A massive NFC South contest is in store for us this week for Monday Night Football, as the New Orleans Saints (4-8) head to Florida to take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-6), with the outcome set to have a massive impact on the NFC South standings. Currently, the Buccaneers lead the NFC South, however a Saints win here will put them and the Falcons just ½ a game behind the Bucs, with the Panthers lurking a further ½ game behind. A win for the Buccaneers will see them with a full 1 ½ game lead over second place. Huge ramifications indeed.
A beautiful result on Thursday Night Football, with the Bills dominating the Patriots 24-10, easily covering the 3.5-point spread. Our record now sits at 20-18-1 (+4.5u) on the season in prime time.
New Orleans Saints at Tampa Bay Buccaneers Betting Tips
Raymond James Stadium, Tuesday 12:15pm AEDT
Last Week
The Saints were held scoreless last week, after they travelled west to take on the 49ers. They are now 1-4 on the road, and head to Tampa to take on another struggling NFC South team in the Bucs. The Saints’ defence was solid last week, holding a good 49ers offense to only 13 points, and the statistics show the game could have been even closer. The big issue turned out to be their best attacking player, with Alvin Kamara fumbling twice, which ultimately cost the Saints any chance they had at a win.
The Buccaneers were another team that, statistically speaking, could feel a little hard done by that they didn’t win last week. After the Bucs led for the majority of the final three quarters, the Browns managed a late touchdown, before scoring a game sealing touchdown in overtime. The Buccaneers were once again hampered by coaching, with the play calling and the time management severely lacking for the Bucs. There’s only so much an almost 50-year-old quarterback can do with terrible play calling, and the Bucs desperately need something from their coaching staff going forward.
Injury Report
New Orleans Saints
Juwan Johnson (TE) – OUT
P.J Williams (CB) – OUT
Michael Thomas (WR) – OUT
Marshon Lattimore (CB) – QUESTIONABLE
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tristan Wirfs (OT) – OUT
Ryan Jensen (C) – OUT
Shaq Barrett (OLB) – OUT
Match Preview
The market has gone cold on the Buccaneers after losing to the Browns last week, and once again the question is, has the market gone too far? The look ahead for this game was Buccaneers -6.5, before re-opening at Bucs -4. This seemed like a big jump, however the number kept moving towards the Saints, to where the Bucs now sit at a juiced 3-point favourite. Now, for me, that is too big a jump. Whilst a lot has changed since week 2, the Bucs closed 2.5-point favourites in New Orleans in week 2, and covered. This number in week 2 showed the Bucs were a 4.5-point favourite on a neutral venue. The number this week suggests they are 1-point better than the Saints, a massive jump.
I know the Saints have played the Bucs closely since Tom Brady’s arrival, but I can’t get to this number. I’ll take the Bucs to cover.
I can also see this being a low scoring affair, so the stake on the side won’t be huge, but I’ll supplement it with a nice little team total. The Saints showed last week their defence is solid, and the Bucs offense has been stagnant of late, having failed to score more than 22 points since week 4. With their total currently sitting around the 22.5 mark, I’ll take the under.
Alternate Bet: Buccaneers (-3) - $1.91 @ Betfair (1u)
Buccaneers (team total under) 22.5
$1.85 (1.5 Units)
