New Orleans Saints all-time leading rusher and current WWL analyst Deuce McAllister thinks that Sunday's NFC Divisional round matchup will come down to whether or not the Saints are able to stop the Buccaneers running game.
"I think that they know that they have to get at least 15 to 20 rushes," McAllister said on Sports Talk with Bobby Hebert and Kristian Garic this week. "But if you're the Saints, you invite them to do that because you feel like you match up and you can stop the running game."
The Saints finished the regular season with the NFL's fourth-ranked run defense allowing 93.9 yards per game. In the teams, Week 9 meeting the Saints held the Buccaneers to just 8 yards rushing.
Related
McAllister also said that the Saint will need to commit to the run even if the team isn't finding the success it normally does as Tampa Bay brings the NFL's top run defense to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome Sunday.
"Even if you're not getting 4 yards, 5 yards a clip, you still have to do it," he said. "Even running the sweeps, you have to make them respect the outside even if you're not getting a lot of yards, because if they're not covering that, then that's an area of the field that you're not taking advantage of."