Bucs-Saints rivalry runs deep. Monday's game will come down to defense
The Buccaneers are trying to get their offense back on track, but their next chance to do so comes against the defense that's solved them better than any opponent in Tom Brady's three seasons in Tampa, with the Saints coming to town on Monday.
Last year in Tampa, the Bucs were shut out 9-0 by the Saints, and the year before, New Orleans took a shutout well into the fourth quarter of a 38-3 win. The Bucs are well aware of the challenge just to get on the scoreboard, let alone enough to win.
"They're a very good defense," Brady said Friday. "Very good at the D-line. I think they have one of the best linebackers playing in football in Demario (Davis). Very good in the secondary. I think they've invested a lot in their defense. Just very talented and they make it a very physical game, tough to run the ball and they challenge you in the pass game."
The Bucs are hoping their defense can show up much the same way Monday, having held the Saints to three points until the closing minutes of a 20-10 win in Week 2 in New Orleans. They had held the Browns to 10 points until the final minute last Sunday, but gave up a tying touchdown and then another in overtime, so linebackers Lavonte David and Devin White organized a defense-only dinner Monday night, trying to bring the group closer and more on the same page for the season's final six games.
"We've got a great defense and we want to show it for four quarters — 60 minutes and man, if we can do that, we can get the job done," White said this week. "Just how we did in Dallas in the first game, give them guys three (points), (the offense) gives us 20, 18, 16 – we win the game. So, we more so put it on us to try and keep people out of our end zone."
Part of the Saints' effectiveness in keeping the Bucs offense in check in recent years has been the personal rivalry between Bucs receiver Mike Evans and Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore, which has escalated beyond penalties to the level of dual ejections in their Week 2 matchup. Twice, Evans has leveled Lattimore in exchanges after plays, violently enough that he's earned one-game suspensions.
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Nick Wright and Greg Jennings discuss the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Week 12 loss to the Cleveland Browns and what's next. Jennings contends that the Bucs are playoff pretenders due to various issues on offense.
"That's a real-life beef," Saints pass-rusher Cameron Jordan told reporters this week. "I talked to Mike about it. It went from 'Aw, it's nothing' to 'They don't like each other.' That's what it is. It's a very apparent situation."
Evans, who has gone seven games without a touchdown — the longest drought of his nine-year NFL career — said he understands now more than ever that he must be careful to not take himself out of the game for any reason Monday.
"We're two competitors," he said of the rivalry with Lattimore. "Two of the best in the business, and we go at it. We get physical and it's a good matchup ... I just play my game. I just can't, like, shove somebody out of the air. I've got to keep my emotions in check and play hard just like I always do."
Complicating the Bucs' offensive concerns is a key injury on the offensive line, where All-Pro right tackle Tristan Wirfs will miss the game due to a high ankle sprain sustained late in the loss to the Browns. Veteran Josh Wells, who started at left tackle in the first Saints game in place of an injured Donovan Smith, now steps in for Wirfs, trying to limit a potent pass rush.
Limiting the Saints' sack totals is a huge challenge for the Bucs, who gave up just one sack in their Week 2 win after giving up at least three in the four previous regular-season meetings since Brady's arrival. In a playoff win at New Orleans in the 2020 season, the Bucs gave up just one sack.
More important than limiting sacks is eliminating turnovers. The Bucs have 11 in the four losses to the Saints under Brady, but just one total in the two wins. New Orleans had five turnovers in the Week 2 loss to the Bucs, all in the final 17 minutes of the game, and the Saints have by far the worst turnover margin in the NFL at minus-14, tying for the league's most turnovers and also the fewest takeaways.
"Turnovers have been a big story against us, in the times we've won and the times we've lost," Brady said. "We're going to have to take care of the ball and make the plays when they're there. We've got to stay balance and play a great game in all three phases against a good football team that's been a tough team for us, no doubt, certainly at home. We're not winning scoring zero points and we're certainly not winning, probably, scoring three points."
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Greg Auman is FOX Sports’ NFC South reporter, covering the Buccaneers, Falcons, Panthers and Saints. He is in his 10th season covering the Bucs and the NFL full-time, having spent time at the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic. You can follow him on Twitter at @gregauman.