# Week 18, 2026: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New Orleans Saints

Jan 10, 2027 · not played yet · 0 calls on record

No pundit we track has picked a side in Buccaneers vs Saints yet.

Page: https://missedtakes.co/nfl/games/2026-week-18-buccaneers-at-saints

## How they come in

The Buccaneers are 1-4; the Saints are 1-3 and have lost 2 straight. It is a division game. On win totals, 10 pundits put the Buccaneers at 8.6 wins on average, and 15 pundits put the Saints at 8.4 wins on average.

Venue: Caesars Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana

- Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 1-4 (100 scored, 112 allowed)
  - Last games: W 24-16 at Cowboys; L 14-17 vs Packers; L 16-23 vs Vikings
  - Unit ranks this season: offense 20th, defense 16th of 32
  - Last season: 8-9
  - Win-total calls: 10 pundits, average 8.6, 2 to 12 wins
  - The side most pundits took won 2 of 4 Buccaneers games
- New Orleans Saints: 1-3, lost 2 straight (105 scored, 128 allowed)
  - Last games: L 24-45 vs Falcons; L 27-35 vs Raiders; W 24-17 at Ravens
  - Unit ranks this season: offense 13th, defense 31st of 32
  - Last season: 6-11
  - Win-total calls: 15 pundits, average 8.4, 2 to 11 wins
  - The side most pundits took won 2 of 4 Saints games

## Players to watch

Each club's starting quarterback, leading rusher, receiver and tight end, and its sack and tackle leaders, with their 2026 regular season so far, with the latest call on each from a pundit ranked on the leaderboard whose record beats the naive pick, made since the 2026 schedule came out ("No." is that rank). Leaderboard: https://missedtakes.co/nfl/leaderboard

- [Jalon Daniels](https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/jalon-daniels) (Starting QB, QB): 337 passing yards · 2 TD, 3 INT · 69.1% completions · 3 games; 34th in the NFL in passing yards
  - No. 8 Derek Brown, Oct 3, 2026: Jalon Daniels to be 1st on the depth chart (not settled yet)
- [Bucky Irving](https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/bucky-irving) (RB1, RB): 406 rushing yards on 77 carries · 3 TD · 15 catches for 71 · 5 games; 4th in the NFL in rushing yards
  - No. 3 Pat Fitzmaurice, Aug 6, 2026: Bucky Irving to be 1st on the depth chart (not settled yet)
  - No. 8 Derek Brown, Aug 11, 2026: Bucky Irving to fall short of his draft cost (RB22, Overall RK57 | ECR vs. ADP: -13) (not settled yet)
- [Emeka Egbuka](https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/emeka-egbuka) (WR1, WR): 21 catches for 192 yards · 1 TD · 5 games; 50th in the NFL in receiving yards
  - No. 3 Pat Fitzmaurice, Aug 25, 2026: Emeka Egbuka to be 1st on the depth chart (not settled yet)
  - No. 8 Derek Brown, Sep 2, 2026: Emeka Egbuka to be 1st on the depth chart (not settled yet)
- [Cade Otton](https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/cade-otton) (TE1, TE): 18 catches for 182 yards · 0 TD · 5 games; 60th in the NFL in receiving yards
- [David Walker](https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/david-walker) (Sack leader, LB): 2 sacks · 6 solo tackles · 5 games; 26th in the NFL in sacks
- [Keionte Scott](https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/keionte-scott) (Tackle leader, CB): 23 solo tackles · 5 games; 4th in the NFL in solo tackles
- [Tyler Shough](https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/tyler-shough) (Starting QB, QB): 1,203 passing yards · 9 TD, 3 INT · 67.2% completions · 4 games; 4th in the NFL in passing yards
  - No. 3 Pat Fitzmaurice, Sep 3, 2026: Tyler Shough to be 1st on the depth chart (not settled yet)
  - No. 8 Derek Brown, Sep 26, 2026: Tyler Shough to finish top ? at his position, by fantasy points (not settled yet)
- [Travis Etienne](https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/travis-etienne) (RB1, RB): 128 rushing yards on 30 carries · 0 TD · 11 catches for 51 · 3 games; 36th in the NFL in rushing yards
  - No. 8 Derek Brown, Sep 8, 2026: Travis Etienne to be 1st on the depth chart (not settled yet)
  - No. 13 Ross Jackson, Sep 10, 2026: Travis Etienne to be 1st on the depth chart (not settled yet)
- [Chris Olave](https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/chris-olave) (WR1, WR): 35 catches for 491 yards · 1 TD · 4 games; 2nd in the NFL in receiving yards
  - No. 8 Derek Brown, Sep 1, 2026: Chris Olave to outplay his draft cost (wide receiver 12 price tag) (not settled yet)
  - No. 11 Bucky Brooks, Aug 2, 2026: Chris Olave to be 1st on the depth chart (not settled yet)
- [Juwan Johnson](https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/juwan-johnson) (TE1, TE): 21 catches for 232 yards · 3 TD · 4 games; 24th in the NFL in receiving yards
  - No. 13 Ross Jackson, Aug 28, 2026: Juwan Johnson to make the roster (scored 100 out of 100)
  - No. 24 Andrew Erickson, Aug 29, 2026: Juwan Johnson to outplay his draft cost (Late-round only) (not settled yet)
- [Chase Young](https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/chase-young) (Sack leader, DE): 3.5 sacks · 5 solo tackles · 4 games; 6th in the NFL in sacks
  - No. 13 Ross Jackson, Aug 28, 2026: Chase Young to make the roster (scored 100 out of 100)
- [Jonas Sanker](https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/jonas-sanker) (Tackle leader, S): 17 solo tackles · 4 games; 26th in the NFL in solo tackles
  - No. 12 Rich Hribar, Sep 8, 2026: Jonas Sanker to be 1st on the depth chart (not settled yet)
  - No. 13 Ross Jackson, Aug 28, 2026: Jonas Sanker to make the roster (scored 100 out of 100)

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The room is counted in pundits, each one's latest call standing. Accuracy is out of 100; the naive pick is the home team.
The week: https://missedtakes.co/nfl/games/2026-week-18
Method: https://missedtakes.co/methodology