Saints vs Buccaneers: outlook
By: Jake Rajala
The New Orleans Saints travel to combat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It will be played on Sunday at 1 pm. It is bound to be a blood bath between the two NFC South squads. With that said, I’m going to lay out bold predictions for the game.
- Baker Mayfield throws two ints
Baker Mayfield is a gunslinger. He likes to test defenses deep down the field. He only has three touchdowns in the past three games. He had two ints against the Los Angeles Rams. I believe the Saints have the defense to get after him with four pass rushers (with Chase Young, Bryan Bresee, Cameron Jordan, and Carl Granderson), while dropping back and having plenty of defenders in coverage. Hence, the Saints will make Baker make mistakes and unleash a pair of touchdowns.
- Devin Neal scores three touchdowns
The Saints red zone offense is the opposite of red hot. They need to experiment, and I believe Devin Neal could be an x-factor in the red zone. The Saints stud RB Alvin Kamara will likely be splitting reps with Neal at best. I believe Neal will get three total touchdowns, whether that is from a screen, toss, or option route. I believe Neal could break out in this game.
- Cade Otton has 100+ yards receiving
The Bucs really have to get tight end Cade Otton involved. This is the perfect game for them to target Otton. Whether Mike Evans plays or not, they need Otton if they want to make a deep playoff run. He doesn’t have any touchdowns on the season. Yes, you read that correctly. Justin Reid will also likely miss this game, which opens up room for Otton to take advantage of a backup safety.
As a die-hard Saints fan, it’s not easy to watch them sit at 2-10. Like most Saints fans, it’s hard to decide whether it is better to beat a division rival or lose and hold onto a Top-2 draft pick in 2026. After all, the Saints could get the best rookie QB in 2026 and beat the Bucs a lot more in the long run.
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