Buccaneers vs. Saints: Info, Odds, Where to Watch and More
A victory on Sunday Night Football would result in the first NFC South division title for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers since 2007. What stands in their way is a six-game losing streak to their divisional rival and Sunday night opponent, the New Orleans Saints, in the regular season.
Will the Bucs falter as they have in recent memory against the Saints in the regular season, or will they put on a showing similar to when Tampa Bay defeated New Orleans in the playoffs last season?
You can find everything you need to know about the game below.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-3) vs. New Orleans Saints (6-7)
Where: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Fla.
When: Sunday, Dec. 19 at 8:20 P.M. ET
Watch: NBC | Also available on fuboTV
Radio: Buccaneers Radio Network - 98ROCK
Odds (via SI Sportsbook): The Buccaneers are 11.5-point favorites over the Saints. The over/under is set at 45.5.
Series history: The Saints own a 38-22 all-time record over the Buccaneers. New Orleans defeated Tampa Bay by a score of 36-27 when the teams last met in Week 8.
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The rundown
If the Buccaneers are to clinch the division on Sunday night, they can't afford a repeat performance of their Week 8 matchup with the Saints. Thanks to three turnovers committed by Tom Brady, a lack of a running game and a disappointing defensive effort against a third-string quarterback, well, let's just say not even the best of teams will win games when they put those factors together.
The Saints still own a stingy defense which would hamper Brady and the run game on Sunday without an improved gameplan and decision-making from the quarterback. However, there are several reasons why this game could be in Tampa Bay's favor, as well.
New Orleans is now starting its second-string quarterback, Taysom Hill, who is rather inarguably a worse passer than his backup Trevor Siemian. Hill can run the ball, no doubt, but the Buccaneers can take advantage of his struggles as a passer rather easily by turning up their pass rush and forcing him into bad throws.
It won't help that the Saints will be without their two starting offensive tackles in Terron Armstead and Ryan Ramczyk, either. Nor will they have their head coach and offensive play-caller, Sean Payton, who tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday.
At this point, New Orleans does not pose much of a threat offensively unless it can get Alvin Kamara going in the run game. Although Kamara is a dynamic back, he's only averaged 3.4 yards per carry in his last three regular-season matchups with the Bucs and their dominant run defense.
Ultimately, the Bucs should be favored in this game across the board. The only reason why they won't win this game is if they shoot themselves in the foot - which is a scary thought, as that surely happened in Week 8.
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