The Worksheet, a comprehensive fantasy football preview by Rich Hribar, breaks down everything you need to know about the Week 8 matchup between the Saints and Bucs.
Find a breakdown of every Week 8 NFL game in our Worksheet Hub.
| Tampa Bay | Rank | @ | New Orleans | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| -4.0 | Spread | 4.0 | ||
| 25.5 | Implied Total | 21.5 | ||
| 24.9 | 13 | Points/Gm | 17.9 | 29 |
| 25.0 | 22 | Points All./Gm | 26.6 | 27 |
| 62.0 | 15 | Plays/Gm | 62.4 | 13 |
| 60.6 | 14 | Opp. Plays/Gm | 62.1 | 20 |
| 5.5 | 15 | Off. Yards/Play | 4.8 | 28 |
| 5.4 | 19 | Def. Yards/Play | 5.4 | 16 |
| 40.32% | 23 | Rush% | 41.88% | 19 |
| 59.68% | 10 | Pass% | 58.12% | 14 |
| 41.51% | 13 | Opp. Rush % | 50.11% | 30 |
| 58.49% | 20 | Opp. Pass % | 49.89% | 3 |
- The Saints have trailed for 88.6% of their offensive snaps, the highest rate in the league.
- New Orleans is averaging 1.62 points per drive, 28th in the league.
- The Saints are allowing 2.45 points per drive, 28th in the league.
- On possessions without a takeaway, the Saints have allowed opponents to score on 51.6% of their drives (26th) with 2.80 points per drive.
- The Buccaneers have turned the ball over on 5.2% of their drives, the fourth-lowest rate in the league.
- Tampa Bay has scored 8 touchdowns from outside of the red zone, tied for second in the league.
- The Saints have allowed 6 touchdowns from outside of the red zone, tied for the most in the league.
- The Saints have converted a league-worst 1 of 29 third downs (3.4%) needing 8 or more yards.
Trust = spike production for that player
Quarterback
Baker Mayfield: Mayfield has been overcoming obstacle after obstacle to open this season, but Monday night, things finally caught up.
Mayfield threw for a season-low 4.6 yards per pass attempt, connecting on 28 of 50 attempts (56%) for 228 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
He also failed to rush for any yards for the first time in a game this season.
Mayfield is expected to be down a handful of playmakers again this week, but he is in a better spot to hang around as a fringe QB1 for fantasy purposes in a week with so many teams on bye.
Mayfield was under duress all night on Monday.
He was pressured on a season-high 51.9% of his dropbacks.
That should not be a concern in this case.
The Saints are 24th in pressure rate (32.2%).
Mayfield has only faced two teams with a lower pressure rate than New Orleans so far, the 49ers and Jets.
In those games, he scored 17.7 and 19.6 fantasy points.
The Saints are 28th in passing points allowed per attempt (0.536), allowing a 67.9% completion rate (23rd), 7.5 yards per pass attempt (24th), and a 6.9% touchdown rate (31st).
Spencer Rattler: Sunday was a tough outcome for Rattler.
He passed for a season-high 233 yards and threw multiple touchdowns for the second time this season, but after protecting the football to this point of the year, he had 4 turnovers that were his undoing for fantasy purposes.
Rattler had only 2 turnovers entering Sunday, but threw 3 interceptions and lost a fumble.
Through seven games, Rattler has one scoring week in the top half of the position.
He has thrown for a new season high in yardage these past three weeks.
Rattler is stuck as a QB2, but there is some underlying potential in this matchup if he can protect the football better than he did last week.
The Bucs are sixth in pressure rate (41.5%) and are blitzing at the sixth-highest rate (32.3%).
Rattler has stood up to pressure well, completing 58.1% of his passes (5th) for 7.1 Y/A (8th).
When blitzed, he has completed 70% of his passes (5th) for 7.3 Y/A (15th).
The Bucs are allowing 7.7 yards per pass attempt (26th).
But they have allowed 2 or fewer passing touchdowns in every game but one.
Touchdown production is what has held Rattler back from turning in streaming weeks.
His 3.4% touchdown rate is 27th in the league.
Running Back
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Learn MoreMore Week 8 Fantasy Breakdowns From The Worksheet:
| Matchup | Time |
|---|---|
| Vikings @ Chargers | Thursday Night Football |
| Dolphins @ Falcons | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Jets @ Bengals | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Browns @ Patriots | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Giants @ Eagles | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Bills @ Panthers | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Bears @ Ravens | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| 49ers @ Texans | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Bucs @ Saints | Sunday -- 4:05 p.m. ET |
| Cowboys @ Broncos | Sunday -- 4:25 p.m. ET |
| Titans @ Colts | Sunday -- 4:25 p.m. ET |
| Packers @ Steelers | Sunday Night Football |
| Commanders @ Chiefs | Monday Night Football |