A new Pewter Report Roundtable debuts every Tuesday during the Bucs regular season. Each week, the Pewter Reporters tackle another tough question. This week’s prompt: What is one game the Bucs MUST win in 2022?

Scott Reynolds: Bucs Need To Win At New Orleans In Week 2

The Bucs’ must-win game for the 2022 season comes early this year. It’s at New Orleans in Week 2 where Tampa Bay must win for a myriad of reasons. The first of which is that if the Bucs stub their toe in Dallas and lose to the Cowboys they cannot afford to start 0ff 0-2. Recent data suggests that NFL teams that start the season 0-2 fail to reach the playoffs around 88 percent of the time. So should Tampa Bay head to New Orleans after a season-opening loss, it will be imperative to avoid a 0-2 start. Though it should be noted that Tom Brady helped the Patriots win the Super Bowl in 2021 after a 0-2 start, so it can be done. In fact, the New York Giants team that beat the Bucs in the Wild Card playoffs in 2007 also went onto win the Super Bowl.

Bucs S Mike Edwards and Saints QB Jameis Winton – Photo by: USA Today

If the Bucs do beat the Cowboys in Week 1, beating the Saints in Week 2 and starting off 2-0 greatly aids Tampa Bay’s postseason hopes. Teams that start 2-0 reach the playoffs 57 percent of the time. But more importantly, the Bucs need to start the 2022 campaign 1-0 in the NFC South. Tampa Bay won the division for the first time since 2007 last year despite being swept by New Orleans – again. The Saints should be improved this year with the return of QB Jameis Winston. New Orleans missed the playoffs last year, finishing 9-8 in Sean Payton’s final season. Getting a 1-0 lead over the Saints would greatly help the Bucs’ chances of keeping the NFC South crown.

And finally, it would be a huge boost of momentum heading home at least 1-1 – if not 2-0. The Bucs’ 2022 home opener is in Week 3 against Green Bay. New Orleans has beaten Tampa Bay seven straight times in the regular season. Finally ending that streak would give the Bucs some positive vibes to start the season. And take some of the pressure off of possibly starting 0-3, which is the death knell for teams trying to make the postseason.

Matt Matera: Bucs Must Beat Saints At Ray-Jay In Prime Time

Obviously every Bucs game against the Saints is critical. But it’s even more important that Tampa Bay beats their top NFC foe at Raymond James Stadium. Given the Bucs’ recent struggles in the regular season against the Saints, they have to take at least one of them this time around. I’m not going to lose hope if they drop one in New Orleans in Week 2. It’s always tough to play there and it’s so early in the season that there are plenty of other games to factor into the division standings. But the Week 13 matchup presents a different challenge.

Bucs ILB Lavonte David – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

This is a game that the Bucs must have against a rival they’ve struggled so heavily against. The fact that it’s a Monday night game also adds into the mix. The last two Bucs’ home games facing the Saints were both in prime time. And both were dreadful. They were trounced 38-3 in November of 2020. Then in 2021, the Bucs got shutout, 9-0, in a game where Chris Godwin tore his ACL and Lavonte David suffered a foot injury. The Bucs need to show they can score against their biggest contender in the division.

This contest is even more important since it’s the first game of December. It’s the stretch run for the NFC South crown. By this time Tom Brady will be in full sync with his new offensive weapons, including Russell Gage, Julio Jones and Rachaad White. This is the game that could determine who wins the division. It also kicks off a month of very difficult opponents. After the Saints, the Bucs travel to the 49ers, then home to host the Bengals, followed by another trip out west for a Christmas night game at the Cardinals. Given a tough stretch like that, the Bucs beating the Saints could be the launching pad to go on a run.

J.C. Allen: Bucs Must Get Over The Hump With Victory vs. Rams

The Bucs’ schedule is chock full of playoff-caliber teams and Tampa Bay will be tested right out of the gate. With matchups against the Cowboys, Saints, Packers and Chiefs to start the season, the Bucs don’t get a chance to breathe until a Week 5 tilt against the division rival Falcons. Then there’s another gauntlet towards the end of the season with games against the Saints, 49ers, Bengals and Cardinals. All playoff teams from last season. But perhaps the biggest game of all comes near the middle of season with a rematch against the Rams in early November.

Bucs LB Devin White and Rams QB Matthew Stafford – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

I know what you’re probably thinking,”The Bucs need to beat the Saints!” That is true for multiple reasons. First, they haven’t beaten them in the regular season since 2018 and the Brady-led Bucs are 0-4 against them. And second, they need those divisional wins to secure the NFC South title. However, the Bucs have proven they can beat the Saints, and the Packers, and the Chiefs when it really counts. What they haven’t been able to do in their last three matchups is defeat the Rams. And getting over that hump is more important than a regular season victory over the Saints.

The Rams came into Tampa last year in the playoffs and embarrassed the Bucs in the first half of the game. In the second half, Tom Brady did Tom Brady things and nearly sparked a victory for Tampa Bay. Los Angeles would go on to win the Super Bowl and the Bucs would have sour taste in their mouth. It will be a big test for new head coach Todd Bowles who hasn’t been able to figure out Sean McVay and the Rams offense. The Bucs offense has been able to score points with at least three touchdowns in each contest but the defense has surrendered the same to the Rams offense. As defending champs the Rams are the measuring stick. Todd Bowles needs to figure out a way to beat them for redemption – and as playoff seeding could come into play.

Josh Queipo: Bowles Needs To Best McVay

Just go ahead and circle November 6 on your calendars, folks. Todd Bowles and the Bucs have proven they can beat the Saints. It was a major step in the 2020 playoff run to the Super Bowl. But you know what head coach/team they haven’t figured out yet? That would be the Sean McVay and the reigning Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams.

Rams head coach Sean McVay – Photo by: USA Today

Since Tom Brady joined the Bucs, they are 0-3 against the boy-wonder and his squad of stars and scrubs. In 2020, it was a 27-24 home loss. And last year the Rams bested the Bucs both in the regular season (34-24) as well as the playoff matchup (30-27) that ended Tampa Bay’s back-to-back world champion aspirations.

And the biggest factor in all of these losses has been Bowles and the defense’s inability to slow down a potent Rams offense. In four matchups dating back to 2019 the Bucs defense has allowed the Rams offense to average 440 yards and 33 points per game. The Bucs tried to get decidedly better on defense this past offseason with new players like Akiem Hicks, Logan Ryan, Keanu Neal and Logan Hall. There will be no better test this year than the Rams at home later in the year.

Bailey Adams: Bucs Must Win Either Saints Game

I’m going to be a little less specific than Scott on this one. While I understand (and agree) that the Bucs winning their Week 2 matchup in New Orleans would go a long way, I think the team simply must win at least one of their two games against the Saints. Whether it’s in Week 2 or when the Saints come to Raymond James Stadium for Monday Night Football in Week 13, Tampa Bay needs to get over the hump and finally take down New Orleans in the regular season.

Winning the NFC Divisional Round contest at the Superdome during their Super Bowl run remains the ultimate trump card when it comes to their back-and-forth “rivalry” with the Saints. But sooner or later, the Bucs need to reverse the curse in the regular season. The team is 0-4 in the regular season against its main NFC South foe since Tom Brady’s arrival. Overall, the Bucs have lost seven straight to New Orleans in the regular season. The last win came in Week 1 of the 2018 season when Ryan Fitzpatrick threw for 417 yards and four touchdowns.

Tampa Bay can win the NFC South without beating New Orleans. It happened last year. But having that happen again would feel hollow. If the Bucs are going to be the team they want to be this season, they need to find a way to overcome the Saints. That starts with winning the turnover battle and continues with keeping Brady clean, controlling the clock by running the ball and playing disciplined. I think they’ll find a way to put it together and split with the Saints. That’s reflected in my prediction from last week’s Pewter Report Roundtable. A sweep would be sweet. Losing both games would be disastrous. Winning just one is a must.