New Orleans Saints: Victorious In Seattle, Preparing For Bucs, Season Predictions

Saints Outlast Seahawks In Defensive Slugfest

The New Orleans Saints survived heavy rain and several offensive miscues at Lumen Field on Monday night, barely squeaking past the Seattle Seahawks 13-10 to improve to 4-2 on the 2021 season.

Jameis Winston led a 13-play, 42-yard drive that ended with a Brian Johnson 33-yard field goal.

The defense took care of the rest. Seattle quarterback Geno Smith — making his second straight start in place of the injured Russell Wilson — was sacked twice on the final drive. New Orleans forced a turnover on downs to win their second straight meeting in Seattle.

Facing one of the league’s worst defenses, New Orleans mustered just 304 yards of offense. Winston was sacked twice, and the Saints were penalized seven times for 90 yards.

But the offense, led by Alvin Kamara’s 179 yards and touchdown, did just enough to hand Seattle its third straight loss.

Predicting Halloween Showdown vs. The Defending Champs

The Saints will try to make it three wins in a row when they host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — winners of four straight — at the Caesars Superdome this Sunday (4:25 p.m. EST).

For those interested in Louisiana sports betting, New Orleans opens as a five-point underdog for the Week 8 showdown.

This will mark the first meeting between the NFC South rivals since the 2020 NFC Divisional Round, when the Bucs picked off Drew Brees (in what turned out to be his final game) three times in a 30-20 victory.

Dennis Allen’s defense mostly stymied Tampa’s high-powered passing game in the three meetings last year. The Saints swept the 2020 regular season series against the Bucs, intercepting Brady five times in those contests.

The Halloween contest will simply come down to how much New Orleans can hold off Tampa’s offense. Allen’s group was excellent for three and a half quarters in the Divisional Round, but the Saints were undone by three costly second half turnovers.

New Orleans enters Week 8 with the third-best scoring defense. Marshon Lattimore has always been a matchup nightmare for Mike Evans. So if New Orleans can also find a way to keep Chris Godwin and Tampa’s other star receivers in check, a win becomes that much easier.

Winston hasn’t put up eye-popping numbers so far, but he’s done his job in protecting the football (13 touchdowns against one interception). He has yet to pass for 300 yards this season, however, and the Saints will need a better outing from him compared to what we saw in Seattle if they’re to have a chance this week.

It won’t be easy running the ball with Alvin Kamara against the league’s best run defense, but Tampa has been suspect against the pass all year. Kamara, Marquez Callaway and Tre’Quan Smith should be able to do just enough against a banged-up secondary.

Few defenses in the league can limit the damage of Tampa’s offense. Allen’s defense is one of them, and Sean Payton’s familiarity with the NFC South rivals will help aplenty here.

Consider this a trap game for the Bucs as the Saints hand the defending champs their first loss since Week 3.

Prediction: Saints 24, Buccaneers 20

Season Prediction: 10-7 Record, Second Wild Card Berth In NFC

Fortunately for the Saints, the path to one of the NFC’s three wild card spots isn’t as difficult as one might’ve envisioned at the start of the year.

The Dallas Cowboys will win the NFC East, and that division won’t feature any wild card winners. The 2-5 Seahawks and slumping 2-4 San Francisco 49ers look like non-factors in the playoff race as well.

The winless Detroit Lions and 3-4 Chicago Bears won’t make any noise, either. The Atlanta Falcons (3-3) and Carolina Panthers (3-4) shouldn’t be ruled out, but those two teams have a plethora of roster flaws to overcome.

But the Saints, Minnesota Vikings and second-place finisher in the NFC West (either the Arizona Cardinals or the Los Angeles Rams) have played well enough up to this point and look like true playoff contenders.

The Saints have a very manageable schedule the rest of the way. If they can at least salvage a split with the Bucs and sweep the Falcons (not a difficult task), New Orleans should hit double-digit wins again en route to the No. six seed in the NFC.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or the management of EconoTimes