The last time these two supreme ball clubs played has been etched into the minds of New Orleans Saints fans everywhere. It was January 17th, 2021, and it was the game that made Drew Brees retire. The Bucs came out on top 30-20 in that game, as they marched along to another Tom Brady Superbowl performance.
I have to be honest that the Bucs schedule is pretty easy this season, as they have only a handful of real challenges coming their way. One of those challenges is the Saints. The Saints may still be figuring out things on the offensive side of the ball (new players and systems) but they are more than apt to kill teams on the defensive side of the game.
With that in mind, let’s look at three keys to winning against the Saints this upcoming Sunday. Without further ado, let’s jump right in.
#3 – Win Through the Air
The Buccaneers have the number one passing offense in the NFL for a reason. I won’t go into how amazing their weapons are (lord knows I’ve done that enough times) but the matter of the fact is that they have a stacked offensive arsenal ready to strike at any moment.
The Saints have the 20th ranked passing defense in the league, meaning there are some holes there. The only way the Bucs win is if they stick to their tried-and-true game plan and let Brady air the ball out.
#2 – Penetrate Their Offense
As I stated earlier, the Saints have the 29th ranked overall offense this season, which is a significant drop-off from the one led by Drew Brees last season. You can’t blame the Saints for being where they are, as many of their players are going through growing pains, especially Jameis Winston, who is getting used to being the number one quarterback again.
In all honesty, all the Buccaneers defense needs to do is rush the offense in such a way that causes havoc for Winston and the receivers. They are already behind in their offensive play, so adding pressure to that will only further the mistakes made by the Saint’s offense.
#1 – Stop With The Penalties
The Buccaneers have totaled 481 yards of penalties so far this season, which isn’t the worst by any account but is still a pretty sizeable number. They have averaged around 68 penalty yards per game, which can be the difference between a win or loss when you’re coming up against a challenge such as the Saints.
I know football is a contact sport and penalties are sometimes inevitable, but from what I have seen this season, most of the Bucs penalties could have been avoided. If they want to ensure a win on Sunday, Tampa has to ensure that they stay out of penalty trouble.
And that’s all! I have the Bucs winning by a score of 30-26 in this game. What do you think the score will be? Let me know in the comments below!