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The New Orleans Saints are entering uncharted territory. The oddsmakers at BetMGM Sportsbook are not favoring them to win this week for the first time this season, instead favoring the home-team Tampa Bay Buccaneers by 4.5 points.
Here’s the previous weekly Saints numbers from BetMGM:
- Week 1: Saints by 3.5
- Week 2: Saints by 5.5
- Week 3: Saints by 3.5
- Week 4: Saints by 3
- Week 5: Saints by 8
- Week 7: Saints by 7.5
- Week 8: Saints by 4
With an over/under set at 50.5, it suggests a final tally in the neighborhood of Buccaneers 28, Saints 23. That’s hardly outlandish considering how poorly the Saints defense has performed this year, but they did play well in the season opener against Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady. He was intercepted twice and sacked three times, and that was without Marcus Davenport in the lineup for New Orleans.
Of course, Brady didn’t have Antonio Brown at the time. The former All-Pro receiver should add even more juice to an offense that has been firing on all cylinders, presenting a big challenge to the Saints. Brown has caught four touchdown passes in his two previous career games versus New Orleans, both with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
And things are rarely easy at Raymond James Stadium. The Saints have gone 2-2 at Tampa Bay in their last four visits, and they needed a blocked punt by Taysom Hill midway through the third quarter in 2018 to spark a comeback after a lousy 14-3 start. The 2019 meeting might have been very difficult if not for four Jameis Winston interceptions.
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