New Orleans Saints vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers Prediction, 12/31/2023 NFL Picks, Best Bets & Odds Week 17

Game: New Orleans Saints vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Date: Sunday, December 31, 2023

Location: Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, FL

TV: FOX

Odds/Point Spread: Buccaneers (-3)

Total/Over-Under: 42

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-7) host the New Orleans Saints (7-8) at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday. New Orleans opens this matchup as 3-point underdogs. The over/under is 42.

The New Orleans Saints come into this matchup with a record of 7-8 for this season. In their last contest, the Saints went up against the Rams and ended up losing by a score of 30-22. Derek Carr went 27/40 with 319 yards passing and 3 touchdowns. He had a QB rate of 106.1 and finished the contest with 1 interception. Alvin Kamara was the rushing leader for the Saints with 9 carries for 19 yards (2.1 yds per carry). Chris Olave averaged 13.7 yds per reception by recording 123 yds on 9 catches. The New Orleans Saints ended up running the ball 16 different times and recorded 35 yds, earning them an average of 2.2 yds per carry. When the final whistle blew, they ran 58 plays which totaled 339 yards. New Orleans gave up 24 pass completions on 34 attempts for 325 yards, and a completion rate of 70.6%. Against the run, the Saints conceded 133 yds on 32 tries, which is an average of 4.2 yds per rush allowed.

The Saints currently have 5,022 total yards over the course of this year. New Orleans has accounted for 173 1st downs, and they have been hurt by 88 infractions for 800 yds. When it comes to getting in the endzone, New Orleans has earned 22 passing touchdowns and 11 rushing touchdowns. They have turned the ball over 18 different times (11 picks and 7 fumbles lost). As a unit they're averaging 98.7 yards on the ground ranking them 21st in the league. When talking about getting in the endzone, the New Orleans Saints are sitting at 22.1 PPG.

The Saints are sitting in 9th in the NFL in relation to their opponents scoring, giving up 19.8 PPG. They are allowing 4.5 yards per run and 126.9 rushing yards per contest for the year. Overall, they have conceded 1,903 yards via the ground game in 15 outings. When talking about yards via the pass, the Saints have surrendered 2,921 yards which has them sitting in 7th in the NFL. They are allowing 194.7 yards per outing via the pass as well as conceding a completion percentage of 58.2%. Overall, they are giving up 321.6 yards/contest which ranks them 14th in the NFL.

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The Buccaneers come into this matchup with a record of 8-7 for this year. In their last game, the Buccaneers went home victorious with a score of 30-12 against the Jaguars. Baker Mayfield (2 touchdowns) walked away from the game with 283 yards on 26/35 passing while his QB rating was 116.7. He kept the ball away from the defense with no interceptions and his Y/A was 8.1 yds. Rachaad White ran the ball 20 times for 39 yards, ending the contest with 2.0 yards per attempt for Tampa Bay. Mike Evans was featured in the passing game for the Buccaneers, catching 7 throws for 86 yds (12.3 yds per reception). Tampa Bay ran the ball for 1.9 yards per attempt, totaling 70 yds on 36 attempts. The Buccaneers finished the contest with a total of 335 yards while running 73 plays (4.6 yards per play). The Buccaneers secondary allowed a completion percentage of 63.6%, surrendering 268 yds on 28 out of 44 through the air. Tampa Bay relinquished 13 rush attempts for 37 yards (2.8 yards per rush).

Regarding putting points on the board, the Buccaneers are ranking 17th in the NFL holding an average of 21.7 points per outing. During this campaign so far, the Buccaneers have thrown for a total of 3,405 yards via the pass as well as an average of 227.0 throwing yards per outing, ranking them 17th in the NFL. They have an average of 89.3 yards per game via the rush and have rushed for 1,339 yards overall. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers maintain an average of 316.3 yards per game which has them ranked 23rd out of all teams in the league. The Tampa Bay offense has compiled 698 penalty yds on 92 infractions, ranking them 13th in the league in terms of helping out the other team. They have tossed 8 interceptions while letting opponents recover 6 fumbles and they have recorded 172 first downs.

They have given up 21 touchdowns via the pass as well as 264.1 yards/contest, which has them in 32nd in the NFL. Tampa Bay has yielded a total of 1,381 yards rushing (92.1 yards per outing) as well as 11 touchdowns by ground for the year. In total, they have relinquished 302 total points. Their defense has earned 24 takeaways (11 fumbles recovered and 13 interceptions) on the year. The Buccaneers defense taken the field for 961 plays, which is 17th in the NFL. The Buccaneers are allowing 20.1 points per contest, which has them ranked 11th of all teams in the league.

Who will win tonight's Saints/Buccaneers NFL game against the spread?

Guy's Pick: Take the Saints +3

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