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The New Orleans Saints host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, September 18th at 1:00 pm. This will be the first of two times these teams will meet against each other since they both play in the NFC South. These two teams do not like playing each other and last season the season series was won by the Saints. In the first game in New Orleans, the Saints won last season by a final score of 36-27, and then on the road, they shut out Brady and the Buccaneers in a very defensive-oriented game where they won by a final score of 9-0. It is unlikely that the Saints will be able to be that dominant but they did improve their defense over the offseason. ​​The odds for this game are currently set at -140 Buccaneers, +118 Saints, and the over/under is 44.0 according to Caesars Casino & Sportsbook. New users will receive a Risk-Free Bet of up to $1250 on their first wager. When you make your first bet, if it loses, it’s on the house as Caesars will refund any losing wagers in full (up to $1250 in the form of a single-use bonus credit Plus Caesar’s is adding 1,000 Reward Credits and 1,000 Tier Credits). You must make a deposit to get the bonus! Click the link to sign up or use Promo OSBETFULL. Claim your bonus here!

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers won last week on the road against the Dallas Cowboys by a final score of 19-3 and head into this game with a record of 1-0. In this game, they will be without wide receiver Chris Godwin. They will also head into this game with wide receivers, Russell Gage, Mike Evans, and Julio Jones all questionable on the injury report. Last week against the Cowboys, Tom Brady led the game in passing yards with 212 and threw for one touchdown and an interception. Tampa Bay received a lot of offensive help from running back Leonard Fournette who rushed for 127 yards and caught 2 passes for 10 yards. Wide receiver Julio Jones had a flash from the past performance with 3 catches for 69 yards. He had a reception for 48 yards and that has much thinking Jones might be able to still be effective. The number one option Mike Evans led the team in receiving yards. Evans had 5 catches for 71 yards and a receiving touchdown. On top of great offensive play, the Tampa Bay defense helped by holding the Cowboys to under 250 total yards of offense. They also had one turnover forced against them. Tom Brady has struggled in the regular season against the Saints with the Buccaneers as he has lost all four games he has played. In this game, expect Brady to end his streak. 

The New Orleans Saints head into their home opener with a record of 1-0 after defeating the Atlanta Falcons last week by a final score of 27-26. An absolute nail bitter. In that game, the Saints fell behind 26-10 to start the fourth quarter. For the last 12 minutes of game time, they impressively shut out the Falcons as they scored 17 straight unanswered points. Quarterback Jameis Winston threw for 269 yards and 2 touchdowns. He was able to connect with wide receiver Michael Thomas for 2 touchdowns. This was the first game Thomas has played since the 2020 NFL season. A lot of people began to wonder if Thomas could return to the high level of play he showed in 2019 and so far he has shown he can still be a reliable player for the Saints when needed. Taysom Hill and Jarvis Landry also played big roles for the offense as Hill had 81 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown, and Landry had 7 receptions for 114 yards. The Saints defense also played a huge part in the game as they forced two fumbles. The last time Winston played the Buccaneers, the Saints won 36-27. Expect the Saints to try and keep their winning streak against the Brady-led Buccaneers going. 

I think this game will be very close and will be a field goal-won game. The Buccaneers will be able to run the ball or pass the ball to Evans who has a history of having great performances against the Saints. The Saints will also be able to rush the ball and will look to Thomas to deliver once again in this divisional rivalry. Both of the defenses are strong so expect a low-scoring game. The Saints seem to know how to disrupt Brady’s game flow and unless the Buccaneers offensive line can contain the Saints pass rush, they should continue to be disruptive. 

For our expert pick, take the Saints +2.5.