New Orleans Saints vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – 9/13/20 NFL Pick, Odds, and Prediction

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the New Orleans Saints meet Sunday in NFL action from Mercedes-Benz Superdome. 

The Buccaneers are coming off a disappointing 7-9 season in 2019, finishing in third place in the NFC South. That result left Tampa Bay out of the playoffs for the 12th consecutive year. As for the Saints, they had a nice regular season with a 13-3 run and another NFC South title in 2019. New Orleans was shocked by the Vikings in overtime in the Wild Card Playoffs however, falling 26-20. Check back all season long for free NFL picks and NFL predictions at Sports Chat Place. 

Tampa got off to a bad 3-7 start last year, but did sustain a four-game win streak later on in the season. A couple of close losses to the Texans 23-20 and the Falcons 28-22 (OT) torpedoed the Bucs’ hopes at a winning record, however. 

There’s reason for hope in Tampa Bay this season though, as future Hall-of-Famer Tom Brady is on the roster along with his partner in crime TE Rob Gronkowski. LeSean McCoy also comes over on a one-year deal, and the team picked up Leonard Fournette as well. It’s a nice-looking group of players for sure. 

Over on the Saints’ side, their campaign last year could have been a lot worse due to a thumb injury on QB Drew Brees in Week 3. Teddy Bridgewater stepped in during Brees’ absence and led the team to five straight victories however, and New Orleans never stopped rolling along. The Saints did suffer a couple of bad losses to the Rams 27-9 and the Falcons 26-9, but overall it was a great regular season. 

This year marks the 14th under Saints head coach Sean Payton, and Brees is back on a two-year, $50 million contract. Bridgewater is gone as the backup, but New Orleans doesn’t lose much talent there thanks to the addition of Jameis Winston. The Saints also bagged safety Malcolm Jenkins for a cool $32 million over four years. 

The Buccaneers are 3-1-2 ATS in their last six games overall and 5-2-1 ATS in their last eight games on turf. Tampa Bay is 4-9 ATS in their last 13 games in Week 1 and 2-6 ATS in their last eight versus the NFC. 

Meanwhile, the Saints are 11-4 ATS in their last 15 games overall and 1-4 ATS in their last five games as a home favorite. New Orleans is 1-4 ATS in their last five home games and 0-6 ATS in their last six games in Week 1. 

Pick: I’m going to roll with the Saints here, but it’s close. This is shaping up to be one of the better games of the NFL’s opening weekend slate, and we should learn quite a bit about both teams. Tampa Bay looks great on paper but may take some time to gel with the new faces. New Orleans on the other hand has plenty of veteran leadership and a comfortable home environment here. Should be a fun one to watch regardless.