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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
John Sigler

Week 17 picks: Who the experts are taking in Saints vs. Buccaneers

Who are you picking to win once the New Orleans Saints (7-8) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-7) take the field on Sunday? These two teams couldn’t be in more different states despite their comparable records. The Saints are still reeling from an embarrassing loss to the Los Angeles Rams last week in front of a national audience, and they could be eliminated from playoff qualification with another loss to the Bucs.

And those Buccaneers have won four games in a row. If they get one more and take down the Saints this week, they’ll win the NFC South and clinch a playoff berth in the process. The Saints very much have their backs against the wall.

Here’s a quick look at the game picks from 52 experts across a variety of platforms as kickoff approaches:

USA TODAY

Chris Graythen/Getty Images

USA TODAY’s Week 17 picks

Jarrett Bell: Buccaneers

Chris Bumbaca: Buccaneers

Lorenzo Reyes: Buccaneers

Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz: Buccaneers

Nate Davis: Buccaneers

Safid Deen: Buccaneers

Tyler Dragon: Buccaneers

Victoria Davis: Buccaneers

NFL.com

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

NFL.com’s Week 17 picks

Ali Bhanpuri: Buccaneers

Brooke Cersosimo: Buccaneers

Dan Parr: Buccaneers

Gennaro Filice: Buccaneers

Tom Blair: Buccaneers

ESPN

Douglas DeFelice-USA TODAY Sports

ESPN’s Week 17 picks

Stephania Bell: Buccaneers

Matt Bowen: Buccaneers

Mike Clay: Buccaneers

Jeremy Fowler: Buccaneers

Dan Graziano: Buccaneers

Kimberley Martin: Buccaneers

Eric Moody: Buccaneers

Jason Reid: Buccaneers

Lindsey Thiry: Buccaneers

Sam Wickersham: Buccaneers

CBS Sports

Matthew Hinton-USA TODAY Sports

CBS Sports’ Week 17 picks

Pete Prisco: Buccaneers

Will Brinson: Buccaneers

Jared Dubin: Buccaneers

Ryan Wilson: Buccaneers

John Breech: Buccaneers

Tyler Sullivan: Buccaneers

Dave Richard: Buccaneers

Jamey Eisenberg: Buccaneers

MMQB

Chris Graythen/Getty Images

MMQB’s Week 17 picks

Albert Breer: Buccaneers

Mitch Goldich: Buccaneers

Claire Kuwana: Buccaneers

Gilberto Manzano: Buccaneers

Conor Orr: Buccaneers

John Pluym: Buccaneers

Matt Verderame: Buccaneers

Sporting News

Douglas DeFelice-USA TODAY Sports

Week 17: Bill Bender – Buccaneers 28, Saints 21

Athlon Sports

Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

Athlon Sports’ Week 17 picks

Alek Arend: Buccaneers

Matt Audilet: Buccaneers

Cameron Flynn: Buccaneers

Bleacher Report

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Bleacher Report’s Week 17 picks (vs. spread)

Gary Davenport: Buccaneers

Brad Gagnon: Buccaneers

Ian Hanford: Buccaneers

Kris Knox: Buccaneers

Maurice Moton: Saints

Wes O’Donnell: Buccaneers

Brent Sobleski: Buccaneers

Saints Wire

Julio Aguilar/Getty Images

Saints Wire Week 17 picks

Darrion Gray: Buccaneers

Jeremy Trottier: Buccaneers

Dylan Sanders: Buccaneers

John Sigler: Buccaneers

Bottom Line

AP Photo/Jason Behnken

The Buccaneers are not a unanimous pick to beat the Saints this week, but it’s as close as it gets: 51 of 52 experts are picking against New Orleans in Week 17. It’s going to take a huge effort for the Saints to rally in this game against a better opponent with more to play for. Do they have it in them?

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