New Orleans Saints vs. Tampa Bay Bucs, 12/7/18 Predictions & Odds

Saints vs. Bucs Total Prediction

NFC South rivals clash in Tampa this Sunday at 1:00 p.m. ET when the Bucs host the New Orleans Saints. With the number sitting in the mid-50s, is the betting total set too high for this matchup?

Game Snapshot

113 New Orleans Saints at 114 Tampa Bay Bucs

1:00 p.m. ET, Sunday, December 9, 2018

Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida

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 55 points. As of this writing, 65% of the public betting tickets are on the Saints to cover the point spread.

New Orleans Saints

Michael Thomas (ankle) returned to practice on Thursday. He sat out Wednesday's session, but it was probably just a maintenance day. Thomas gets a can't-miss matchup Sunday against the Bucs, who he shredded for an outrageous 16-180-1 receiving line back in Week 1.

Tampa Bay Bucs

Jameis Winston completed 20-of-30 passes for 249 yards and two touchdowns in Week 13 against the Panthers. Winston also led the Bucs with 48 yards rushing. It's the second straight turnover-free game from Winston, who's managed consecutive wins since retaking the starting job. Both of Winston's touchdowns were short red-zone throws to Adam Humphries and Chris Godwin. Winston get another great matchup in a likely Week 14 shootout with the Saints.

NFL Betting Trends

New Orleans

The over is 9-1 in the Saints’ last 10 games after accumulating less than 90 yards rushing in their previous game.

Tampa Bay

The under is 6-0 in the Bucs’ last six games after allowing more than 150 yards rushing in their previous contest.

Prediction

This matchup screams “over” but the under has been too profitable in this series to ignore these trends. In the last 10 meetings between these two teams at Raymond James Stadium, the under is 8-2. In the last 20 meetings between these two teams, the under is 14-6. The Saints are coming off their worst offensive performance of the season and while the Bucs do not have the defenders to slow down New Orleans like Dallas did, the number on this total still feels inflated. Clearly others feel the same way, as the total has dropped from 58 down to 55.

NFL Week 14 Prediction: Saints/Bucs under 55