NFL picks and predictions, Saints vs. Buccaneers 2015: Tampa Bay is near-unanimous pick in NFC South battle

Left for dead a few weeks ago, the Bucs have won three of their last four games to catapult themselves into the thick of the postseason hunt. They currently hold the conference’s seventh seed, putting them only one game back of the second wild card spot. With three straight games upcoming against sub-.500 opponents, Tampa Bay just might be the team to watch in the NFC playoff race down the stretch.

Regardless of whether the Buccaneers make the final cut, this season already has to be considered a success. They’ve already matched their win total from the previous two seasons combined (six), and could easily post their first winning campaign since 2010. With Jameis Winston emerging as a top-flight signal caller and the team’s emotional leader, the Bucs also seem to have solved their quarterback problems for the next decade.

Tampa Bay snapped a seven-game losing streak in this rivalry with a win over New Orleans in Week 2, and is trying to sweep the season series for the first time since 2007. The experts think they can do it, too, with the majority of them picking the Bucs to prevail at home against the Saints. Six of the eight guys at CBS Sports have Tampa Bay, and seven of the eight on our SB Nation panel also are going with the Buccaneers.