Tom Brady and Drew Brees duel on Sunday night from Tampa in a matchup of 40-something quarterbacks. This is a bigger game than just a matchup of two future Hall of Fame quarterbacks. These two teams are battling for NFC South supremacy with New Orleans at 5-2 and the Bucs at 6-2.
These two teams met on Sept. 13 with New Orleans taking the first game of the season 34-23. Brady had a rough game throwing two picks, while Brees was efficient with 160 yards passing and two TDs.
Brees struggling with shoulder issue
Brees was limited in Thursday's practice, which could mean no issue or that he's dealing with a shoulder injury. In New Orleans' 26-23 overtime win over Chicago last week, Brees was spotted wearing tape on his shoulder (throwing arm) on the sidelines. If Brees can't go, the Saints would go with Jameis Winston, Taysom Hill or both. That might throw off the Bucs somewhat, but Brees is still one of the most accurate quarterbacks in football. He's completing 73.1% of his passes for 1,898 yards with 13 TDs and three picks. That's strong considering he's been without one of the best receivers in football, Michael Thomas, for most of the season due to a hamstring injury.
Thomas is listed as questionable once again, though the good news is that he was back at practice along with veteran Emmanuel Sanders, who went on the COVID-19 reserve list on Oct. 23. Even running back Alvin Kamara is dealing with a foot injury, according to NewOrleans.football. But Kamara (431 yards rushing, 4 TDs, 55 catches for 556 yards) is expected to play. When people talk about MVPs, they always mention quarterbacks, but Kamara has kept this team afloat with his running and receiving as Thomas has missed six games.
The Saints defense has been solid, allowing just 328.4 yards per game (8th) and just 90.6 rushing yards (3rd). But the pass defense will be tested in this one and they allow 237.9 yards, which is good for 17th in the league.
Bucs get sloppy on Monday Night
Tampa Bay may have been looking ahead. They edged the New York Giants on Monday night, 25-23 on the road but needed a deflection by rookie safety Antoine Winfield on a two-point conversion to not have to go to overtime. The Bucs also oddly settled for a 38-yard field goal with 3:41 left in the game from Ryan Succop, instead of going for it on 4th-and-one. The defense allowed Daniel Jones to drive down the field, convert two fourth-down conversions and throw a 19-yard pass to Golden Tate to cut the lead to two, before the two-point conversion attempt.
Brady completed 28 of 40 for 279 yards with two TDs, but wasn't sharp in the first half as the Giants led 14-6. Tampa Bay missed speedy WR Chris Godwin (finger) and he's expected back for this one. Brady reportedly pushed for the team to sign veteran WR Antonio Brown and he's expected to be on the field for some plays on Sunday night as well.
“Anytime you get a chance to play with the greatest quarterback in the world [and] to be around Bruce Arians – a great offensive guru – and be around a lot of great guys who are already familiar with me from the Steelers 10 years ago [like] Antwaan Randle El, Larry Foote, Byron Leftwich [and] Coach Goodie (Harold Goodwin) – there’s a lot of familiar faces that know me personally more so than what people write or what people say,” Brown said Wednesday to Bucswire on USAToday. “For me, it was a no-brainer coming here, being around guys who understand me [and], obviously, to play with the greatest quarterback in the world."
The Bucs have played well defensively, even though they were inconsistent against the Giants. They rank third in the NFL in yards per game allowed (299.5ypg) and first against the run (70.4ypg). On offense, they rank 14th in yards per game (368.4ypg), 9th in passing yards (265.8ypg) and fourth in points per game (30.9).
Brady struggled in the opener, but since then, he's had just two picks and has thrown for 18 TDs.
Notable Trends
Tampa Bay is:
- 4-0 ATS last 4 after accumulating more than 350 total yards in their previous game.
New Orleans is:
- 1-5 ATS last 6 overall.
- 0-5 ATS last 5 after a SU win.
