5 Reason Why Saints Will Lose To Buccaneers

Below are five reasons the Saints will lose to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday afternoon.

Actually, that should probably read "might lose", as truthfully, I think the Saints will win, and extend their current win streak to 6 games.

But it's my week to have them to lose, and there are always dangers, so I dug up the most likely reasons they may lose.

In another segment, Greg Larnerd gives 5 reasons why the Saints will win.

5 Reasons Why The Saints Will Lose.

1)---Win Streaks Are Hard To Maintain: New Orleans has won 5-straight, which is the second-longest current streak. Only the Eagles, who have won 6-straight, have a longer win streak. This is also the Saints' longest win streak since 2011, when they won 8-straight to end the year. The NFL is a league based on parity. Win streaks are hard to come by, and the Saints are due to lose. And despite the win streak, the Saints have been far from perfect in the last three weeks, committing seven turnovers after going without one in the first four games.

2)---Cameron Brate: The Saints have gotten burned by quality tight ends over the past few seasons, and Brate is just that, a quality tight end. A member of the Saints' practice squad in 2015, Brate has accumulated 31 receptions for 405 yards and 4 touchdowns, after compiling 57 receptions for 660 yards and eight touchdowns last season. The Saints' linebackers are better this year, as is their entire defense, so tight ends haven't hurt them as much this season, but based on recent past history, and Brate's play this season, he is a concern.  

3)---Larry Warford: The Saints will miss their starting right guard, who was out against the Bears last week, and will be out for an unspecified period of time, with an abdominal strain. The Saints have done a really good job of working around injuries on their offensive front, but Warford was playing well, so his presence will be missed, especially against a Tampa Bay defense that, while underachieving this season, is still more than capable. Starting guard Andrus Peat, along with starting left tackle Terron Armstead are both less than 100% as well.

4)---Special Teams: The Saints, who have been absolutely putrid in the special teams department over the last 5-plus years, actually got off to a decent start in this department, before returning to their returning to their old ways in match-ups against the Lions and the Packers. Last week, against the Bears, kicker Wil Lutz and punter Thomas Morstead were both outstanding, but it's the players that surround them on special teams that's extremely concerning.

5)---Buccaneers Offense: Yes, Tampa Bay lost to Carolina last week, 17-3, the first time they failed to score a touchdown since Jameis Winston's arrival in 2015. Still, they averaged 30 points in losses to the Cardinals and Bills, so you know they have weapons, and one is DeSean Jackson, who has caught nine passes for 245 yards and two touchdowns in three career games against New Orleans. Look at it this way; despite all of the Bucs' troubles, and also taking into consideration they have been playing from behind most of the year, they rank second in the NFL in passing yards per game (295.4) to only New England (302.1). Tampa Bay is much better, offensively, than people think.