NFL Football BETTING PREVIEW - New Orleans Saints @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers

NFL Football

2025-01-05 - New Orleans Saints at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

A Sports Betting Preview by FirstDown

New Orleans Saints @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
United States : NFL Week 18
Sunday 5th January 2025 - Scheduled 1pm
6pm (British Time)

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Preview

There must have been a feeling that the disappointing Week 16 loss at the Dallas Cowboys might have been the fatal blow to the Playoff hopes, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-7) have been given a second opportunity to secure the NFC South Division.

No one needs to scoreboard watch with their destiny back under their own control and Tampa Bay only need to beat this Divisional rival in Week 18 to earn the Number 4 Seed in the NFC.

Five wins in six games have given the Buccaneers every opportunity to win the Division and they blew out the Carolina Panthers to bounce back from the disappointment of losing in Dallas. Being at home and facing an eliminated opponent means all of the cards are in Tampa Bay's favour and they are set as a very big favourite.

That is no surprise against the New Orleans Saints (5-11) who have been hit hard by injury and who have suffered three defeats in a row with the last two being blow out losses.

The awful terrorist attack on New Year's Day in New Orleans will have rallied the Saints together and it will give them motivation to end this season and give their community something to smile about. Of course the Saints players would have been concerned about any family members or team members that had headed into New Orleans to celebrate the New Year and it will have been an emotional time for the team before heading to Tampa Bay.

Spencer Rattler is expected to earn another start at Quarter Back for the New Orleans Saints, but this is going to be a tough test for him without some key Saints playmakers. Alvin Kamara is questionable to play, but even with the Running Back healthy and ready to go, it would have been tough for the New Orleans Saints to establish the run against this Buccaneers Defensive Line playing at a very high level.

Instead all of the pressure will be on Rattler and the rookie Quarter Back is going to be put under duress by this Tampa Bay pass rush. This pressure up front has helped the Tampa Bay Secondary produce some big games of late, while Spencer Rattler has made rookie mistakes when trying to force passes down the field.

Extra possessions would make things all the more comfortable for Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers who have overcome losing some key players to maintain momentum and look to have another Playoff run.

Earning the Number 4 Seed will mean a meeting with either the Detroit Lions or Minnesota Vikings in the Wild Card Round, but Tampa Bay know the Playoffs is a 'new season' for teams and the Buccaneers have to be confident of heading into that game with a lot of momentum behind them.

Bucky Irving has taken over as the lead Running Back and he has to be excited about playing behind this Buccaneers Offensive Line that has been able to bully teams up front. The home team are expected to rack up some serious yards on the ground and Bucky Irving also represents a threat coming out of the backfield to give Baker Mayfield another option in the passing game.

Being in front of the chains should mean Baker Mayfield has that bit more time to attack this New Orleans Secondary and the veteran has proven himself to be very comfortable in the system being run. Mike Evans continues to play at a really high level and the Buccaneers should be able to move the ball both on the ground and through the air as they take the game to New Orleans.

Make no mistake, this is a huge spread and a backdoor cover cannot be ruled out, but Tampa Bay have been in really good form and crushed the Carolina Panthers by 34 points last week. Backing up those big wins is tough, but prior to the defeat to Dallas, Tampa Bay had won four games in a row by margins of 23, 3, 15 and 23 points and they have all of the momentum to blowout a Saints team that have been outscored by 50 points in their last three losses.

Earlier this season, the Buccaneers racked up just shy of 600 Offensive yards in beating New Orleans by 24 points on the road and they should have all of the momentum to win this game comfortably in Week 18 too.

There is an outside chance that the Buccaneers could actually improve Seeding with a win too, but the only real focus has to be winning to ensure Playoff Football is played next weekend.

Prediction

Lay the points with the home favourite as they bid to secure their NFC South Divisional title.

The Pick :

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 34-13 New Orleans Saints

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

I'll back Tampa Bay Buccaneers - 14 Points at -110 with EveryGame Sportsbook