Tampa Bay Bucs vs New Orleans Saints Picks and Odds Week 15
Tampa Bay Bucs vs New Orleans Saints Betting Preview
WagerTalk NFL handicapper Tony Mejia offers his Tampa Bay Bucs vs New Orleans Saints NFL Week 15 Sunday Night Football betting preview. At the time of posting, the Bucs have climbed to an 11.5-point home favorite over their NFC South rivals, with the total sitting at 45.5 points.
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| NFL Week 15 | Betting Notes |
|---|---|
| Point Spread: | Tampa Bay Bucs -11.5 vs New Orleans Saints |
| Total: | 45.5 Points |
| Game Time: | 8:15pm ET / 5:15pm PT on Sunday, December 19 |
| Stadium: | Raymond James Stadium in Tampa |
| TV: | NBC |
Tampa Bay Bucs vs New Orleans Saints Predictions
When you’ve won as many championships as Tom Brady, regular-season games don’t really matter.
He’s as competitive as ever and would probably disagree with that statement, but in the grand scheme of things, Brady’s job is to stay upright, killing time while looking to remain sharp as he prepares to return to the Super Bowl and win another one. Tampa Bay has run away with the NFC South and will now be looking to finish ahead of Green Bay and Arizona in order to secure homefield advantage.
Whether the postseason picture in the NFC runs through Raymond James Stadium or not, the Bucs will be among the favorites to emerge, which takes some pressure off the final four games of the season outside of the need to stay healthy. That said, if Brady had one game that he definitely wants to win prior to the playoffs, it would probably be this one.
The only thing that Brady hasn’t done with the Bucs is defeat the Saints in the regular season, which makes Sunday’s home game much bigger than it ordinarily would be considering the Bucs have the division wrapped up, entering this one with a four-game edge. New Orleans won last year’s matchup 38-3 on a Sunday night, leading 31-0 at the break in a game where Tom Brady threw three interceptions and the now retired Drew Brees threw for four scores.
New Orleans also spoiled the beginning of the Brady era by posting a win in the opener of the 2020 season and got revenge for their elimination from last season’s playoff thanks to an impressive upset in Week 8 that was engineered by Trevor Siemian once Jameis Winston was lost for the season after sustaining an injury against his former team early in the contest.
Taysom Hill is now the starting quarterback entering this Week 15 clash that means a lot more to the Saints than it does the Bucs. After snapping a five-game losing streak with a 30-9 rout of the Jets in Alvin Kamara’s return to the lineup, New Orleans is now 6-7 on the season, which makes them one of five teams with that record vying to be the seventh and final playoff team in the NFC.
By virtue of a convoluted tie-breaker, the Washington Football Team would earn that spot if the regular season ended today. Since there are still four games remaining for all, all of those teams and even the 5-8 Seahawks and Panthers can secure a positive outcome to their fate by winning out.
Hill recovered from a four-interception game against Dallas by completing 15 of 21 passes for 175 yards against New York, so getting Kamara back as a safety valve who helps take the pressure off the rest of the offense thanks to his individual brilliance made a world of difference. Hill passed it efficiently and broke the game open with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown runs against the Jets, the last of which went for 44 yards and gave Bucs defensive coordinator Todd Bowles food for thought as he prepares his defense to try and do their part in stopping this little regular-season run the Saints have going against them. New Orleans lost to Tampa 30-20 in January’s Divisional Playoffs in the final game of Brees’ career but has won the last six regular-season matchups dating back to 2018.
The Bucs have come through for wins in four straight contests and have faced adversity in two of them, rallying from a halftime deficit against the Colts in Indy two weeks ago and surviving blowing a huge lead against Buffalo last week by securing a walk-off touchdown in overtime. Brady hit Breshad Perriman for a game-winning score where he turned up-field and outraced the Bills to the end zone. Even with Antonio Brown still suspended. Brady is making due with the weapons he does have.
He won’t want to suffer a fourth straight loss against the Saints, especially with a non-passer like Hill on the other side. That makes the Bucs the likely winner here. However, considering how much trouble New Orleans’ front seven gives Tampa’s offensive line, we can’t recommend laying 11 points. With Kamara back and Hill likely to extend plays with his fee, expect the visitors to cover even if they have to come through the back door to do so.
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— WagerTalk (@WagerTalk) December 17, 2021
Tampa Bay Bucs vs New Orleans Saints Analysis from GoldSheet
NFL Week 15 Prezidential Address
Looking for a 30-minute show that attacks NFL betting from every angle? The Prezidential Address is for you. Each week, Prez will go through the entire NFL schedule and offer his thoughts on bets against the spread, over/under totals, teaser options and player props. Prez breaks down this Tampa Bay Bucs vs New Orleans Saints clash at the 18:05 timestamp.
WagerTalk Live Odds Screen
WagerTalk’s live odds screen features up-to-the-minute lines from a variety of offshore and domestic sports books. Track the moneylines, point spreads, first half lines and betting percentages for all of the NFL Week 15 games, including this Tampa Bay Bucs vs New Orleans Saints showdown, from your desktop or phone.
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