Who are you picking to win once the New Orleans Saints (7-8) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-7) take the field on Sunday? These two teams couldn’t be in more different states despite their comparable records. The Saints are still reeling from an embarrassing loss to the Los Angeles Rams last week in front of a national audience, and they could be eliminated from playoff qualification with another loss to the Bucs.
And those Buccaneers have won four games in a row. If they get one more and take down the Saints this week, they’ll win the NFC South and clinch a playoff berth in the process. The Saints very much have their backs against the wall.
Here’s a quick look at the game picks from 52 experts across a variety of platforms as kickoff approaches:
USA TODAY
Jarrett Bell: Buccaneers
Chris Bumbaca: Buccaneers
Lorenzo Reyes: Buccaneers
Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz: Buccaneers
Nate Davis: Buccaneers
Safid Deen: Buccaneers
Tyler Dragon: Buccaneers
Victoria Davis: Buccaneers
NFL.com
Ali Bhanpuri: Buccaneers
Brooke Cersosimo: Buccaneers
Dan Parr: Buccaneers
Gennaro Filice: Buccaneers
Tom Blair: Buccaneers
ESPN
Stephania Bell: Buccaneers
Matt Bowen: Buccaneers
Mike Clay: Buccaneers
Jeremy Fowler: Buccaneers
Dan Graziano: Buccaneers
Kimberley Martin: Buccaneers
Eric Moody: Buccaneers
Jason Reid: Buccaneers
Lindsey Thiry: Buccaneers
Sam Wickersham: Buccaneers
CBS Sports
Pete Prisco: Buccaneers
Will Brinson: Buccaneers
Jared Dubin: Buccaneers
Ryan Wilson: Buccaneers
John Breech: Buccaneers
Tyler Sullivan: Buccaneers
Dave Richard: Buccaneers
Jamey Eisenberg: Buccaneers
MMQB
Albert Breer: Buccaneers
Mitch Goldich: Buccaneers
Claire Kuwana: Buccaneers
Gilberto Manzano: Buccaneers
Conor Orr: Buccaneers
John Pluym: Buccaneers
Matt Verderame: Buccaneers
Sporting News
Athlon Sports
Alek Arend: Buccaneers
Matt Audilet: Buccaneers
Cameron Flynn: Buccaneers
Bleacher Report
Bleacher Report’s Week 17 picks (vs. spread)
Gary Davenport: Buccaneers
Brad Gagnon: Buccaneers
Ian Hanford: Buccaneers
Kris Knox: Buccaneers
Maurice Moton: Saints
Wes O’Donnell: Buccaneers
Brent Sobleski: Buccaneers
Saints Wire
Darrion Gray: Buccaneers
Jeremy Trottier: Buccaneers
Dylan Sanders: Buccaneers
John Sigler: Buccaneers
Bottom Line
The Buccaneers are not a unanimous pick to beat the Saints this week, but it’s as close as it gets: 51 of 52 experts are picking against New Orleans in Week 17. It’s going to take a huge effort for the Saints to rally in this game against a better opponent with more to play for. Do they have it in them?
