Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. New Orleans Saints Preview
Where: Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans
When: Saturday, December 24, 2016, 4:25 PM ET
Line: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+3) vs. New Orleans Saints (-3); total: 52.5 – view all NFL lines
TV Broadcast: FOX
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Betting on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+3)
The Bucs stop here in Week 15, where Tampa Bay saw its five-game win streak end at the hands of the Dallas Cowboys with a 26-20 loss. Up ahead for Jameis Winston and company is a date with the Saints, whom Tampa Bay beat back in Week 14, 16-11.
In the Dallas game, Winston was simply not in his element. While he passed for 247 yards and two touchdowns, Winston coughed up two picks and was sacked four times. Cameron Brate, meanwhile, led the team with 73 receiving yards on five catches, turning one into a touchdown. Brate could see further success in Week 16 against New Orleans’ defense that is ranked among the worsts in containing opposing tight ends per footballoutsiders.com. Brate had 47 receiving yards on four receptions in the earlier matchup with New Orleans.
Mike Evans, on the other hand, has to wake up from a minor slumber. Evans hasn’t topped 60 receiving yards in each of the Bucs’ last three games but his prospects look bright versus the Saints, whose pass defense is second worst in the league.
Tampa Bay’s secondary will come into the game drawing confidence from the fact that the Bucs’ intercepted three times in Week 14 without the team allowing a touchdown. The Bucs are tied for eighth in the league as of this writing with 14 interceptions.
Tampa Bay is 5-0 ATS in its last five road games.
Betting on the New Orleans Saints (-3)
In Drew Brees, the Saints trust. Brees brought his A-game Sunday, passing for 389 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions in a high-scoring 48-41 win over Arizona on Sunday.
It was very encouraging for the Saints to see Brees breakdown a solid defense like that of Arizona’s stop unit. Up against the Bucs, who did a good job of containing Brees the last time out, performances like that of Sunday’s give the Saints’ quarterback extra confidence heading into Saturday’s contest.
Brees really has to bring it on against Tampa Bay, especially with the Saints’ defense needing all the scoring cushion it can get based on how bad it has performed. The Saints were lucky they had Brees to save the day in the Arizona game, as the Cards mustered 425 total yards.
The Saints’ offense is deadly no matter the opponent. They’re scoring 29.0 PPG and are first in the league in total yards with 423.3 per game average.
Tampa Bay’s not as talented offensively as Arizona, but it has significantly improved since the first meeting so that lamentable Saints’ defense has to show some teeth.
The Saints are 4-1 SU and 3-2 ATS in their last five home games against the Bucs.
Writer’s Prediction
Tampa Bay (+3) wins, 28-25.
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