If Saints beat Bears, they’ll host winner of Tampa Bay at Washington

A couple of playoff games have already wrapped up, and pieces are in motion for the rest of the tournament. After the early kickoffs on Saturday, the New Orleans Saints are watching the night game to see who advances: the Tampa Bay Buccaneers or the Washington Football Team.

Should the Saints defeat defeat the Chicago Bears, they’ll end up hosting the winner of that matchup at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in the Divisional Round. It’s early, and New Orleans could very well lose Sunday’s tilt with Chicago. But it’s good to know who is on the Saints’ radar.

And the first quarter between Tampa Bay-Washington set the tone as well as could be hoped. The Buccaneers’ opening drive stalled out and settled for a field goal, while Washington quickly punted on their ensuing possession. Tampa Bay held onto their early 3-0 lead despite a punt of their own by intercepting Taylor Heinicke, pushed into a relief start with Alex Smith recovering from injury. Brady quickly struck with a touchdown pass to Antonio Brown, but the following extra-point attempt was blocked, leaving them up 9-0.

So this one is worth watching, even if it would be an upset should Tom Brady and his squad lose. They entered as heavy favorites despite the impressive Washington defense coached by Ron Rivera. Maybe the prospect of getting stomped by the Saints a third time in the next round is enough for Brady to rethink whether he really wants to win this game and risk that rematch.

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Final score prediction for Saints vs. Bears