The New Orleans Saints’ playoff hopes will be on the line when they kick off with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. These two teams are in very different spots — the Bucs have rattled off four wins in a row, while the Saints were exposed in front of a national audience in last week’s loss.
Can the Saints keep it close? Do they have a shot at pulling off an upset against a motivated Buccaneers team that knows they can clinch the NFC South title with a win? Here’s what our staff are expecting in our Week 17 final score predictions:
Buccaneers 24, Saints 13
Mike Evans is having his best year since 2019 and is making the big plays for Tampa Bay. Without Marshon Lattimore, Evans will have the edge against whoever he’s lined up against. That could spell trouble for the Saints defense. Tampa’s defense has two of New Orleans’ kryptonite. Their linebackers have played Alvin Kamara very well since Devin White was drafted. They also rush the passer well which we’ve seen Saints handle poorly. — Darrion Gray
Buccaneers 27, Saints 13
The receiving core of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is going to likely be the deciding factor in this game. Mike Evans and Chris Godwin versus Paulson Adebo and Alontae Taylor is a recipe for disaster. With Marcus Maye, Jordan Howden, and Lonnie Johnson Jr. on the injury report as well, safety will likely be weaker than normal for this game. With how the Saints offense has struggled early in games this season, it could get ugly quickly like last week. — Jeremy Trottier
Buccaneers 28, Saints 17
The Saints playoff hopes get shut down after a showdown between Derek Carr and Baker Mayfield. The Bucs are well equipped to take down the Saints in this one. A lot will be made of the Bucs receivers, but I think the X factor in this game will be Rachaad White. He’s a versatile back that could take big advantage of a struggling Saints run defense. This isn’t too dissimilar from the story of the game against the Los Angeles Rams. — Dylan Sanders
Buccaneers 28, Saints 18
These teams aren’t the same squads that met earlier this year, but it’s still concerning that Derek Carr couldn’t throw a single touchdown pass on this Bucs defense. The good news is that New Orleans has figured some things out in the red zone since that ugly afternoon and they should put some points on the board. The bad news is that it may be too little, too late against a Tampa Bay offense that’s firing on all cylinders and averaging almost 30 points per game in their four-week win streak. — John Sigler
