The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are 1-3 on the season, a record that's not entirely surprising given the lack of consistent quarterback play and the offseason turnover. The NFC South rival New Orleans Saints are also 1-3, which is surprising; Drew Brees is still the quarterback and that generally means success for this team.
Buccaneers vs. Saints 2014 picks and predictions: New Orleans heavily favored by experts
The New Orleans Saints are getting picked to trounce the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by ... just about everybody.
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On Sunday, the teams meet for the first of two matches, this one in New Orleans. The Saints are playing well on offense as expected, with 294.5 passing yards per game on average. They've still lost to the Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns and Dallas Cowboys, however. The Saints rank 28th in pass defense and 21st in rush defense, and that's a big reason they've struggled.
Tampa Bay doesn’t seem well-equipped to take advantage of those faults, however. It has the worst passing game in the NFL at 194.3 yards per game on average through the air, and the No. 24 rushing offense with a paltry 96.5 rushing yards per game on average. It will be an uphill battle stopping Brees and finding a way to put points on the board, as it has been all season.
Experts aren’t exactly divided when it comes to this one. Over at CBS Sports, all eight experts are taking the Saints. It’s the same situation at ESPN, where all 13 experts are going with New Orleans. Both Yahoo! Sports guys are taking the Saints as well, as are all seven of USA Today’s experts.
SB Nation’s own panel of experts is in slight disagreement. Ryan Van Bibber, Joel Thorman, David Fucillo, PFT Commenter and Matt Ufford are all going with the Saints to win, and Danny Kelly and Stephen White going with the Buccaneers. All of their Week 5 picks can be found here.
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