Week 9 Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. New Orleans Saints Free Predictions

NFL Game Previews – Tampa Bay vs New Orleans

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the New Orleans Saints square-off this Sunday afternoon at the Superdome in a huge NFC South showdown with the lead in the division on the line. Kick-off is slated for 1 p.m. (ET) and the game will be broadcast nationally on FOX.

Date/Time: Sunday, Nov. 6    1 p.m. (ET)
Venue: Superdome, New Orleans, LA.
Broadcast: FOX
Buccaneers at Saints lines by BetOnline.com
Point spread: Saints -9
Over/Under: 51

Tampa Bay has already beaten the Saints once this season with a 26-20 victory three weeks ago as a six-point home underdog. It followed this up with a 24-18 loss to Chicago in London as a 1.5-point underdog before last week’s bye. The Buccaneers are now 4-3 straight-up (3-4 against the spread) on the year and while the total stayed ‘under’ in both of these games, it has gone ‘over’ in four of the previous five.

You are never sure which Tampa team you will get from week-to-week. Will it be the one that played so well against New Orleans or the one that got its doors blown off the week before in a 48-3 loss to San Francisco as a 2.5-point road underdog.

You could say the same thing about New Orleans considering that it is coming off a 31-21 loss to the previously winless St. Louis Rams as a 13.5-point road favorite just a week after crushing Indianapolis 62-7 as a 13.5-point home favorite. The net result of all this is a 5-3 SU record (4-4 ATS) and a half-game lead in the division. [soliloquy id=”82219″]

The total has gone ‘over’ in five of its eight games.

The Saints’ offense remains one of the most potent in the NFL with an average of 444 total yards and 32.5 points a game. The problems have been on the defensive side of the ball especially against the run. They are giving-up an average of 124.1 yards a game on the ground and 23.6 points a game on the scoreboard.

Tampa Bay is 5-1 ATS in its last six games against the NFC South and the total has stayed ‘under’ in 10 of its last 13 games in the division.

New Orleans is 4-11 ATS in its last 15 games against the NFC South and the total has stayed ‘under’ in six of its last seven games in the division.

Head-to-head, the Buccaneers are 7-1 ATS in their last eight games in New Orleans and the total has stayed ‘under’ in the last six meetings overall. The past trends stay true this time around as well with the Saints getting the outright win at home, but Tampa covering with the nine points.

The Free Pick: New Orleans 28  vs. Tampa Bay 20