Free Picks: Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs New Orleans Saints

NFC South juggernauts clash this weekend as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers prepare to host the New Orleans Saints in Week 9. The last time these teams met, the Saints emerged victorious, but the Buccaneers have since improved and are riding a three-game winning streak. 888sport has Tampa Bay as -5.0 favourites at home (1.91).

This is the stuff of nightmares for me. I’ll admit, I’m no Tom Brady fan, but his connection with Rob Gronkowski is otherworldly. It’s almost unfair that Brady has so many weapons on offense, including the greatest pass-catcher he ever had doing it yet again here in 2020, but on a different team.

Did I mention that Antonio Brown is on this team now? He hasn’t played football in a year but mark my words: AB will be relevant. If he’s in shape, I fully expect Brown to be a crucial part of Bruce Arian’s offense.

Tom Brady is running Bruce Arian’s offense well and has improved since Week 1 when he threw two interceptions to the Saints. Their defense is ranked third in passing yards allowed per game at 299.5. Alvin Kamara has been on fire for the Saints, but it won’t be so easy against a Buccaneer’s rush defense that allows only 70.4 yards per game, which is best in the league.

The last time these teams met, which was back in Week 1, the final score 34-23 and smashed the over/under which oddsmakers had at 48.5. In their last 10 meetings, the over has cashed 6 times. This week, 888sport has the over-under set at 51.5 (1.94), which I can see this game surpassing effortlessly.

These teams are too good on offense to not make it a high-scoring game. This game is going to be a shootout, and although oddsmakers say Tampa Bay will win, for me it’s a bit of a tossup.

Ultimately, I believe the Buccaneers will edge out the Saints, but I’m confident that we’ll see lots of scoring in the process.

• New Orleans is 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games.
• The OVER has cashed in 7 of New Orleans’ last 7 games.
• Tampa Bay is 6-1 SU in their last 7 games.
• The OVER has cashed in 7 of Tampa Bay’s last 9 games at home.