Bucs Can Clinch; Saints Need Help

The Tampa Bay Bucs and the New Orleans Saints meet at Mercedes-Benz Superdome with playoff aspirations on the line. Tampa Bay can clinch a birth this afternoon. New Orleans will need some help the last two weeks to get in. The Scenarios are detailed at the end of the article

Oddsmakers currently have the Saints listed as 3-point favorites versus the Buccaneers, while the game’s total is sitting at 53.

In their last action, New Orleans was a 48-41 winner on the road against the Arizona Cardinals. They covered the +3-point spread as underdogs, while the combined score (89) was profitable news for OVER bettors. Brees’ 4,559 passing yards through 14 games — which leads the league — is the second highest in his career. He has completed 71.1 percent of his passes for 34 touchdowns against 14 interceptions.

Last time out for Tampa Bay, they were a 26-20 loser as they battled the Dallas Cowboys on the road. The Buccaneers covered in the match as a +6.5-point underdog, while 46 combined points moved the game UNDER for totals bettors. The Buccaneers’ defense threw a blanket over the Saints’ high-octane offense in a 16-11 victory on Dec. 11. They forced Drew Brees into three interceptions and holding the league’s top-ranked offense to 294 yards

Stats and Matchups

Tampa Bay Bucs:
Team record: 8-6 SU,9-5 ATS
Tampa Bay is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
Tampa Bay is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Tampa Bay’s last 5 games

New Orleans:
Team record: 6-8 SU,8-5-1 ATS
New Orleans is 2-3-1 ATS in its last 6 games
New Orleans is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of New Orleans’s last 6 games

Next up:
Tampa Bay home to Carolina Sunday, January 1
New Orleans at Atlanta Sunday, January 1

Tampa Bay Bucs Playoff Scenarios:

Tampa Bay can clinch a playoff berth with:
1) TB win + GB loss + DET loss + WAS loss OR
2) TB win + GB loss + DET loss + WAS tie + TB clinches strength of victory tiebreaker over DET

Get your NFL odds at Bovada today.