New Orleans Saints Forums - blackandgold.com - Featured Discussion Buccaneers @ Saints Game Day Thread

LINE TREND: The lookahead line (before the season) in this game was Buccaneers -4, and it dropped to -3 last week. By the beginning of the week, it was Bucs -2.5, and it has remained there with approximately 60 percent of the money on the Saints and 57 percent of the tickets on Tampa Bay, as of late Saturday night.

WEATHER FORECAST: Dome. (But if you’re tailgating, it’s gonna be hot. It’s September in New Orleans.)

TEAM TRENDS

SAINTS (1-0, 0-0 at home; 2-5 at home in 2021)

The Saints are ranked 12th in the NFL in overall offense (yards gained per game) and sixth in points scored. They are ninth in rushing offense and 15th in passing. … The team is 27th in overall defense and 25th in points allowed. They are 29th against the run and 14th against the pass.

The Saints are trying to start a season 2-0 for the first time since 2013, when they defeated the Falcons and Buccaneers in succession on the way to a 5-0 start. This is the fourth straight year New Orleans has opened a season with a victory.

Over their last 30 games against the NFC South, the Saints are 22-8 overall against the NFC South and 17-13 against the spread.

BUCCANEERS (1-0, 1-0 on the road)

Tampa Bay is ranked 18th in the NFL in overall offense (yards gained per game) and 22nd in points scored. They are eighth in rushing offense and 22nd in passing. … They are third in the NFL in overall defense and first in points allowed. The Buccaneers are fifth against the run and fifth against the pass.

With the victory at Dallas last week, Tampa Bay has won five consecutive road games, but had lost two in a row before that – at Washington on Nov. 14, 2021 and at New Orleans on Oct. 31, 2021.

This is the first time since 2016 the Buccaneers have opened the season with consecutive road games. In that season, they won their opener (against Atlanta) and lost the second game at Arizona.

SAINTS vs. BUCCANEERS SERIES

All-time: The Saints lead the overall series, 39-22, with the divisional-round game in 2020 being the only time they have met in the postseason.

All-time in New Orleans: Saints lead, 21-13. (Average score: New Orleans 24, Tampa Bay 21.)

All-time in Tampa Bay: Saints lead, 18-9. (Average score: New Orleans 22, Tampa Bay 18.)

SERIES TRENDS AND NOTES

The last time the Saints lost to Tampa in the regular season came Sept. 9, 2018, in the Superdome, as Ryan Fitzpatrick passed for 417 yards with four touchdown passes in a 48-40 victory.
During the Saints’ seven-game regular-season winning streak in the series, they have outscored the Bucs by an aggregate score of 230-138 (average of 33-20).
The Saints went 11-5 against Tampa Bay during the Sean Payton era in the regular season.
Old people hate being reminded about this, but it is worth mentioning, as it is a momentous moment in the series. … After losing their first 26 games in franchise history, Tampa Bay won their first-ever game in the NFL at the Louisiana Superdome against the Saints, 33-14, on Dec. 11, 1977. They would go on to win two more games in a row in the Dome – in 1981 and 1982 – before losing nine straight in New Orleans from 1984 to 1998. (The teams were in different divisions until 2002.)
Interestingly, although they have faced off 61 times, the Buccaneers have never won more than two in a row in the series.
The only franchise the Saints have won more games against is Atlanta, but they have played the Falcons 46 more times.
Tom Brady has lost more games to the Saints (five) than any other team in the NFC. In fact, the only teams in the league he has lost to more than New Orleans are Miami (12), the New York Jets (seven) and Denver (six), and he was in the same division as Miami and the Jets for 19 seasons as a starter. For comparison, Brady has played the Buffalo Bills 36 times and has 33 victories against them.
This is the first time in Brady’s career he has lost four consecutive regular-season games to one opponent.
QUARTERBACKS IN THE SERIES

JAMEIS WINSTON has started just one game against Tampa Bay, and most of us know how that went. Although the Saints won, 36-27, on Halloween 2021, Winston was knocked out of the game – and the season – with a torn ACL. Before he left, he was 6-of-10 for 56 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions.

TOM BRADY vs. NEW ORLEANS
Brady has started 10 times against the Saints, and he is 5-5 in those games. (4-5 in the regular season.) Here are his numbers:

With Tampa Bay

Dec. 19, 2021: L, 9-0. 26-48, 214 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT

Oct. 31, 2021: L, 36-27. 28-40, 375 yards, 4 TD, 2 INT

Jan. 17, 2021 (NFC Divisional Round): W, 30-20. 18-33, 199 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT

Nov. 8, 2020: L, 38-3. 22-38, 209 yards, 0 TD, 3 INT

Sept. 13, 2020: L, 34-23. 23-36, 239 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT

With New England

Sept. 17, 2017: W, 36-20. 30-39, 447 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT

Oct. 13, 2013: W, 30-27. 25-43, 269 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT

Nov. 30, 2009: L, 38-17. 21-36, 237 yards, 0 TD, 2 INT

Nov. 20, 2005: W, 24-17. 15-29, 222 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT

Nov. 25, 2001: L, 34-17. 19-26, 258 yards, 4 TD, 0 INT

TOTALS: 227-368 (.617 completion pct), 2,769 yards (276.9 per game), 17 TD, 11 INT