Bucs vs. Saints Total Prediction
NFC South rivals will square off in New Orleans on Sunday when the Saints host the Tampa Bay Bucs at 1:00 p.m. ET. Will these two teams combine for enough points to push the score over the total for bettors?
Game Snapshot
463 Tampa Bay Bucs at 464 New Orleans Saints
1:00 p.m. ET, Sunday, September 9, 2018
Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana
Public Betting Trends
According to oddsmakers from online sports book BetNow.eu, the Saints are 9.5-point favorites to beat the Bucs. The total, meanwhile, sits at 49.5 points. As of this writing, 71% of the public betting tickets are on the Saints to cover the point spread.
Tampa Bay Bucs
Buccaneers LT Donovan Smith (knee) returned to a limited practice on Wednesday. It’s Smith’s first practice since going down with a sprained knee about two weeks ago. This puts him on track to play Week 1 against New Orleans. G/C Evan Smith (hip) and CB M.J. Stewart (foot) were also limited at Wednesday’s session while DT Vita Vea (calf) remained sidelined.
New Orleans Saints
Saints LG Andrus Peat (quad) did not practice on Wednesday. He was the only Saint absent from Wednesday’s practice. Peat was mostly ineffective last year, earning PFF’s No. 50 grade out of 80 qualifiers at guard. Josh LeRibeus would be next up at left guard for New Orleans.
NFL Betting Trends
Tampa Bay
The over is 7-2 in the Bucs’ last nine road games.
New Orleans
The over is 4-1 in the Saints’ last five home games.
Prediction
With no Jamies Winston under center for Tampa, I’m hesitant to trust the Bucs to score enough points to contribute to the over. That said, taking the over in New Orleans home games has often been profitable in the Sean Payton/Drew Brees era. The Saints have a ton of offensive firepower and the Bucs will likely own a bottom-five defense when its all said and done. Ryan Fitzpatrick, who will start in place for Winston over the first three weeks, is always good for turnovers, which flips field position and could contribute to the final score.
NFL Week 1 Prediction: Bucs/Saints over 49.5