The marquee NFL betting matchup in Sunday’s late afternoon window this week features a pair of NFC South Division rivals. Plenty will be on the line when it comes to the division standings when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers hit the road to face the New Orleans Saints. The two teams have combined to win 10 of 13 games played so far this season. One could argue that they have taken very different paths in getting off to their respective strong starts. NFL oddsmakers have tabbed the visitors as a modest favorite ahead of this Buccaneers vs Saints divisional showdown.
The following Buccaneers vs Saints NFL betting preview will give you the current odds, betting trends and picks for the Week 8 matchup, along with a stream link to watch games all season long.
Buccaneers vs Saints Week 8 NFL Betting Preview
NFL Regular Season — Week 8 Game
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-1, 2-1 Away) vs. New Orleans Saints (4-2, 1-1 Home)
Date: Sunday, Oct. 31, 2021
Time: 4:25 p.m. EST
Venue: Caesars Superdome — New Orleans, LA
Coverage: Click here for the stream
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Preview
As many NFL betting analysts expected, the Buccaneers took it to the Chicago Bears in a big way last week. Tampa Bay used a three-touchdown first quarter to build an early lead and never looked back en route to a dominant 38-3 victory. The reigning Super Bowl champs improved to 6-1 on the season. However, they have only covered three out of seven point spreads to date. Last week was certainly one of them. Tom Brady achieved yet another career milestone last Sunday by throwing his 600th touchdown pass. The ensuing process of obtaining that football after Mike Evans mistakenly gave it to a fan was far more interesting than the on-field game against the Bears itself.
Brady continues to put up monster stats this season. Considering how loaded the offense is around him, it comes as no surprise. That 600th career TD pass was one of four he had on the day last week. Leonard Fournette continues to have a clamp on the lead role in the Bucs’ backfield. He piled up another 81 yards rushing and found the end zone in last week’s blowout win. Even without Antonio Brown, the Buccaneers had no trouble in the receiving game. Mike Evans and Chris Godwin tore apart the Chicago defense. In addition, tight end Rob Gronkowski is expected to make his return from injury this week. While Tampa figures to be in for a stiffer challenge going up against a very strong Saints D this week, no one has had much of an answer for the Buccaneers’ attack so far this season.
New Orleans Saints Preview
The weather conditions certainly weren’t great for the Saints’ road contest last Monday night against the Seattle Seahawks. In hindsight, the rain and wind played right into Seattle’s hands of needing to turn the game into an ugly one. Despite questionable play-calling and failure to score down in the red zone, the Saints did pull out a tightly-contested victory. Settling for a field goal did prevent New Orleans from covering the NFL betting point spread as road favorites though. This week sees the Saints catching a fairly hefty number at home against a Buccaneers outfit that they defeated twice last year. Not only that, but the Saints took it to the World Champs in both regular-season meetings. Unfortunately, Tampa Bay got the last laugh with a playoff win in the Superdome.
Jameis Winston hasn’t been superb by any stretch of the imagination in his first season as the Saints’ starting quarterback. However, much like he did last week in Seattle, he also has avoided making the critical mistakes that he was known for while in Tampa Bay. Winston complemented his 222 passing yards with 40 on the ground last week. Alvin Kamara was once again the focal point offensively. He scored the Saints’ only touchdown and finished with nearly 180 yards of total offense. 128 of those came as a receiver out of the backfield. Will the Bucs’ defense allow New Orleans to feed Kamara 30 touches in Sunday’s NFL betting matchup? After initial optimism that he would make his season debut in this high-stakes divisional showdown, Michael Thomas remains on the PUP list after not practicing Wednesday or Thursday.
Buccaneers vs Saints Odds and Spread
NFL betting odds for Buccaneers vs Saints are taken from BetMGM Sportsbook.
Moneyline: TB: (-200) | NO: (+165)
Spread: TB: -4.5 (-110) | NO: +4.5 (-110)
Total: 50 — Over: (-110) | Under: (-110)
Public (Spread) Betting Percentages via Action Network: TB: (73%) | NO: (27%)
Buccaneers vs Saints NFL Betting Trends
- Buccaneers are 10-1 straight up in their last 11 road games.
- Seven of the Saints’ last nine games have gone under the total.
- Buccaneers are just 5-14-1 ATS in their last 20 games played in October.
- Saints are 7-3 straight up in their last 10 home games.
- Saints are 5-1 both straight up and ATS in their last six head-to-head matchups against the Buccaneers.
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Buccaneers vs Saints Stats
- Tampa Bay is averaging 33.3 points per game (PPG) this season (No. 3 in the NFL).
- Tampa Bay is surrendering 21.0 PPG this season (No. 10 in the NFL).
- New Orleans is averaging 23.3 PPG this season (No. 17 in the NFL).
- New Orleans is surrendering 16.8 PPG this season (No. 3 in the NFL).
Buccaneers vs Saints Prediction
The Buccaneers vs Saints NFL betting prediction uses the ESPN Football Power Index.
Buccaneers: 64.1%
Saints: 35.7%
Tie: 0.3%
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