The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (12-5) will visit the NFC South-rival New Orleans Saints (13-4) in an NFC Divisional Round fixture for a Sunday Night Football at Raymond James Stadium
This fixture will be the last game of the second playoff weekend, and it offers an amazing matchup of two of the very best NFL quarterbacks in the game. The Tampa Bay quarterback Tom Brady (43 years old) and New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (42 years old) go head to head as both rival teams meet for the third time this season.
According to the sportsbook BetOnline, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are perceived as underdogs with money line odds of +151 and a spread of +3. The New Orleans Saints are slight favorites with a spread of -3 and a money line odd of -171. Both odds for Over and Under 52 sit at -110.
See BetOnline for updated lines and odds.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers Secure a Playoff Win
The Buccaneers won their first playoff victory since 2002 on Saturday, against the Washington Football Team. They won the NFL wild-card round game by an 8 point differential (31 – 23).
The Bucs were a 10-point favorite and were expected to breeze through Washington, but it was no picnic. Taylor Heinicke, who was filling in for Washington’s starting quarterback Alex Smith put up quite a show, putting up a very competitive performance.
Tom Brady led the team throwing for 381 yards and securing two touchdowns, with both wideouts Antonio Brown and Chris Godwin each caught the touchdown passes from Brady in the first half. The Bucs Wide receiver Mike Evans had 119 receiving yards on six catches.
While the Bucs’ offense played well enough, the defense was in shambles, as they allowed Heinicke 306 passing yards, 46 rushing yards, and two touchdowns. To edge out the New Orleans Saints, the Bucs’ defense will have to put up a much better performance if they are to have any chance against Drew Brees.
The New Orleans Saints Trash the Chicago Bears
The New Orleans Saints were victorious over the Chicago Bears in an NFL wild-card round on Sunday. They won by a 12 point differential (21 – 9).
The Saints’ offense seemed weak in the first half, having only mustered seven points, however, they picked up their game in the second half, moved the ball really well, and scored 14 points.
Drew Brees led the team throwing for 265 yards and securing two touchdowns, while RB Alvin Kamara rushed for 99 yards with a 3-yard, fourth-quarter touchdown on 23 carries. Wide receiver Micheal Thomas was available for the game having just got back from injury. He had five catches for 73 yards and a touchdown.
Both WR Micheal Thomas and running back Latavius Murray each caught a touchdown pass.
The Saints’ defense allowed only 239 total yards, which included 48 rushing yards.
Betting Information
Both teams have met twice this season, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost both times. The New Orleans Saints defeated them by 34 – 23 in the first outing and 38 – 3 in the second outing.
The New Orleans Saints have a 62.26% chance of winning this game, while the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a 41.67% chance of winning. The Bucs need to win outrightly or lose by fewer than 3 points for a Buccaneer +3 (-110) play to be valid. The Saints need to win by at least 4 points for a Saints -3 (-110) play to be valid.
