Buccaneers vs. Saints Point Spread: NFL Week 2 Odds, Prediction
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Nik Kowalski
New Orleans overcame a 16-point fourth quarter deficit to defeat Atlanta 27-26 last Sunday, while Tampa Bay took care of business in the Sunday nightery winning 19-3 at Dallas.
Both teams entered the 2022–23 with new head coaches who were promoted from defensive coordinator, Dennis Allen for the Saints and Todd Bowles in Tampa Bay. Only three of the 10 new NFL head coaches this season dropped their Week 1 contest, which doesn’t include the two club leaders meeting here.
Kickoff at Caesars Superdome is set for 1 p.m. EDT with the Buccaneers three-point favourites on the road and the over-under at 44 on the NFL odds.
NFL Point Spread and Betting Analysis
It’s well-documented that despite typically being the favourite, Tom Brady has yet to beat New Orleans in four regular season meetings as quarterback of the Bucs. Brady’s lone win with Tampa Bay over New Orleans came when it mattered in the 2021 NFL playoffs, but Brady’s also put forth a single-digit offensive performance against the Saints in both of the last two seasons.
In Week 1 the Saints failed to cover and had their game go over. Tampa Bay did the exact opposite, covering in a contest that went under. The Bucs are now 8-3 against the spread overall in their last 11 but just 1-7 ATS in their last eight versus the Saints.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tom Brady wasn’t dazzling against Dallas with just 212 passing yards and a touchdown but the Bucs run game accumulated over 150 yards to make up for it. Leonard Fournette had 21 carries for 127 yards, while Brady relied on his favourite weapon Mike Evans through the air for five receptions that went for 71 yards and the game’s lone touchdown.
Of concern for Tampa, receiver Chris Godwin left with a hamstring strain and should miss some time. But it’s why they brought in former Atlanta receivers Julio Jones and Russell Gage for depth. Jones is the next man up after having a nice game in Week 1 with 69 receiving yards.
New Orleans Saints
Several positives came from the Saints comeback win last Sunday. First off, Michael Thomas is back and had both touchdown receptions from Jameis Winston, with the latter passing for 269 yards and not turning the ball over. Free agent addition Jarvis Landry then led the club with seven grabs for 114 yards, and the new safeties Marcus Maye and Tyrann Mathieu combined for 16 total tackles while holding Atlanta to 215 passing yards.
There were negatives too though, starting off with the Falcons holding a 26-10 lead in the fourth quarter despite being projected a lottery team. Atlanta rushed for over 200 yards as well, which doesn’t bode well for the Saints as Fournette and the Bucs now come into town.
TB
NO