Buccaneers at Saints: Week 18 preview, odds and injuries

Week 18 · Sun, Jan 10 · Caesars Superdome12 AM ET

at12 AMET · TBD

At a glanceUpdated Nov 10, 2026, 4:37 PM ET

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-6) visit the New Orleans Saints (3-5) on Sun, Jan 10, time TBD at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, LA (Week 18, 2026 season).

When and where is Buccaneers vs Saints?

Sun, Jan 10, time TBD at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, LA.

Who is injured for Buccaneers vs Saints?

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

Cite this page

Pigskin Nightly, “Buccaneers at Saints: Week 18 preview”, https://pigskinnightly.com/games/2027-01-10-tb-at-no (updated 2026-11-10).

How we calculate Plain-text version Report an error

Regular season through week 17 · 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 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

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

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

Third downNo big edge

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

23rd37.1%124 third downs

49.5% allowed103 third downs faced30th

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

8th43.5%115 third downs

34.5% allowed113 third downs faced6th

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

Red zoneEdge NO · +15 ranks

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

25th50%30 trips

NO +15

49% allowed35 trips faced10th

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

6th66%29 trips

48% allowed23 trips faced7th

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

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

12th9.7%556 plays

TB +15

10.6% allowed508 plays faced27th

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

29th7.0%529 plays

TB +25

7.2% allowed515 plays faced4th

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

Pressure & sacksEdge NO · +21 ranks

TB pass protectionsack rateNO pass rush

29th9.2% sacked293 dropbacks

NO +21

7.6% of dropbacks304 dropbacks faced8th

NO pass protectionsack rateTB pass rush

14th5.8% sacked342 dropbacks

NO +12

5.1% of dropbacks335 dropbacks faced26th

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

TB ball securityturnovers per gameNO takeaway defense

24th1.6 giveaways a game9 games

0.9 takeaways a game8 games28th

NO ball securityturnovers per gameTB takeaway defense

27th1.6 giveaways a game8 games

TB +26

2.1 takeaways a game9 games1st

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

AbsencesTB 0 · NO 1 regulars out or doubtful

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

Saints2 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

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

Rest & travelSame rest · TB travels 478 mi

AwayBuccaneers

7days since last game

478miles to get here

1time zones

Last: Sun wk 17 vs LAR · 6,435 mi flown this season

Body clock 12:00 a.m.

Rest edgeEvensame restTravel gap 478 mi

HomeSaints

7days since last game

0miles · home

0time zones

Last: Sun wk 17 at ATL · Atlanta · 15,807 mi flown this season

Normal week

League splits for these situations ↓

Sample: TB 9 games, 556 offensive and 515 defensive plays · NO 8 games, 529 offensive and 508 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