Tom Brady and Drew Brees will one day be inducted into the Hall of Fame, but on Sunday, they will look to add to their legendary resumes, as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the New Orleans Saints play each other for the third time this season. The Saints went 2-0 straight up in the regular season against Tampa Bay, but will New Orleans actually beat a Tom Brady-led team three times in a season?
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Betting Preview for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs New Orleans Saints NFC Divisional Round Round January 17, 2021
Where: Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans
When: Sunday, January 17, 2021, 6:40 PM ET
Line: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+3.5) vs New Orleans Saints (-3.5) – view all 2021 NFL lines
TV Broadcast: FOX
Betting on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+3.5)
Regular Season Record: 11-5
The Buccaneers were not going to allow the Washington Football Team upset them in the wild-card round, as Tom Brady led his team to a 31-23 win over Ron Rivera’s squad on the road last Saturday. The Bucs didn’t beat Washington as easily as most people thought they would, but what’s important for Tampa Bay is that it got the job done. Washington’s defense was expected to challenge the Bucs, but unfortunately for the Football Team, they were up against Playoff Brady. The future Hall of Famer had 381 passing yards and two touchdowns on 22-of-40 completions. Brady connected with Mike Evans a lot, as the wide receiver had 119 receiving yards on six catches. Evans was able to put up those numbers despite a hurting knee, and another week of rest should get him closer to 100 percent. Speaking of defense., Tampa Bay’s stop unit will look to rattle Drew Brees with an assortment of blitz packages, especially with New Orleans lacking depth in the wide receiver position behind Michael Thomas.
The Bucs are 4-2 against the spread in their last six games overall.
Betting on the New Orleans Saints (-3.5)
Regular Season Record: 12-4
The Saints didn’t give the Chicago Bears much of a chance in the wild-card round, as they eliminated Mitch Trubisky and company in a 21-9 win at home. The Saints dominated that game on both ends of the field. Drew Brees went 28 of 39 for 265 yards and two touchdowns while Alvin Kamara rushed for 99 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries. New Orleans also held the Bears down to only 1-of-10 conversions on third-downs. The Bucs will bring over a much bigger challenge offensively to New Orleans, but it’s not like the Saints haven’t had success stopping Tampa Bay’s attack. The Saints have defeated Tampa Bay twice in the regular season. In these two teams’ most recent meeting back in Week 9, the Saints intercepted Brady three times and sacked him thrice in a 28-3 road win. Going way back to Week 1, the Saints had two interceptions off Brady and took him to the ground three times in a 34-23 home win.
The Saints are 7-3 against the spread in their last 10 home games against Tampa Bay.
Writer’s Prediction
The Buccaneers win, 31-27.
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