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It’s GAME DAY at Glory Days Grill – Come watch football all season long!

Bucs game day is approaching, and it’s time for the PewterReport.com staff to offer up its weekly game predictions.
Let us know what you think in the article comments section and add your prediction, too.

BUCCANEERS vs. SAINTS

WHEN: Sunday, December 19, 2021 | WHERE: Raymond James Stadium | KICKOFF: 8:20 p.m. ET | TV: NBC

PLAY-BY-PLAY: Mike Tirico |ANALYST: Chris Collinsworth | SIDELINE: Michelle Tafoya

RADIO:
98 ROCK 97.9 FM | PLAY-BY-PLAY: Gene Deckerhoff | ANALYST: Dave Moore | SIDELINE: T.J. Rives

SPANISH RADIO:
96.1 FM | PLAY-BY-PLAY: Carlos Bohorquez | ANALYST: Martin Gramatica

Join Pewter Report’s Matt Matera on PewterReport.com’s Red Board to talk Bucs football for a
live
game day chat, starting at noon ET on Sunday all the way through to the final whistle.
Click the link below to access the Game Day Thread on the Red Board.

JOIN THE GAME DAY THREAD BY CLICKING HERE AND JOIN THE DISCUSSION!

– Game Days At Glory Days Grill –

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The perfect drink for the holidays! Stop by Glory Days Grill and enjoy a Ben’s Smoked Old Fashioned. Woodford Reserve Bourbon, bitters, cherry and orange peel garnish served in a smoked glass. Cheers!

Glory Days Grill

Brandon | Brooksville | Carrollwood | Fort Myers | Lakeland | New Tampa | Odessa/Lutz | Palm Harbor | Riverview | Sarasota | St. Petersburg | Tallahassee | Tyrone | Wesley Chapel

Scott Reynolds: Bucs (Finally) Beat Saints In The Regular Season

I correctly called the Bucs beating the Bills in a shootout last week. Although I didn’t expect Tampa Bay to outscore Buffalo 24-3 in the first half, and for the Bills to outscore the Bucs 24-3 in the second half and then have the game go to overtime. But my predictions about the Bucs – Saints games have usually been wrong. In fact, I am 0-3 in the last four games Tampa Bay and New Orleans have squared off. I predicted a Bucs win over the Saints on Sunday Night Football last year, followed by a win by New Orleans over Tampa Bay in the playoffs. Earlier this year I said the Bucs would beat the Saints on Halloween. I took three straight L’s as a result. Tampa Bay has lost six straight to New Orleans in the regular season.
Bucs Qb Tom Brady

Bucs QB Tom Brady – Photo by: USA Today

But I am picking the Bucs to win this game, and I hope my streak ends for Tampa Bay’s sake. Tampa Bay is undefeated at home this year and New Orleans is reeling with a 6-7 record. On Sunday night the Bucs have a chance to win the NFC South division and rip the division crown from the team that has held it the last four years. Plus, Tampa Bay can avenge its earlier season loss at New Orleans and avoid getting swept by the Saints again.

In order for that to happen quarterback Tom Brady and the Bucs offense must avoid turnovers. Brady has thrown seven interceptions, including a pair of pick-sixes, in his four games against the Saints since joining the Bucs with only eight TD passes in those games. Tampa Bay’s defense will have to be much more opportunistic and create takeaways, which is something it rarely does against New Orleans for some reason. And the Bucs will need to pressure and sack Taysom Hill, who is more dangerous as a runner than he is a thrower. Forcing New Orleans into third-and-long situations is a must.
Reynolds’ Score Prediction: Buccaneers 30, Saints 20
Reynolds’ Season Record: 9-4

Jon Ledyard: Bucs Overcome Saints Late, Capture NFC South

If the Bucs play their best game, they can win by double digits. The Saints defense is good, but the Bucs showed they can solve them in the Week 8 meeting. Tampa Bay moved the ball at will, piled up 421 yards and 27 points and went 8-of-13 on third down. If not for poor officiating, 11 penalties and three turnovers, the Bucs would have won easily.

Saints Rb Alvin Kamara

Saints RB Alvin Kamara – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

So why does this week, against a more depleted Saints roster, feel like such a challenge? The New Orleans defense is mostly healthy and loaded with talent. Several key players are playing better over the past month, and they’ll be a significant challenge for the Bucs offense. I expect a slow-moving first half without a ton of scoring, which is what the Saints want.

But in the end, the Bucs talent has to win this game. The Saints are trotting out Taysom Hill, Marquez Callaway, Nick Vannett and Tre’Quan Smith in their passing game. Yes, having Alvin Kamara back will help. But nobody has shut down Kamara more consistently than the Bucs. And no Sean Payton might be tough to overcome as well. The Saints will be pesky as ever, but I think the Bucs solve them in the fourth quarter, although it may be by a slim margin.

Ledyard’s Score Prediction: Buccaneers 23, Saints 16
Ledyard’s Season Record: 11-2

Matt Matera: Bucs Clinch A Home Playoff Game For The Holidays

As nice as it can be for the Bucs to win over the Saints to win the NFC South division for the first time since 2007, the more important reward is guaranteeing at least one home game for Tampa Bay in the postseason with the possibility of three still on the board. The Bucs are done losing to the Saints in the regular season, it ends this week.

Bucs Qb Tom Brady

Bucs QB Tom Brady – Photo by: USA Today

New Orleans’ defense has given the Bucs trouble, but it’s been almost two months since they last met. The running game is much better with Leonard Fournette and they’ll have to guard against Gronk this time, which they didn’t have to in the first game. The Bucs are always better at home, and if they reach the 30-point threshold, it’s in the bag.

It’s actually quite helpful that the Bucs just played against a quarterback like Josh Allen because they’ll deal with another runner with Taysom Hill. The difference is that Allen is a much better passer, so the Bucs just have to make sure they stay in their lanes. Hill won’t throw all over the Bucs, and the Saints won’t be able to keep up with the points. It’ll be a busy day for Lavonte David and Devin White, but stopping the run is what the defense does. They clinch the NFC South and look to capture the number one seed next.

Matera’s Score Prediction: Buccaneers 30, Saints 14
Matera’s Season Record: 9-4

JC Allen: T-Shirts And Hats For The Bucs

There’s a lot at stake when the Bucs take on the Saints, and not just the NFC South Division title. Pride. New Orleans has had the Bucs’ number for quite some time in the regular season including an upset earlier this year and a sweep last year. Recently former Saints quarterback Drew Brees posted a montage video of how many time the Saints have won that match up. Clinching the South for the first time since 2007 is definitely on these players’ minds, but so is getting that monkey off their back.

Saints Qb Taysom Hill

Saints QB Taysom Hill – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

They’ll have to do so with out stud corner Jamel Dean, who is out with an illness, which means Sean Murphy-Bunting will need to step up on the outside. The defensive line could make their job a bit easier with the recent news that both starting tackles will be out for New Orleans. Putting pressure on Taysom Hill and finishing sacks will make it much harder for him to pick apart the secondary.

Also working in the Bucs favor is the news Sean Payton will be sidelined for the game after testing positive for COVID-19. Bruce Arians’ declaration that Leonard Fournette will play is another positive for Tampa. But Tom Brady will need to play better than he has in the past. The NFL’s presumptive MVP has a 1-3 record including seven interceptions. He’ll need to be more careful with the ball if the Bucs should win. I’m the end Bucs will be donning t-shirts and hats come Sunday night.

Allen’s Score Prediction: Buccaneers 38, Saints 20
Allen’s Season Record: 10-3

Paul Atwal: Bucs Finally Give Saints Their Best Shot

It’s time for the Bucs to whoop the Saints. It won’t be easy – they’re talented and well-coached. But the Bucs are simply better. On offense, the Bucs had a strong gameplan in week 8 that pressed the right buttons against the Saints’ coverages. The biggest problem was penalties. That includes ones that went uncalled, such as two egregious holds that led to Tom Brady’s first interception, and, more importantly, boneheaded, self-inflicted flags on both sides of the ball. Expect New Orleans to challenge Tampa Bay with tight man coverage, alternating between 2-man and variations of cover 1. And while the latter is playing with fire (just ask the Miami Dolphins), the Saints are one of the few teams with enough talent on defense to not get completely torched.

Bucs Cb Ross Cockrell And Saints Wr Tre'Quan Smith

Bucs CB Ross Cockrell and Saints WR Tre’Quan Smith – Photo by: USA Today

The Saints offense is not good. However, the Bucs defense specializes in making the skill of the other team’s offense irrelevant, whether that means making Taylor Heinicke look like Patrick Mahomes, or making Patrick Mahomes look like Taylor Heinicke. The threat of Taysom Hill tucking the ball for a run imposes restrictions on what a defense can do. Todd Bowles will second guess having his defensive backs play man coverage, as it’ll mean taking their eyes off Hill. It limits what can happen on the defensive line, too, as having a big man on the outside with contain responsibilities could be disastrous. Still, we’re not talking about Lamar Jackson here. It’s Hill – the guy who looks more like a javelin thrower than a quarterback when tossing a 30-yarder.

This New Orleans team has earned “appropriate fear,” as Gregg Popovich would say, but Tampa Bay has no business losing to them. I don’t buy the idea that there’s an insurmountable psychological hurdle for the Bucs to overcome. That’s lazy analysis. If there is any mental voodoo at play, it’s way down in the list of things that’ll determine the game’s outcome – tucked somewhere between Bradley Pinion’s pre-game stretching routine and what Devin White eats for dinner on Saturday night.

Atwal’s Score Prediction: Buccaneers 34, Saints 21
Atwal’s Season Record: 11-2

Kasey Hudson: Bucs Play 60 Minutes Of Playoff Football To Win Title

A division title on the line – talk about a quality Sunday night football game. The Bucs host the Saints with every intention of erasing their Halloween night loss. It was a game the Bucs should have won (and no, I am not referring to any bad penalty calls). Aside from two turnovers by Tom Brady, there was some decent production by the offense. Starting with Brady throwing for 375 yards and four touchdowns and Chris Godwin putting up 140 yards. Let’s not forget the 50-yard bomb to Cyril Grayson that almost brought Tampa Bay back to life.

Bucs Nt Vita Vea And Saints Qb Trevor Simian

Bucs NT Vita Vea and Saints QB Trevor Simian – Photo by: USA Today

As for unimpressive numbers that contributed to the defending Super Bowl champion’s loss … ZERO takeaways on defense, only one sack and endless missed tackles. Need I remind you; Trevor Siemian was in the pocket. If the Bucs want to clinch the NFC South title, the defense is going to have to play 60 minutes of playoff-style football. Is this a big ask with the news of Jamel Dean? No. Carlton Davis III and Sean Murphy-Bunting have a opportunity prove they can do it. Taysom Hill is no Josh Allen, but if Tampa Bay’s defense lets off the gas like they did against Buffalo, Hill will lead his team to a win. On offense, Brady has to playoff turnover-free.

The Bills are a more formidable team in comparison to the Saints. Watching the first half of last Sunday’s game, the Bucs played playoff football. Both sides of the ball made plays and handled their role. If that team shows up Sunday night, hello, victory. Hello, NFC South title.

Hudson’s Score Prediction: Buccaneers 31, Saints 24
Hudson’s Season Record: 10-3

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