Had the Saints lost last Sunday to the Jets, the Bucs would have clinched following their overtime victory over the Bills, but instead Tampa Bay will simply have to take care of business in front of a national audience and against a team the Bucs haven’t defeated in the regular season in over two seasons.
Tampa Bay is undefeated at home. New Orleans has backup QB Taysom Hill at quarterback and throwing to a depleted receiving corps, and the Saints are dealing with injuries to both starting offensive tackles and their starting left guard.
Barring some unforeseen collapse by the Bucs on Sunday night, Tampa Bay should beat the Saints easily 27-13.
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Of course, the biggest news for this game comes care of Saints head coach Sean Payton who tested positive for COVID, meaning he won’t be on the sidelines Sunday night. This Bucs team already had several advantages, and you can chalk this one as another.
The real trouble will be limiting Kamara’s impact and keeping Taysom Hill contained. Buffalo QB Josh Allen ran for over 100 yards this past Sunday and while Hill is by no means Allen, he has a slightly similar build and style of running. The Bucs will need to do a better job of keeping quarterbacks from getting big gains with their legs, and they’ll certainly benefit from the fact that Hill is already weak as a passer throwing to awful receivers.
Assuming the Bucs can at least be adequate in those two areas, Tampa Bay will coast to a victory.
Tom Brady doesn’t take kindly to losing to a team so many times, either, even in the regular season. He’s going to have one of those games that reminds you why he’s the GOAT, and Tampa fans can revel in the fact that Saints fans won’t be able to hold meaningless regular season games over their heads (besides, the Bucs won the Super Bowl last year and dominated the Saints on their way to doing so).
We’ll see how things go Sunday.
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