BUCS 2017 STATISTICS

Passing

Bucs Opp. Rushing Bucs Opp. Scoring Bucs Opp. Att

605 549 Att. 389 1450 3.7 36 440 1880 4.3 69 TD Rsh Rec Ret 38 44 Cmp

378 371 Yds 8 17 Possession Avg. Total Net Yards Net Yards Rushing Avg. Per Game Net Yards Passing Avg. Per Game Yds

4366 62.5 4169 67.6 Avg Lng TD 26 22 Bucs 0 2 Cmp% 8 17 Pts 335 382 Opp. Yds/ Att

7.2 26 7.6 22 Receiving Bucs Opp. Int.

Bucs Opp.

Kicking

Bucs Opp. TD Int

14 13 Rec. Lng

70 61 Yds

40/241 90.6 22/137 94.6 Avg Lng TD 378 4607 12.2 70 371 4306 11.6 61 No. Yds Avg

13 14

PAT

28/31 25/34 40/42 26/30 Bucs

Total First Downs Rushing

3rd Down Pct. 4th Down/Att. 4th Down Pct. Penalties/Yards Sack/ Lost

218 118

16.8 8.4

FG Rtg 26 22 TD

1 0

Pts

103 118 Opp. Sept. 9 ..... Tampa Bay ..... 1 Sept. 16 ..... Cleveland ..... 1 Sept. 23 ..... at Atlanta ..... 1 Sept. 30 at N.Y. Giants 4:25 Oct. 8 .. Washington .. 8:15 Oct.14 ............. Bye ............. Oct. 21 . at Baltimore . 4:05 Oct. 28 at Minnesota 8:20 Nov. 4 .... L.A. Rams .... 4:25 Nov.11...atCincinnati...1 Nov.18 ...Philadelphia ...1 Nov. 22 ..... Atlanta ..... 8:20 Nov. 29 .... at Dallas .... 8:20 Dec. 9 ... at Tampa Bay ... 1 Dec. 17 .. at Carolina .. 8:15 Dec. 23 .. Pittsburgh .. 4:25 Dec. 30 ....... Carolina ....... 1

Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, MercedesBenz Superdome, New Orleans TV: Fox

Danny Sheridan’s line: by 91⁄2

Buccaneers’ keys to victory

Saints CB Marshon Lattimore thoroughly handled Tampa Bay’s top-shelf WR Mike Evans in two matchups last year, limiting Evans to 68 yards on 19 targets. Look for the Buccaneers to account for that by playing chess with second, third and fourth options. Cameron Brate and O.J. Howard might be the NFL’s best one-two punch at tight end, and WR Chris Godwin is an ascending talent. Getting any of those three options matched against slower Saints linebackers is their biggest priority.

Saints’ keys to victory

Saints

Flexing their muscles. Tampa Bay invested big in its defensive line in the offseason, adding DT Vita Vea, DT Beau Allen and DE Jason Pierre-Paul. New Orleans can counter that with a strong offensive line returning all five starters. The Saints’ top three receivers (Michael Thomas, Tre’Quan Smith and Cameron Meredith) are all taller than the biggest Buccaneers cornerback (rookie Carlton Davis, 6-1) and should bully their smaller opponents on contested catches.

Who wins?

The Saints just have too many positives going their way. QB Drew Brees has an upgraded set of skilled position players and a great offensive line. The defense is returning multiple starters who got valuable experience as rookies in 2017.

Saints, 33-20

John Sigler