Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. New Orleans Saints Point spread: New Orleans -8 Over/Under: 51 |
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers come off their bye week with a chance to take the lead in the NFC South when they square-off against the New Orleans Saints this Sunday afternoon at the Superdome. The game is slated to get underway at 1 p.m. (ET) and it will be broadcast regionally on FOX.
Tampa Bay has already registered a win against the Saints this season with a 26-20 victory three weeks ago as a six-point home underdog. The total stayed ‘under’ the 49.5-point line. It followed this up with a 24-18 loss to Chicago as a 1.5-point underdog when the two teams met in London. It is now 4-3 straight-up and 3-4 against the spread. The total has gone ‘over’ in four of its seven games.
The Buccaneers have been a hard team to figure out this season. When they play to their ability, they can beat anybody, but that has not always been the case this season. The offense has struggled to score with an average of just 18.7 points a game and the defense is giving-up an average of 24.1 points a game.
New Orleans has been another perplexing team so far. After losing to the Bucs, it crushed Indianapolis 62-7 as a 13.5-point home favorite. Last week, it somehow managed to lose 31-21 to the winless St. Louis Rams as a 13.5-point road favorite. The net result is a 5-3 SU record (4-4 ATS) and a half-game lead in the division. The total has gone ‘over’ in five of its first eight games.
The Saints’ problems from a year ago are starting to rear their ugly head. The offense is struggling to consistently run the ball and the defense is having major problems stopping the run and keeping opposing teams out of the end zone. It is ranked near the bottom of the league in both of these categories.
Tampa Bay is 5-1 ATS in its last six games against the NFC South and the total has stayed ‘under’ in 10 of its last 13 games in the division.
New Orleans is 4-11 ATS in its last 15 games against the NFC South and the total has stayed ‘under’ in six of its last seven games in the division.
Head-to-head, the Buccaneers are 7-1 ATS in their last eight trips to the Superdome and the total has stayed ‘under’ in the last six meetings overall. Stick with the trends in this one as New Orleans grinds out a win in a game that stays ‘under’ the total. Be sure to track the line movement right up until game time on BetAnySports.com.
The Free Pick: New Orleans 28 Tampa Bay 17
