Saints at Buccaneers: Week 15 preview, odds and injuries

Week 15 · Sun, Dec 20 · Raymond James Stadium1 PM ET

at1 PMET · Fox

At a glanceUpdated Nov 10, 2026, 6:35 PM ET

The New Orleans Saints (3-5) visit the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-6) on Sun, Dec 20, 1 PM ET at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, FL (Week 15, 2026 season), on Fox.

When and where is Saints vs Buccaneers?

Sun, Dec 20, 1 PM ET at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, FL. TV: Fox.

Who is injured for Saints vs Buccaneers?

Saints: Stone Smartt (TE, out, undisclosed), Erik McCoy (C, doubtful, biceps) and CJ Donaldson (RB, questionable, shoulder). Buccaneers: Yaya Diaby (LB, out, knee - mcl) and Antoine Winfield Jr. (S, questionable, ankle).

Cite this page

Pigskin Nightly, “Saints at Buccaneers: Week 15 preview”, https://pigskinnightly.com/games/2026-12-20-no-at-tb (updated 2026-11-10).

How we calculate Plain-text version Report an error

Regular season through week 14 · rank out of 32

Where this game will be decided

1Buccaneers defense against big plays vs Saints big-play offense
The Buccaneers' defense against big plays ranks 4th in explosive-play rate (7.2% allowed, 515 plays faced) and faces a Saints big-play offense ranked 29th (7.0%, 529 plays).
29thNO offense25 spots apart4thTB defense
2Saints pass rush vs Buccaneers pass protection
The Saints' pass rush ranks 8th in sack rate (7.6% of dropbacks, 304 dropbacks faced) and faces a Buccaneers pass protection ranked 29th (9.2% sacked, 293 dropbacks).
29thTB offense21 spots apart8thNO defense
3Buccaneers pass defense vs Saints dropback offense
The Buccaneers' pass defense ranks 2nd in EPA per dropback (-0.17 allowed, 335 dropbacks faced) and faces a Saints dropback offense ranked 21st (+0.02, 342 dropbacks).
21stNO offense19 spots apart2ndTB defense

When the Saints have the ballEdge TB · +19 ranks

NO dropback offenseEPA per dropbackTB pass defense

21st+0.02342 dropbacks

TB +19

-0.17 allowed335 dropbacks faced2nd

NO run gameEPA per rushTB run defense

24th-0.13187 rushes

TB +19

-0.16 allowed180 rushes faced5th

Dropbacks include sacks and scrambles; rushes are designed runs. What EPA measures.

When the Buccaneers have the ballEdge TB · +18 ranks

TB dropback offenseEPA per dropbackNO pass defense

30th-0.20293 dropbacks

NO +8

+0.10 allowed304 dropbacks faced22nd

TB run gameEPA per rushNO run defense

10th-0.01263 rushes

TB +18

-0.02 allowed204 rushes faced28th

Third downNo big edge

NO third-down offensethird-down conversion rateTB third-down defense

8th43.5%115 third downs

34.5% allowed113 third downs faced6th

TB third-down offensethird-down conversion rateNO third-down defense

23rd37.1%124 third downs

49.5% allowed103 third downs faced30th

Conversions are third-down snaps that gained a first down or scored.

Red zoneEdge NO · +15 ranks

NO red-zone offensered-zone touchdown rateTB red-zone defense

6th66%29 trips

48% allowed23 trips faced7th

TB red-zone offensered-zone touchdown rateNO red-zone defense

25th50%30 trips

NO +15

49% allowed35 trips faced10th

A trip is a drive with at least one snap inside the opponent's 20; the rate is trips that ended in an offensive touchdown. Small samples swing fast here.

Explosive playsEdge TB · +25 ranks

NO big-play offenseexplosive-play rateTB defense against big plays

29th7.0%529 plays

TB +25

7.2% allowed515 plays faced4th

TB big-play offenseexplosive-play rateNO defense against big plays

12th9.7%556 plays

TB +15

10.6% allowed508 plays faced27th

Completions of 20+ yards and runs of 10+, per snap. Definition.

Pressure & sacksEdge NO · +21 ranks

NO pass protectionsack rateTB pass rush

14th5.8% sacked342 dropbacks

NO +12

5.1% of dropbacks335 dropbacks faced26th

TB pass protectionsack rateNO pass rush

29th9.2% sacked293 dropbacks

NO +21

7.6% of dropbacks304 dropbacks faced8th

Sacks per dropback. The public play-by-play has no pressure charting, so this is the sack side of it only.

TurnoversEdge TB · +26 ranks

NO ball securityturnovers per gameTB takeaway defense

27th1.6 giveaways a game8 games

TB +26

2.1 takeaways a game9 games1st

TB ball securityturnovers per gameNO takeaway defense

24th1.6 giveaways a game9 games

0.9 takeaways a game8 games28th

Interceptions and lost fumbles on offensive snaps, per game. Turnover rates are among the least stable numbers in football.

AbsencesNO 1 · TB 0 regulars out or doubtful

Saints3 listed

1 of them is a regular ruled out or doubtful (60%+ of their unit's snaps across 3+ weeks on the field).

DErik McCoyC97% offense · 8 wk
QCJ DonaldsonRB26% offense · 7 wk
OUTStone SmarttTEno snaps

Buccaneers2 listed

0 of them are regulars ruled out or doubtful (60%+ of their unit's snaps across 3+ weeks on the field).

QAntoine Winfield Jr.S89% defense · 6 wk
OUTYaya DiabyLB53% defense · 8 wk

Snap share is the average of the weeks each player was on the field this season. Full injury report ↓

Rest & travelSame rest · NO travels 478 mi

AwaySaints

7days since last game

478miles to get here

1time zones

Last: Sun wk 14 at CAR · Charlotte · 15,807 mi flown this season

Normal week

Rest edgeEvensame restTravel gap 478 mi

HomeBuccaneers

7days since last game

0miles · home

0time zones

Last: Sun wk 14 at BAL · Baltimore · 6,435 mi flown this season

Normal week

League splits for these situations ↓

Sample: NO 8 games, 529 offensive and 508 defensive plays · TB 9 games, 556 offensive and 515 defensive plays. Rank 1 is the best offense or the best defense in each stat. Keys are the largest rank gaps (12+ spots) between an offense and the defense it faces, one per stat. Ranks are not schedule-adjusted.

Season to date · rank out of 32