The 7-5 Tampa Bay Buccaneers go for an intra-division sweep as the New Orleans Saints visit Raymond James Stadium on Sunday. The Saints, who have officially been eliminated from playoff contention, bring a 2-10 record to town but have won five of their last seven games in Tampa, several of them as serious underdogs. To find out how to watch, listen and livestream the game, click here.
Despite the gulf between the two teams in the standings, at least one analyst is concerned that the Buccaneers tend to "play to the level" of their opponents. One was impressed by the fight the Saints showed last weekend in Miami and (correctly) points out that they always tend to do so against Tampa Bay. Others noted that the Buccaneers are getting healthier at the end of the season, thought a couple are concerned by the new issue with Tristan Wirfs. The up-and-down play one would expect from a rookie quarterback like Tyler Shough was a factor for one analyst, though another believes the Bucs' defense has recently shown some vulnerability.
The Buccaneers are 8.5-point favorites at home and have most of the support among the national analysts, though if the spread is considered there's much more of a split. Here's what some of them are predicting will occur on Sunday afternoon at Raymond James Stadium:
NFL.com * – All five prognosticators side with the Buccaneers, all by relatively healthy margins
ESPN.com – An assemblage of 11 analysts finds no dissenters picking the Saints
CBSSports.com – Pete Prisco sees the Bucs winning but not by 8.5 points
USA Today – Six analysts pick against the spread and four of them still think the Bucs will win and cover
Bleacher Report – Choosing against the spread, four of seven experts take the Saints and the points
Pro Football Talk – Mike Florio and Chris Simms agree on the Bucs getting the win
Sports Illustrated – The Bucs go six-for-six with the MMQB crew
Sporting News – Bill Bender envisions a two-touchdown win for the home team
* Gennaro Filice of NFL.com broke it down from both points of view but eventually ruled in favor of the Buccaneers, writing:
"At the outset of December, there are two ways to think about the team I am backing today, the 7-5 Buccaneers …
"Glass half empty: Tampa Bay entered the season as a clear NFC South favorite/hipster Super Bowl pick. But suddenly, the Bucs find themselves in a divisional dogfight with the Panthers -- with games against those very Panthers in Weeks 16 and 18. Tampa lost its first three out of the bye before unspectacularly beating Arizona last week. All-Pro LT Tristan Wirfs just randomly popped up on Wednesday's injury report as a DNP (oblique). Can the Bucs make it to the finish line?
"Glass half full: Tampa Bay entered the season with brutal injuries. Then got hit with more. But suddenly, the Bucs find themselves getting healthy at the right time -- with three of their five remaining games coming against sub-.500 teams, including this home contest versus the playoff-ineligible Saints (who have a rookie quarterback and four big-name starters missing practice). Hulking 320-pounder Tristan Wirfs just amusingly scored his first career touchdown in Sunday's win. It's time for the Bucs to finish off their fifth straight division title.
"On this matter, I'm a glass-half-full guy."
