Despite struggling for much of the season, the New Orleans Saints will try to make the NFC South race a four-team sprint to the finish when they take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday Night Football. Entering Week 13, just 1 ½ games separated the first-place Buccaneers (5-6) from the last-place Saints (4-8). Tampa Bay won the earlier meeting at New Orleans, 20-10, but a victory by the Saints would further tighten the division. The Saints have won seven of the past eight meetings in the series.
Kickoff from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, is set for 8:15 p.m. ET. Tampa Bay is a three-point favorite in the latest Saints vs. Buccaneers odds from Caesars Sportsbook, while the over-under for total points scored is 41. Before making any Buccaneers vs. Saints picks or predictions, make sure you check out what SportsLine's resident Saints expert, Larry Hartstein, has to say.
A former lead writer for Covers and The Linemakers, Hartstein combines a vast network of Vegas sources with an analytical approach he honed while working for Pro Football Focus. Entering the 2022 NFL season, he is 427-344 all-time on NFL sides (plus $3,764 for $100 players), including 394-330 against the spread. Hartstein went 68-50 ATS (58 percent) and 8-3 on money-line plays last season for a profit of $1,552.
In addition, Hartstein has gone 43-26 on his last 69 NFL picks involving the Saints, returning $1,409. Anyone who has followed him is way up.
Now, Hartstein has set his sights on Saints vs. Buccaneers and just locked in his picks and NFL predictions. You can head to SportsLine now to see his picks. Now, here are several NFL odds and betting lines for Bucs vs. Saints:
Saints vs. Buccaneers spread: Buccaneers -3 Saints vs. Buccaneers over-under: 41 points Saints vs. Buccaneers money line: New Orleans +143, Tampa Bay -170 NO: Saints are 1-5 against the spread on the road TB: Buccaneers are 4-1 ATS in their last five games in December Saints vs. Buccaneers picks: See picks at SportsLineFeatured Game | Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. New Orleans Saints
Quarterback Tom Brady passed for 246 yards and two touchdowns without an interception for a 97.6 rating in Week 12 and leads the NFC with 3,051 passing yards. Brady has 20 career seasons with 3,000 or more passing yards, the most in NFL history. This season, he has nine touchdowns with one interception for a 96.4 rating in six home starts and has 270-plus passing yards in five of his six home games. Overall, he has thrown for 14 touchdowns against two interceptions.
Wide receiver Chris Godwin led the team with 12 receptions for 110 yards and a receiving TD last week in the overtime loss at Cleveland. He also had his fifth career game with 10 or more catches and 100 or more receiving yards. Godwin will be looking for his third game in a row with a touchdown catch and ninth game in a row with six or more catches. For the season, he has 60 catches for 585 yards (9.8 average) and two scores. See which team to pick here.
Why the Saints can coverQuarterback Andy Dalton passed for 204 yards last week in the loss at San Francisco. Dalton passed for 280 yards and two touchdowns without an interception for a 107.5 rating in his last start against the Buccaneers (Oct. 28, 2018), as a member of the Cincinnati Bengals. He had two touchdowns in his only career start at Tampa Bay (Nov. 30, 2014), also as a member of the Bengals. For the season, Dalton has passed for 2,023 yards and 14 touchdowns with seven interceptions.
Running back Alvin Kamara has 946 scrimmage yards and needs just 54 more for his sixth straight 1,000-yard season. He needs one reception for his fifth career season with 50-plus catches and has 422 catches since entering the NFL in 2017. Kamara has the second-most receptions by a running back in his first six seasons in NFL history. Roger Craig has the most with 434. Kamara has four touchdowns (three rushing and one receiving) in his past four games against Tampa Bay. See which team to pick here.
How to make Saints vs. Buccaneers picksHartstein has analyzed this matchup and while we can tell you he's leaning Under on the point total, he has discovered a critical X-factor that has him jumping all over one side of the spread. He's only sharing what it is, and which side to back, at
