The New Orleans Saints won their first game with head coach Sean Payton back on the sidelines, beating Atlanta in a key NFC South battle.

New Orleans now shoots for a 2-0 divisional start when it visits the 0-1 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Sunday afternoon (4:05 pm ET, Fox).

As of early in the week the Saints were favored by 4.5 points over the Bucs, who blew a chance to start 1-0 by losing on a last-second field goal to the Jets.

This matchup usually produces a win for UNDER bettors (8-1 past 9 meetings).

The Bucs are just 1-5-1 ATS in their past 7 games as home underdog.



View New Orleans vs Tampa Bay Odds and Stats.

Betting Line:
Bettors looking to back the visiting Saints in this one found them as 3-point favorites earlier in the week, while the total was settling in the neighborhood of 47 at shops such as Sportsbook.

Power Rankings / Prediction:
This game matches up the No. 19 (Buccaneers) and the No. 9 (Saints) teams in the league, according to our current NFL Power Rankings at OddsShark. A 25-18 result in favor of the Saints is predicted by handicapping models.



How They Match Up:
Offensively, the game matches up Tampa Bay's No. 24-ranked offense (17 PPG) against a Saints defense that ranks No. 7 at 17 PPG. The Buccaneers passing attack has averaged 185 yards per game, less than the Saints give up through the air (279 YPG on average).



New Orleans was a 23-17 Sportsbook in its last match at home against the Falcons. They covered the 3.5-point spread as favorites, while the total score of 40 sent UNDER bettors to the payout window. In their last game, New Orleans's aerial attack generated 357 yards and the Saints came away with a 23-17 victory over Atlanta at Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

The Buccaneers were a 18-17 loser in their most recent outing on the road against the Jets. They failed to cover the 4-point spread as favorites, while the total score (35) made Sportsbooks of UNDER bettors. Vincent Jackson hauled in 7 passes for 154 yards against the New York defense in the team's last game, but the result was a 18-17 loss against the Jets on Sunday.


New Orleans Saints Trends:
When playing in September are 4-6
When playing on grass are 5-5
After outgaining opponent are 6-4
When playing within the division are 7-3

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Trends:
When playing in September are 4-6
When playing on grass are 4-6
After being outgained are 2-8
When playing within the division are 3-7

A few Saints at Buccaneers trends to consider:
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of New Orleans's last 9 games when playing Tampa Bay
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of New Orleans's last 5 games when playing on the road against Tampa Bay
The total has gone OVER in 7 of New Orleans's last 10 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 15 of New Orleans's last 22 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Tampa Bay's last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Tampa Bay's last 9 games when playing New Orleans
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Tampa Bay's last 5 games when playing at home against New Orleans
Tampa Bay is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing New Orleans


Next up:
New Orleans home to Arizona, Sunday, September 22
Tampa Bay at New England, Sunday, September 22