New Orleans Saints at Tampa Bay Buccaneers NFL Lines & Betting

November 19, 2009

The 9-0 New Orleans Saints take on the 1-8 Tampa Bay Buccaneers this Sunday in a Week 11 NFC South Division showdown. Last week, the Saints were able to hang on for a 28-23 win over St. Louis while the Bucs continued their improved play but ultimately fell 25-23 to Miami. These two division rivals last met last November with the Bucs pulling out a 23-20 win on Matt Bryant’s 37-yard field goal. Tampa Bay has won three of the last four meetings, but the Saints own the 20-14 advantage in the all-time series. NFL lines makers have listed the New Orleans Saints as an 11-point favorite with the total set at 50.5.

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The Saints are 9-0 for the first time in franchise history and each week it is getting tougher and tougher to hang on to their perfect record. Early on New Orleans was running every team it faced off the field, but it has needed second-half comebacks to win two of its last three games, and it got all it wanted and more from the lowly Rams last week. Seeing the Rams stick around has to give Tampa Bay plenty of confidence. Plus, teams playing with nothing to lose can be very dangerous. Defensively, the Saints are beginning to be exposed as teams have had success running the football against them each of the last four weeks. The defense must step up or the Saints must continue to outscore their opponents, which is not easy to do week in and week out. But New Orleans d0es lead the NFL with a 36.8 points per game average. It is worth noting that the Saints are 11-3 ATS in their last 14 games as a favorite. If you like New Orleans to roll Sunday, bet the Saints at -11 at BetUS.

Since Josh Freeman has taken over as starting quarterback in Week 9, the Buccaneers have been a very competitive football team. Things were supposed to get worse with a rookie under center, right? That has certainly not been the case as Freeman led the Bucs to their first win of the season over Green Bay and then took the Dolphins down to the wire as a double digit dog last week. We’ll see what the rookie is really made of Sunday when he takes on one of the best teams in the NFL.

Saints QB Drew Brees was about perfect early on, but he has not been nearly as good over the last four weeks. In fact, Brees has thrown seven interceptions in those four games after throwing only two picks in his first five contests. Brees is not afraid to force the issue to make big plays, but that mentality has gotten him in trouble at times in recent weeks. He’ll be up against one of the best young defensive backs in the NFL Sunday, Aqib Talib. Talib is having an outstanding season with five interceptions already and he will be looking to change the game by picking off a Drew Brees pass this week. It is almost a given that the Bucs will need to come up with some turnovers to pull the upset. It is worth noting that the underdog is 10-4 ATS in the last 14 meetings in this series. If you think Tampa Bay can give the Saints another scare this week, bet the Buccaneers at +11 at BetUS.

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