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The Divisional Round will be capped with a rematch between the New Orleans Saints and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, with so much on the line for Drew Brees and Tom Brady. While the Saints won both of their regular season meetings handily, this Bucs team has changed quite a bit in the months since their last matchup.
I wanted to get the latest information on what Tampa Bay has been up to, so I swapped a series of questions and answers with Luke Easterling over at Bucs Wire. Here’s what I learned:
LE: The chemistry and comfort level on offense. Week 1 was clunky, Week 9 was still a lesson in breaking in fresh faces, but the Bucs seem to have found their groove on that side of the ball in recent weeks. Ever since their bye week, they’ve been firing on all cylinders, and getting big performances/big plays from just about everybody across the board. The offensive line has been solid, as well. This Saints team is better than any team they’ve faced in that stretch, though, so this will be a much different test.
LE: The red-zone concerns are definitely there, but this is an offense that has also been able to counter that with some big plays that have finished in the end zone. You’d obviously prefer to finish every red-zone trip with six points, but as long as the Bucs can rely on Ryan Succop to keep nailing his kicks, and the offense can keep finding the end zone from beyond the 20-yard line, they can still put up enough points to keep this a close game.
LE: It absolutely will. The Bucs have been stellar up front for much of the year, but depth is not something they have a ton of up front, especially after losing A.Q. Shipley halfway through the season. Stinnie is making his first career start, and that’s mostly because Ted Larsen struggled so much after Cappa left the Washington game with the injury. Look for the Bucs to help him out as much as possible with tight ends and backs.
Quarterback Tom Brady joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (12–5) during the offseason with hopes of getting back to the Super Bowl, and he can take another step forward by beating the New Orleans Saints on Sunday. On the other side of the NFC Divisional Playoff matchup will be Drew Brees, who has been battling Brady for many of the league’s all-time passing marks. The teams have met twice this season, with New Orleans (13–4) winning both games by a combined 46 points.
Kickoff is set for 6:40 p.m. ET at Mercedes-Benz Superdome. William Hill Sportsbook lists New Orleans as a three-point favorite in the latest Buccaneers vs. Saints odds, with the over-under for total points scored set at 52. Before making any Saints vs. Buccaneers picks, see the latest NFL predictions and betting advice from SportsLine’s proven model.
The model, which simulates every NFL game 10,000 times, is up almost $7,900 for $100 players on top-rated NFL picks since its inception five-plus years ago. It is a sizzling 24–14 on top-rated NFL picks this season, returning well over $800. The model also enters the Divisional Round of the 2021 NFL Playoffs on an incredible 120–78 run on top-rated NFL picks that dates back to the 2017 season.
The model ranked in the Top 10 on NFLPickWatch three of the past four years on straight-up NFL picks and beat more than 95 percent of CBS Sports office pool players three times during that span. Anyone who has followed it is way up.
Quarterback Tom Brady joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (12–5) during the offseason with hopes of getting back to the Super Bowl, and he can take another step forward by beating the New Orleans Saints on Sunday. On the other side of the NFC Divisional Playoff matchup will be Drew Brees, who has been battling Brady for many of the league’s all-time passing marks. The teams have met twice this season, with New Orleans (13–4) winning both games by a combined 46 points.
Kickoff is set for 6:40 p.m. ET at Mercedes-Benz Superdome. William Hill Sportsbook lists New Orleans as a three-point favorite in the latest Buccaneers vs. Saints odds, with the over-under for total points scored set at 52. Before making any Saints vs. Buccaneers picks, see the latest NFL predictions and betting advice from SportsLine’s proven model.
The model, which simulates every NFL game 10,000 times, is up almost $7,900 for $100 players on top-rated NFL picks since its inception five-plus years ago. It is a sizzling 24–14 on top-rated NFL picks this season, returning well over $800. The model also enters the Divisional Round of the 2021 NFL Playoffs on an incredible 120–78 run on top-rated NFL picks that dates back to the 2017 season.
The model ranked in the Top 10 on NFLPickWatch three of the past four years on straight-up NFL picks and beat more than 95 percent of CBS Sports office pool players three times during that span. Anyone who has followed it is way up.
The NFC Divisional Playoff showdown between the New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers has plenty of interesting parallels.
Both teams hail from the same division and are spearheaded by future Hall of Fame quarterbacks. There are superstars on both sides of the ball, with the likes of Alvin Kamara (single-game rushing touchdowns) and Mike Evans (consecutive 1,000-yard seasons to start a career) making history this season. Not to mention, the Saints and Bucs are reliant on strong performances from the front seven on the defensive side of the ball.
How will all the parallels bear out on Sunday?
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NEW ORLEANS SAINTS
by Marty FennJanuary 16, 2021
The NFC Divisional Playoff showdown between the New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers has plenty of interesting parallels.
Both teams hail from the same division and are spearheaded by future Hall of Fame quarterbacks. There are superstars on both sides of the ball, with the likes of Alvin Kamara (single-game rushing touchdowns) and Mike Evans (consecutive 1,000-yard seasons to start a career) making history this season. Not to mention, the Saints and Bucs are reliant on strong performances from the front seven on the defensive side of the ball.
How will all the parallels bear out on Sunday?
New Orleans won the first matchup in Week 1, as Tom Brady struggled to adjust to a new scheme and new set of teammates in his first game with the Bucs. The Saints then dominated the second contest in Week 9, stampeding Tampa Bay en route to a 38–3 victory.
However, Brady has since found quite the rhythm down the stretch and should pose a far tougher test for the Saints defense. He has thrown for at least 348 yards in the team’s last four games — including last weekend’s win over the Washington Football Team — with 12 touchdowns against just one interception.
Can New Orleans slow down Brady and Co. and improve to 3–0 against Tampa Bay? Here are four bold predictions for the Saints against the Buccaneers.
Brady has thrown five combined interceptions in two games against the Saints this season. As previously established, this is a far different TB12 than New Orleans saw earlier in the year.
Still, it is fair to assume the Saints will send heavy pressure after the veteran signal-caller, and they will be hungry for turnovers.
The Bucs will certainly be throwing the ball. New Orleans has one of the best run defenses in the league, having just held the Bears to under 50 yards this past weekend. In fact, the Saints have not given up 100 yards rushing since Week 15. Tampa Bay, meanwhile, has had mixed success running the football throughout the year.
So, the stage will be set for Brady against New Orleans’ front seven. Trey Hendrickson and Cam Jordan are going to come hard off the edges, with Demario Davis and David Onyemata applying pressure from the inside.
Bruce Arians will likely have to scheme for more quick-hitters. But the Bucs have been at the best taking shots down the field and in the seams. Can Brady get the ball off quick enough to avoid constant pressure?
Washington had the best pass defense in the NFL during the regular season, and Brady shredded Washington to pieces last weekend. But the Saints arguably have the more talented personnel to make things difficult for Brady, and they will do that by applying pressure and generating takeaways.
2. Alvin Kamara goes over 170 total yards
Alvin Kamara’s game log is quite fascinating, upon further examination. Why is it so interesting? Well, the Bucs mostly held the Pro Bowler in check during the first two matchups.
Kamara had just 67 yards from scrimmage in Week 1, including 12 rushes for just 16 yards. He was even less successful in Week 9, with a mere 49 total yards (though he played just 51 percent of total snaps). However, the Saints have pretty steadily dialed Kamara’s number in the last few weeks.
The 25-year-old had a season-high 22 carries against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 16. After missing Week 17 due to COVID-19 protocols, Kamara surpassed this season-high by notching 23 carries against the Chicago Bears last weekend.
New Orleans has made it a point of emphasis to control possession, a trend likely to continue against the Bucs. That should mean more of Kamara, though the Saints will also have to find more ways to spring him in the passing game, even if the Bucs are bringing pressure.
Kamara is unequivocally New Orleans’ most important offensive player, and he will produce as such on Sunday.
