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Saints Jaguars Odds

The New Orleans Saints head to EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Florida Sunday to take on the Jaguars in an NFC vs. AFC showdown. This will only be the fourth-ever meeting between these two franchises, with their last coming in 2007. New Orleans rolled that year 41-24 at home behind a 445-yard, three touchdown passing performance from Drew Brees. These teams have split those four games with the home team winning each time.

Odds makers believe the road team will win for the first time in this series Sunday, listing a spread of New Orleans -7 over Jacksonville with a total set of 45 points.

New Orleans

The Saints have scored more points than any team in the NFC this season, averaging 34.7 points en route to a 2-1 start. They fell 34-42 on the road to the Green Bay Packers in their opener, but responded with back-to-back home victories. New Orleans topped Chicago 30-13 in Week 2, and took down Houston 40-33 last Sunday. Marques Colston was injured against the Packers, and he has missed the last two games with a broken collarbone. He is set to return against the Jaguars, giving Brees one of his favorite targets back.

Brees threw his first two interceptions of the season last week, but helped his team overcome a 26-17 deficit by throwing two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to beat Houston. Brees is completing 68.5 percent of his passes for 1,059 yards with nine touchdowns. He is the main reason why New Orleans has scored 30 or more points in 26 of their last 51 regular season games, the most by any team since the start of 2008. Mark Ingram (129 yards, 3.6/carry) and Pierre Thomas (100 yards, 4.8/carry) have been carrying the load on the ground.

Devery Henderson has caught 12 balls for 265 yards and two touchdowns, while tight end Jimmy Graham has 14 receptions for 235 yards and two scores. Darren Sproles leads the team with 21 receptions, turning those into 168 yards and one touchdown. New Orleans is 2nd in total offense (437.7 yards/game) and 21st in total defense (372.7 yards/game). They have faced some elite offenses already, and I look for their defensive numbers to improve as the season goes on. New Orleans could be without offensive linemen Olin Kreutz and Zach Strief, as well as linebacker Jonathan Vilma and cornerback Tracy Porter. All four are nursing injuries.

Jacksonville

The Jaguars appeared headed in the right direction with a 16-14 home win over the Tennessee Titans in Week 1. They would get a rude awakening when they traveled to face the New York Jets in Week 2, losing 3-32. Jacksonville also lost at Carolina 10-16 last Sunday in a game that was played in a downpour most of the way. They will certainly be happy to return home for this one following a tough two-week road trip.

Jacksonville has been tremendous on defense thus far. They rank 4th in the NFL in total defense (280.0 yards/game). Their problem has been on offense, where they are 28th in the league in total offense (261.0 yards/game). They have totaled just 29 points in three games, which is the second-fewest in the league, ahead of only Kansas City. The Jaguars have been receiving terrible QB play, which is the reason they are last in the NFL in passing (126.7 yards/game). They have made just one trip inside the red zone all year.

On the bright side, running back Maurice Jones-Drew is third in the NFL with 307 rushing yards. He ran for 122 against Carolina on Sunday, and has scored one of Jacksonville’s two touchdowns this year. Jones-Drew has a league-high 1,121 rushing yards dating back to October 31 of last season. Rookie Blaine Gabbert has taken over at quarterback for Luke McCown. Gabbert went 12 of 21 passing for 139 yards with a touchdown and an interception last week against the Panthers. He certainly gives this team the best chance of being successful going forward.

Betting Trends

The Saints are 10-4 ATS in their last 14 road games vs. a team with a losing record. New Orleans is 5-12 ATS in their last 17 games following a S.U. win, and 2-7 ATS in their last 9 games as a road favorite. They are also 1-9 ATS in their last 10 vs. a team with a losing record.

Jacksonville is 4-1 ATS in their last 5 home games. The Jaguars are 7-15 ATS in their last 22 games following a S.U. loss, and 2-9 ATS in their last 11 vs. a team with a winning record. They are also 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games as an underdog of 3.5-10.0.