TAMPA BAY vs NEW ORLEANS
When: 1/17/2021 6:40 PM
Where:

TV: 6:40 PM
LINE: -3
PREDICTION: NEW ORLEANS , TAMPA BAY

Oddsmakers currently have the NEW ORLEANS listed as -3 point favorites versus the TAMPA BAY, while the game’s total is sitting at 52.

The New Orleans Saints are the only team to have beaten Tom Brady twice in the same season.

They will try to beat Brady a third time this season when they host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in an NFC divisional-round game on Sunday.

Drew Brees and the Saints ruined Brady’s debut with the Buccaneers after 20 seasons in New England when they prevailed 34-23 in the season opener in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

They handed Brady the worst loss of his career when they completed the season-series sweep with a 38-3 rout in Tampa on Nov. 8.

Now the stakes are higher, as the winner will earn a trip to the NFC Championship on Jan. 24.

“When the playoffs come and you’re playing a division opponent like this,” Saints coach Sean Payton said, “it’s a whole new season. It’s entirely different.”

Much of the attention leading up to the game will be on Brees and Brady, the two most productive passers in NFL history. This will be the last time they face each other if Brees retires after this season.

Brady is 43 years old and Brees turns 42 on Friday.

Brees’ team has won five of the eight career match-ups, and this will be the first time the two have met in the playoffs.

“I envisioned this game happening (when Brady signed with the Bucs last offseason),” Brees said. “Tom and I have a friendship and mutual respect. We were texting back and forth Monday, chuckling at this whole scenario.”

The Saints’ defense was perhaps the most important factor in winning the first two games. They intercepted Brady twice in the first meeting, including one that Janoris Jenkins returned for a touchdown, and they intercepted him three times in the second meeting.

Brees had six touchdowns and no interceptions in the first two meetings.

For the season, Brady has passed for 4,633 yards, 40 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. He has just seven interceptions against teams other than New Orleans.

“I think we’ve just been going through growing pains throughout the season,” Tampa Bay wide receiver Chris Godwin said, “which is what happens when you have a new quarterback. It takes some time to build that chemistry and I think over the last couple of weeks we’ve done better at that.”

Since the second loss to the Saints, the Bucs have averaged 34 points per game.

“We’re doing different things that we were doing back then, especially in the opener,” Tampa Bay coach Bruce Arians said. “It’s just a matter of doing what you do and doing it better than they do (what they do).”

Brady threw for 381 yards and two touchdowns in a 31-23 wild-card win last week at Washington. That was the Bucs’ first playoff win since they won the Super Bowl after the 2002 season.

Running back Ronald Jones, who didn’t play last week, missed practice Wednesday because of quad and finger injuries.

Saints defensive end Trey Hendrickson, who has three of the Saints’ six sacks of Brady this season, missed a 21-9 home victory against Chicago last week because of a neck injury, but he returned to practice on a limited basis Wednesday.

“A lot of things change in a season,” Arians said. “It comes down to one-on-one battles of guys who know each other. Who’s going to make the game-changing plays in this game?”

The Saints, who are trying to reach the NFC Championship Game for the second time in three seasons, have won the last five meetings.

“When we play each other (there) is a lot of emotion, a lot of physicalities,” Bucs wide receiver Mike Evans said. “As players we love it. We love this rivalry. I know the fans love it. I would say it is our biggest rivalry.”

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NEW ORLEANS vs CAROLINA
When: 1/3/2021 1:00 PM
Where:

TV: 1:00 PM
LINE: 6
PREDICTION: CAROLINA , NEW ORLEANS

Oddsmakers currently have the CAROLINA listed as 6 point favorites versus the NEW ORLEANS, while the game’s total is sitting at 55.5.

There were moments this season when Tennessee played with such force and vigor that a playoff berth seemed all but assured, something akin to a foregone conclusion given their offensive weapons.

But with five teams vying for four AFC playoff spots all sporting the same record, there are no guarantees for the Titans (10-5) on Sunday when they face the host Houston Texans at NRG Stadium.

“I think your approach is that you just have to do things that help you win,” Titans coach Mike Vrabel said of the pending sense of urgency. “You have to play complementary. You’ve got to take care of the football. You’ve got to try to get some turnovers, be sound in the kicking game. Not trying to do too much but go out and make plays and make plays to win the football game.”

The Titans rank third in the NFL in points (450) and fifth in yards (5,851) behind the imposing collective of quarterback Ryan Tannehill, running back Derrick Henry and receivers A.J. Brown and Corey Davis.

Tannehill ranks fourth in passer rating (106.7) and seventh in touchdowns (32) while Henry is threatening to claim a second consecutive triple crown for running backs by pacing the league in attempts (344) and yards (1,777) while sitting one touchdown shy of co-leaders Dalvin Cook and Alvin Kamara (with 16 apiece).

Brown and Davis both have 60 receptions for 900-plus yards while Davis is tied for sixth in the league with 10 receiving touchdowns.

Yet Tennessee has been undone by its defense, which ranks 29th in yards allowed, and is now in need of relying on past playoff experience to navigate the potential landmines in Houston. In theory, the run to the AFC Championship Game last season should serve the Titans well on Sunday, but in a season where guarantees have been few and far between, nothing is certain.

“I don’t know that,” Vrabel said. “We’ve got to focus on the Texans and the challenges that they present and our ability to prepare. I think you try to take from the games that you’ve played and past experiences and try not to think that it’s going to guarantee success because it doesn’t. Each week and each play doesn’t mean anything about the next one. It’s just about finding a way to get there.”

The Texans (4-11) are aiming to get Pro Bowl quarterback Deshaun Watson through the season finale. Watson has taken his lumps in recent weeks yet has remained a dynamic force. But the blow he took to his throwing arm in the fourth quarter last Sunday against the Bengals was worrisome enough to lead some to suggest that Watson should sit and call it a season Sunday.

Watson has made it clear, however, that if he is healthy he will play. And by all accounts, he will.

“As far as I know, he’s doing pretty good,” Texans interim coach Romeo Crennel said. “I haven’t heard that he’s not doing well, and so since I feel like he’s doing good, I hope he does good on Sunday, too.”

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MINNESOTA vs NEW ORLEANS
When: 12/25/2020 4:30 PM
Where:

TV: 4:30 PM
LINE: -7
PREDICTION: NEW ORLEANS , MINNESOTA

Oddsmakers currently have the NEW ORLEANS listed as -7 point favorites versus the MINNESOTA, while the game’s total is sitting at 51.

The New Orleans Saints are in the playoffs.

But they’ve lost two games in a row after winning nine straight. They have failed two weeks in a row to clinch the NFC South title. They have dropped from the No. 1 seed to the No. 2 seed in the NFC.

And now they get a reminder of the disappointing end to last season as they host the Minnesota Vikings in the penultimate game of this season on Christmas afternoon.

It was 51 weeks ago that the Vikings went into the Superdome and upset the Saints 26-20 in a wild-card game.

“Last year, we were flat and we played poorly,” Saints coach Sean Payton said.

New Orleans (10-4) is hardly panicking though. It’s still the No. 2 seed in the conference and can pass Green Bay with some help. It needs just one win or one Tampa Bay loss to clinch its fourth consecutive division title.

Nonetheless, Payton said, “this has got to be a bounce-back week.”

The Saints lost to Philadelphia two weeks ago to drop to 3-1 in the games that Drew Brees missed because of rib and lung injuries.

Brees returned last week and showed plenty of rust in the first half before finding some rhythm. Despite the slow start, the Saints stayed with the Super Bowl champion Chiefs before narrowly losing, 32-29.

“You want to be playing your best football going into the playoffs,” Brees said. “We understand that we’ve sealed a playoff spot. But, the most important factor right now is for us to win and win the division, and then, continue to kind of build on and ascend, going into the playoffs.”

New Orleans has lost back-to-back games for the first time since the first two games of the 2017 season, which also included a 29-19 loss to the Vikings.

“It’s been a long time since we lost back to back,” said safety CJ Gardner-Johnson, who was a sophomore at Florida when it last happened. “We’re not going to let that happen again.”

One thing the Saints likely don’t have to worry about happening again is a playoff game against Minnesota.

The Vikings (6-8) need to win their last two games and see Arizona lose its last two and Chicago lose at least once to qualify.

Minnesota’s injury-plagued defense had nine players on the injury report Tuesday, including star linebacker Eric Kendricks, who has missed the last three games because of a calf injury.

“I have seen some strides from the guys we’re playing with (on defense),” coach Mike Zimmer said.

The Vikings allowed the Bears’ David Montgomery to rush for a career-high 146 yards and two touchdowns last week in Chicago’s win.

With Brees less than 100 percent and All-Pro receiver Michael Thomas on injured reserve, New Orleans might be inclined to emphasize the run with Alvin Kamara and former Viking Latavius Murray.

Kamara has gained nearly 800 yards both rushing and receiving yards and has scored 15 touchdowns.

“We didn’t play very well against the run (against the Bears). We didn’t tackle very well,” Zimmer said. “Kamara’s obviously a great back. He’s got really, really good feet. He’s hard to tackle. They use him in more variety of ways. We’re just going to have to do a better job in some of the cutback and power runs than we did last week.”

Vikings running back Dalvin Cook, who had 132 yards and a touchdown against Chicago, and rookie wide receiver Justin Jefferson, who had eight catches for 104 yards, were both Pro Bowl selections this week.

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TAMPA BAY vs NEW ORLEANS
When: 9/13/2020 4:25 PM
Where:

TV: 4:25 PM
LINE: -4
PREDICTION: NEW ORLEANS , TAMPA BAY

Oddsmakers currently have the NEW ORLEANS listed as -4 point favorites versus the TAMPA BAY, while the game’s total is sitting at 49.5.

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NEW ORLEANS vs ATLANTA
When: 8:20 PM ET, Thursday, November 28, 2019
Where: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia

TV: 8:20 PM
LINE: 6.5
PREDICTION: ATLANTA , NEW ORLEANS

Oddsmakers currently have the ATLANTA listed as 6.5 point favorites versus the NEW ORLEANS, while the game’s total is sitting at 50.

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For those who have short memories – very short – the previous time the Rams and Saints met was in the NFC championship game in the Big Easy. New Orleans was victimized by a blatant officiating non-call that led to a rules change allowing pass interference to be part of the video review system.

The echoes of ”We was robbed!” still reverberate in the Superdome.

So the Saints won’t need any extra motivation when they visit Los Angeles in a stellar early-season matchup. Even if they are trying to downplay the unforgettably painful memories.

”Still haven’t, never will. When you say forgotten about, you have to find a way to compartmentalize it to where you can move on in a positive way, so I found a way to do that,” Drew Brees said. ”But as far as just the events, you live and learn and sometimes things don’t go your way, and you’ve got to find a way to come out better on the other side.”

Saints coach Sean Payton stressed these teams are not the same.

”It feels like it was a long time ago,” he said of the NFC title match. ”It’s part of our game. These are two different teams now, a lot of roster moves from last year to this year. We’re playing each other early in the season, so it doesn’t feel like that many games ago relative to the distance between when we played. You’re looking at two different teams.”

Both teams opened with tight victories, New Orleans rallying to beat Houston in the final seconds on Wil Lutz’s 58-yard field goal, the Rams winning at Carolina.

While it’s far too early to call this a game for NFC supremacy, the Saints and Rams should be among the conference elite.

”I think our players, our coaches know the level of urgency that’s going to be needed for us to be at our best in order to give ourselves a chance to compete and hopefully come out of this thing 2-0,” Rams coach Sean McVay said.

The second week began Thursday night with Tampa Bay’s victory over North Carolina in a game that ended early Friday after being delayed 25 minutes in the first quarter because of lightning.

Jameis Winston threw for 208 yards and a touchdown and Tampa Bay held Cam Newton in check and came up with a late goal-line stand to give coach Bruce Arians his first victory with the team.

Tampa Bay improved to 1-1, and Carolina dropped to 0-2.

Seattle (1-0) at Pittsburgh (0-1)

A pair of retooling clubs that, for one week at least, looked as if they were headed in opposite directions.

The Seahawks struggled to beat Cincinnati, but showed the elements of being a contender, particularly their fortitude in coming back. Seattle is 2-7 in Pittsburgh, outscored 45-0 in the past two trips – in 2007 and 2011.

It’s difficult to believe the Steelers won’t rebound from their abysmal performance in Foxborough. Maybe they need a bit of that fortitude Seattle displayed.

”I like to think everything just flew off and everything was wrong so we can say `That’s not going to happen again,”’ defensive tackle Cam Heyward said. ”But we did some things right. Not every play was minus, but I’m going to treat it like every play was.”

Indianapolis (0-1) at Tennessee (1-0)

Both teams were far more impressive in their openers than predicted. The Colts took the Chargers to overtime, while the Titans manhandled the Browns in Cleveland.

Andrew Luck held mastery over Tennessee, and Indy has won 13 of the last 15 meetings. Of course, Luck is retired, and the only two Titans wins in that span came with current quarterback Jacoby Brissett behind center. Watch for Marlon Mack, who had a career-high 174 yards rushing at LA and leads the league.

The Titans are retiring Nos. 27 and 9 for Eddie George and the late Steve McNair at halftime, the first 9 and 27 retired by any NFL team.

San Francisco (1-0) at Cincinnati (0-1)

Two more clubs that had solid debuts beyond expectations. San Francisco used two pick-6s to beat Tampa Bay, and the Bengals gave Seattle all it could handle before a one-point road loss.

The 49ers have the highest winning percentage vs. Cincinnati of any NFL team, and last opened a season with two road wins in 1989. They worked out at Youngstown State to avoid a second straight cross-country flight.

Bengals QB Andy Dalton had career highs with 35 completions and 418 yards passing, his first 400-yard game. Eight receivers caught passes, led by John Ross, who had careers highs with seven catches, 158 yards, and two TDs. But running back Joe Mixon hurt his left ankle.

Kansas City (1-0) at Oakland (1-0)

One of the great rivalries in sports, dating back to the AFL days. KC leads the series 65-53-2 and has won eight of the past nine.

But the Chiefs will be without injured star wideout Tyreek Hill, though Sammy Watkins was spectacular against Jacksonville with nine catches for 198 yards and three touchdowns.

The Raiders had an offensive standout in their win over Denver, too. First-round draft pick Josh Jacobs ran 23 times for 85 yards and two touchdowns, also caught a 28-yard pass that set up a touchdown.

”This man wasn’t really the feature back at Alabama. He’s not drawing from a lot of experience,” coach Jon Gruden said. ”I’m anxious to see how he feels … after 24 touches because we’d like to get him 24 more next week.”

Dallas (1-0) at Washington (0-1)

Another terrific and historic rivalry that has taken on a one-side air: Dallas has won seven of nine.

Washington got off to a nice start in Philly, then plopped in the second half. It also lost its top running back, Darrius Guice, to a right knee injury, meaning Adrian Peterson – a healthy scratch last weekend – figures to get some action.

No such worries for the Cowboys now that Zeke Elliott is in the fold. He should be in better form on Sunday, too. And the Dallas passing game ranks first in the league after toying with the Giants.

Cleveland (0-1) at New York Jets (0-1), Monday night

Long, long ago, in a galaxy far, far away …

Well, it actually was 1970 and the Jets had Joe Namath and a recent Super Bowl crown, while the Browns were one of the league’s elite franchises with an enviable history.

Now? Gang Green hasn’t been back to the big game since and blew a 16-0 lead at home to Buffalo last week. Those Browns of yesteryear now reside in Baltimore as the Ravens, and this group has made the postseason once in its reincarnation in Cleveland.

Still, the NFL wanted a redux of the first ”Monday Night Football” telecast, so here we are, with a pair of clubs that basically faltered in their openers.

New England (1-0) at Miami (0-1)

Shield your eyes.

The Patriots have had issues in South Florida, losing five of their past six visits. Considering how rarely Tom Brady loses anywhere, that’s striking.

There’s a catch this year: Miami has its sights on the first overall draft pick, not on-field achievements; did somebody mention tanking? The Dolphins were humiliated by Baltimore 59-10 in the opener.

Meanwhile, Brady and Co. picked apart Pittsburgh last Sunday night, an ominous sign for the rest of the AFC, because the Steelers supposedly are a contender in the conference.

Arizona (0-0-1) at Baltimore (1-0)

Lamar Jackson, Heisman Trophy owner (2016), meet Kyler Murray, who took that award last season.

Both exciting and versatile QBs had impressive debuts. Jackson had a career day in only his eighth pro start, completing 17 of 20 passes for five touchdowns. Yes, it was against Miami, but those numbers stand out against anybody.

Murray rallied the Cardinals from a 24-6 deficit in the fourth quarter vs. Detroit, overcoming some early mistakes to produce tons of clutch plays.

”Once you kind of get in that rhythm, we’re going quick, everything kind of just opened up,” Murray said. ”We just got into a rhythm and we started playing better.”

Los Angeles Chargers (1-0) at Detroit (0-0-1)

The Chargers and Lions both worked overtime last week. At least LA got the win over Indianapolis.

Austin Ekeler had the winning, 7-yard TD run and finished with a career-high 154 yards from scrimmage. Ekeler became first non-drafted player to have more than 150 scrimmage yards, two receiving and a rushing TD in the same game in 43 years.

Detroit has lost seven of the past eight in the series. Its best hope Sunday might be T.J. Hockenson who had 131 yards receiving, breaking the record for a tight end in his NFL debut set 59 years ago by Monty Stickles.

Philadelphia (1-0) at Atlanta (0-1)

DeSean Jackson’s return to Philly couldn’t have gone much better. He made eight receptions for 154 yards and a pair of 50-plus-yard TD catches in sparking the Eagles’ rally from a 17-0 hole vs. the Redskins.

”DeSean will tell you he’s got practice speed and he’s got game speed,” coach Doug Pederson said. ”Practice speed is around 16 miles per hour and game speed is up to 22. He’s a gamer. He’s dynamic, he’s electric, and he loves when the lights come on. That speed is real, and we saw it Sunday.”

What’s real with the Falcons is hard to tell after an ugly loss at Minnesota, losing the first-round pickguard Chris Lindstrom (broken foot).

Minnesota (1-0) at Green Bay (1-0)

Twenty-two of the past 33 regular-season meetings have been decided by seven points or fewer, including both games last season.

Aaron Rodgers has seven career games with a passer rating of 130-plus against Minnesota, the most by a quarterback against one team in NFL history. But this one very much could be decided by the defenses.

Green Bay’s was staunch in its win at Chicago, with five sacks and lots of physicalities. The Vikings has two picks, four sacks, and kept Matt Ryan and the Falcons off-balance in an easy win.

Chicago (0-1) at Denver (0-1)

Vic Fangio designed the stingy and aggressive defense the Bears used last season to win the NFC North. He’s now, at age 61, at last a head coach, and his Broncos D, aside from linebacker Josey Jewell’s career-best 14 tackles, was anything but dominant at Oakland.

Chicago’s defense once more was very strong, this time with Chuck Pagano as the coordinator. Edge rusher Khalil Mack had 10 sacks, three forced fumbles, 14 tackles for loss in eight career games against Denver while with Oakland. Mack had a career-best five sacks at Denver in with Oakland.

Jacksonville (0-1) at Houston (0-1)

If there’s one team that should be encouraged by an opening loss, it’s the Texans. Yes, their prevent defense prevented victory at New Orleans, but it was Drew Brees, after all, performing magic on the other side.

Most encouraging for Houston was the spectacular combination of Deshaun Watson throwing to DeAndre Hopkins, and expect to see plenty more of that Sunday. Star edge rusher J.J. Watt didn’t play much of a role against the Saints, so expect to see him do so this time.

Pity the Jags, who felt they cured their longstanding QB troubles by signing Nick Foles, only to lose him early in falling to Kansas City. Just as bad, the ballyhooed D was hooey.

Buffalo (1-0) at New York Giants (0-1)

Despite the names, the Jets and Giants are New Jersey teams. The Bills are the only real representative of New York state, and they woke up in the fourth quarter at the Meadowlands last Sunday to down the Jets. They return in a rare bit of schedule to play the Giants while thinking of a Big Apple sweep.

The Giants need to upgrade the pass defense that was torn apart by Dallas and ranks dead last. Yes, worse than Miami.

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The Saints allowed more yards rushing in Week 1 against Houston – 180 – than in any game last season and now have to face the Rams’ Todd Gurley – the NFL’s offensive MVP just two seasons ago.

”I know we feel like we can play the run better and we are going to see some real good rushing teams here, starting with Los Angeles,” Saints coach Sean Payton said.

The Saints’ primary rotation along the interior defensive line in Week 1 was missing three prominent players from last season, when New Orleans ranked second in the NFL against the run.

Tyeler Davison left for Atlanta in free agency, 2016 first-round draft choice Sheldon Rankins was not yet ready to return from his Achilles tendon tear last January and Onyemata was serving a one-game suspension in connection with a misdemeanor marijuana citation.

Rankins has been practicing on a limited basis, but it’s not yet clear when he’ll be ready to play.

Onyemata, however, is healthy and fresh as he finally begins his fourth NFL season.

”That’s huge,” Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan said. ”David brings a veteran presence in our defensive tackle situation.”

Onyemata has enjoyed a steep learning curve in the NFL. The native Nigerian never played American-style football until he went to college at Manitoba and learned the game with Canadian rules. Still, the Saints liked the size and raw ability of the 6-foot-4, 300-pound Onyemata enough that they selected him in the fourth round of the 2016 draft.

He played in 16 games as a rookie, either on defense or special teams, and was a regular on the defensive line by 2017, when the Saints won the first of consecutive NFC South titles. Last season, he also was a more effective pass-rusher and had a career-best 4+ sacks.

”His strength and his hands are really what separates him and makes him a dominant force in the run game,” Saints middle linebacker Demario Davis said. ”He’s put a lot of time into becoming a better pass-rusher as well. He’s just been an exceptional force for us and it’s fun to play behind him.”

Onyemata was not permitted to practice last week and could not go to the game, which he watched at home on television. When the Saints pulled out a dramatic victory on Wil Lutz’ 58-yard field goal as time expired, Onyemata said he was relieved his absence wouldn’t become a story line emerging from a loss.

”It wouldn’t have been the best feeling. I’ll say that,” Onyemata conceded. ”You couldn’t do much. Just watch and get your mind right to come back and play ball.”

The Saints never gave up more than 112 yards in a regular season or playoff game last season. While the Saints gave up 68 yards more than that in Week 1, Payton said one factor was Houston QB Deshaun Watson’s scrambling ability. He rushed for 40 yards. Still, Jordan said he ”hated” seeing Houston’s rushing stats.

”That’s not our defense. That’s not what we want our defense to stand for,” Jordan said. ”That’s not something that you can be proud of.”

No coach is pleased to lose a productive lineup regular because of an off-the-field error in judgment. But Payton sounded pleased by the way Onyemata dealt with it.

”He had a really good camp. I think he’s handled it well,” Payton said. ”He’s tough-minded. He’s a tremendous teammate and a real good football player.”

Onyemata sees his NFL career as somewhat surreal, given that he went to Manitoba to study environmental science and had his sights set on a career in Nigeria’s oil industry. Having played youth soccer in Nigeria, Onyemata took up American football on the advice of college classmates when he was looking for an activity to satisfy his appetite for playing sports.

Davis said Onyemata’s aptitude for applying what he learns has been evident on the field.

”He’s where he’s supposed to be and doing what he’s supposed to do,” Davis said. ”He’s no dummy. He seems like a guy who would have been successful regardless” of whether he ever played pro football.

Onyemata figures he should be at least as productive this season as any previous campaign, if not more so.

”You never stop learning,” Onyemata said, adding that his raised expectations stem from ”understanding things better, being in the game longer.”

Notes: WR Tedd Ginn Jr. returned to practice after missing Wednesday with an illness. … DT Mario Edwards (hamstring), T Ryan Ramczyk (thigh), DT Sheldon Rankins (Achilles), LB Craig Robertson (hamstring), and S Marcus Williams (groin) were all limited in practice.

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NEW ORLEANS vs LA RAMS
When: 4:25 PM ET, Sunday, September 15, 2019
Where: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California

TV: 4:25 p.m. ET, FOX. LINE: Rams -2.5. O/U: 52
PREDICTION: Rams 30, Saints 28

Oddsmakers currently have the LA RAMS listed as -2.5 point favorites versus the NEW ORLEANS, while the game’s total is sitting at 52.

Nearly nine months after they were done in by one of the more controversial no-calls in NFL history to help the Rams advance to the Super Bowl, the New Orleans Saints seek a measure of revenge when they visit Los Angeles on Sunday. The Rams defeated the Saints 26-23 in overtime in last year’s NFC Championship Game, but it was blatant pass interference on cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman late in regulation that was missed by referees and is still being discussed.

“I didn’t expect it to get that much pub, but it is what it is,” Robey-Coleman told reporters of the play which forced New Orleans to settle for a field goal and later caused the league to change the rule such that pass interference could be reviewed. “They made it into what it is and the league made it a rule. Just got to live with it now and it’s a rule that the whole league is going to have to adjust to.” The top two teams in the NFC last year are on that path again after both picked up narrow victories last week to open the 2019 season. Drew Brees threw for a pair of touchdowns and picked up 36 of his 370 passing yards on a brilliant last-gasp drive that led to the Saints’ game-winning field goal in a 30-28 triumph over Houston at home Monday night. Los Angeles raced to a 13-0 lead in Carolina before hanging on for a 30-27 victory.

ABOUT THE SAINTS (1-0): Brees stressed the company line about treating this as just another game, but he admitted the sting of the NFC title game loss will never go away. “Still haven’t, never will,” Brees told reporters when asked how long it took to forget the blown call and OT loss. “But, when you say forgotten about you have to find a way to compartmentalize it to the point where you can move on in a positive way. I found a way to do that, but as far as just the events, you live and learn and sometimes things don’t go your way and you’ve got to find a way to come out better on the other side.” Star running back Alvin Kamara ran for 97 yards and had 72 receiving yards in Week 1, while Michael Thomas was Brees’ top target with 10 catches for 123 yards.

ABOUT THE RAMS (1-0): Todd Gurley was hampered by a knee issue at the end of last season and managed only four carries in the NFC title game, but he looked pretty good in Week 1 while mostly sharing the touches out of the backfield with Malcolm Brown. Gurley finished with 97 yards on 14 carries while Brown added 53 yards and scored twice, and both will be taking aim at a New Orleans defense that allowed Houston to pile up 180 rushing yards on only 23 carries. Quarterback Jared Goff followed up his difficult Super Bowl performance with an uneven opener, completing 23-of-39 passes for 186 yards with a TD and an interception against Carolina.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Rams S Eric Weddle (concussion, laceration) is expected to play Sunday.

2. Saints WR Ted Ginn Jr., who is questionable due to an illness, caught all seven balls thrown his way in Week 1 for 101 yards.

3. The Rams have won the last three meetings at home, two of which took place when the franchise was in St. Louis.

PREDICTION: Rams 30, Saints 28

The post NEW ORLEANS vs. LA RAMS 9/15/2019 NFL Odds, Pick & Preview appeared first on IdealCapper.

HOUSTON vs NEW ORLEANS
When: 7:10 PM ET, Monday, September 9, 2019
Where: Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana

TV: 7:10 PM
LINE: -7
PREDICTION: NEW ORLEANS , HOUSTON

Oddsmakers currently have the NEW ORLEANS listed as -7 point favorites versus the HOUSTON, while the game’s total is sitting at 53.

The post HOUSTON vs. NEW ORLEANS 9/9/2019 NFL Odds, Pick & Preview appeared first on IdealCapper.

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS vs TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS
When: 1:00 PM ET, Sunday, December 9, 2018
Where: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida

TV: 1:00 PM
LINE: 9
PREDICTION: TAMPA BAY , NEW ORLEANS

Oddsmakers currently have the TAMPA BAY listed as 9 point favorites versus the NEW ORLEANS, while the game’s total is sitting at 56.

The New Orleans Saints will have nine full days off to diagnose what went wrong in a rare loss last Thursday before continuing their march toward a first-round bye in the NFC playoffs. The Saints will try to avenge a Week 1 loss when they visit the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.

New Orleans, which dropped a 48-40 decision to Tampa Bay in the opener before ripping off 10 consecutive wins, put up its worst offensive performance last week in a 13-10 loss at the Dallas Cowboys on Nov. 22. “We would love to be perfect. But that wasn’t the plan. And that’s OK,” Saints offensive lineman Jermon Bushrod told reporters. “Our goals are still in front of us. We’ve got four more weeks to do what we need to do. It’s not gonna be easy. Nobody’s gonna sit back and wait for us to punch ’em in the mouth. They’re gonna punch us, and we gotta punch back. That’s just what it is.” The Buccaneers are in third place in the NFC South but are starting to play well with wins in the last two contests and are getting solid performances from the defense, which held the last two opponents to a total of 26 points. Veteran defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul recorded at least one sack in each of the last three contests and leads the team with 11.5.

TV: 1 p.m. ET, FOX. LINE: Saints -8. O/U: 55.5.

ABOUT THE SAINTS (10-2): New Orleans can clinch the NFC South with a win on Sunday and did some self-scouting after the loss to the Cowboys, which quarterback Drew Brees believes will get the team going in the right direction again. “Sometimes you have to lose a battle to win the war,” Brees told reporters. “You learn a lot from something like that. I do not think we were getting ahead of ourselves or anything like that. I just think we honestly just had a bad day and you turn on the film and it’s glaringly obvious where we failed and (we need to) make sure that that doesn’t happen again.” Brees is up to 30 TD passes and three interceptions on the season but posted a season-low 71.6 rating last week.

ABOUT THE BUCCANEERS (5-7): Ryan Fitzpatrick threw for 417 yards and four touchdowns in the Week 1 win over the Saints, but Tampa Bay is back to Jameis Winston under center. Winston guided the team to wins in each of the last two games by playing turnover-free football with a total of four TDs and zero INTs. “Jameis’ production — when we don’t turn the ball over, when he doesn’t turn the ball over — his production is always going to be there,” Buccaneers coach Dirk Koetter told reporters. “(He’s) a fantastic player, and sometimes that gets negated by turnovers. But you could see the last two weeks, when we don’t turn the ball over, we’re a lot harder to beat.”

EXTRA POINTS

1. Saints veteran WR Brandon Marshall could make his team debut on Sunday.

2. Buccaneers S Andrew Adams recorded three INTs last week.

3. New Orleans LT Terron Armstead (pectoral) returned to practice this week after missing the last three games and is questionable.

PREDICTION: Saints 35, Buccaneers 27

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