas out of the lineup.
Thomas is practicing once again, so there is hope that he takes the field for the first time in two months. Emmanuel Sanders and Tre’Quan Smith have done their best to pace the receivers in his absence, but Brees has leaned heavily on Kamara during this stretch. Kamara leads the Saints in rushing and receiving with 987 total yards and seven touchdowns through seven games.
The Buccaneers boast one of the best defenses in the league though. Tampa Bay is one of three teams allowing less than 300 YPG, and the run defense has been lights out, conceding 3.2 YPC. These young cornerbacks have played well too with consistently grading well according to Pro Football Focus.
Brady has found a rhythm on offense over his last five games. He has thrown 14 touchdowns compared to just one interception, and a lot of that success is thanks to a solid job from the offensive line. He has only been sacked 10 times all season, and there have been four games where he kept his jersey clean.
Chris Godwin has been Brady’s favorite receiver when he has been healthy, but Godwin has missed four games due to injury. That has led to more looks for Scotty Miller, and he is flourishing alongside Mike Evans. Miller leads Tampa Bay with 25 receptions for 400 yards and two touchdowns. Rob Gronkowski has been getting in on the action too in recent weeks with 16 receptions for 237 yards and three touchdowns over the last month.
New Orleans has a strong front seven. The Saints are allowing just 3.6 YPC, and they have one of the top sack rates in the league. Trey Hendrickson has played well alongside bigger names like Cam Jordan and Sheldon Rankins to lead the team in sacks. However, the secondary has underwhelmed. New Orleans ranks in the bottom half of the league in pass defense, and that has led to the Saints allowing at least 23 points every week.
Prediction
The over will be a popular play considering the quarterbacks and the weapons on the field, but the best bet on Sunday night is the Buccaneers. They have the potential to turn this game into a rout.
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