For the final game of Week 13, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers host the division rival New Orleans Saints on “Monday Night Football.”
Both Tampa and New Orleans lost last week, with the Bucs dropping a rather embarrassing overtime game to the Browns and the Saints getting shut out by the 49ers. They’ll each look to get back on track here. Tampa Bay won the first game between these two teams back in Week 2, a low-scoring affair in which then-Saints quarterback Jameis Winston was intercepted three times, with one of them being returned for a touchdown.
Which of these two NFC South squads will get back in the win column on Monday night? We’ll find out soon enough. Before we break down the matchup, here’s a look at how you can watch the game.
How to watch
Date: Monday, Dec. 5 | Time: 8:15 p.m. ET
Location: Raymond James Stadium (Tampa, Florida)
TV: ESPN | Stream: fuboTV (try for free)
Follow: CBS Sports App
Odds: Buccaneers -3.5, O/U 41 (courtesy of Caesars Sportsbook)
When the Saints have the ball
This side of the matchup is going to come down to injuries. Tampa Bay has listed Sean Murphy-Bunting, Antoine Winfield Jr., and Mike Edwards as doubtful, and Vita Vea and Akiem Hicks as questionable. No matter what, the Bucs are likely to be shorthanded in the defensive backfield, but if they’re also without their star contributors up front, things will obviously look much different.
Andy Dalton has been very up-and-down under center for the Saints, but has been more willing this year than over the last few to actually push the ball down the field. He averaged just 6.8 air yards per attempt when starting for Dallas in 2020, 6.9 per attempt during his time in Chicago last season, but is up to 7.9 per attempt in New Orleans.
Rookie wideout Chris Olave has been his top target on the outside, while Alvin Kamara has been the guy underneath. Olave has averaged 7.9 targets and 69.3 receiving yards per game in Dalton’s starts, while Kamara has been targeted 6.8 times for 50.4 receiving yards per contest. Without tight end Juwan Johnson to stretch the field up the seams, the New Orleans passing attack might become even more concentrated on those two guys. Olave is likely to see a lot of Carlton Davis, given the state of both Tampa’s secondary and New Orleans’ wide receiver room, while Lavonte David should do his usual work in coverage against Kamara.
If Vea and/or…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at CBSSports.com Headlines…