Saints vs Buccaneers Free Pick, NFL Free Picks, NFL Predictions 1/5/25
- J.A. Cavalier
- Jan 4
- 3 min read
New Orleans vs. Tampa Bay (-14.5 44.5)
NFL ODDS, NFL PREDICTIONS, NFL PREVIEWS
New Orleans vs. Tampa Bay - Sunday, January 5, 2025
The New Orleans Saints will head to Florida this weekend to take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in an NFC South season finale. The Saint's playoff hopes are completely behind them, and they are now looking to play spoiler. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers currently sit at first in the NFC South but do not have their playoff spot clinched, thanks to the Atlanta Falcons. All the Buccaneers have to do to clinch their spot is beat the Saints. But if Tampa Bay loses, and the Falcons beat the Panthers in Week 18, then the Buccaneers can say goodbye to their playoff dreams. Both teams are expected to play their starters as the Buccaneers look to clinch their third straight NFC South title.
The Saints offense, especially led by Spencer Rattler, hasn’t been great this season. The rookie has started five games and has thrown just three touchdowns and five interceptions, not exactly the ratio you would hope to see in a starting-caliber quarterback. The Saints are also on a three-game losing streak and have averaged 9.7 points per game during that stretch. This season, the Saints offense has a 61.69% completion percentage, which is the fifth worst in the NFL, and averages just 203.8 passing yards per game. Unfortunately, the New Orleans run game has been even worse over the past few weeks. Rattler has been the leading rusher in each of the Saints past two games, with 46 rushing yards in week 17 against the Raiders and just 28 rushing yards against the Packers in week 16.
Not only will this New Orleans offense need to step up and put some points on the board if they want a Week 18 win, but their defense will need to step up big time. The Saint's defense has allowed an average of 379 yards per game this season, third-worst across the NFL. They allow 7.3 yards per pass and nearly 240 passing yards per game, which isn’t a great recipe when facing Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay offense.
Mayfield threw for 359 yards, five touchdowns, and zero interceptions in the Bucs dominant 48-14 win over the Panthers in week 17. Tampa Bay is averaging 252.6 passing yards per game, which is the third most in the NFL. It’s all without star wide receiver Chris Godwin, who has been out with a broken ankle and hasn’t caught a pass since late October. Bucky Irving and the Buccaneers' backfield has also been impressive, averaging 147.3 rushing yards per game this season and 5.2 yards per rush, which is third-best in the NFL.
While we all know anything can happen on Sundays, especially in a divisional rivalry game, Tampa Bay couldn’t have asked for a better season finale matchup to help push them into the postseason. The Buccaneers home field advantage in this one should also be a big help, as they opened up as a whopping 14-point favorite in this one.
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