Just six short days after a frustrating 24-9 defeat at the hands of the Lions on Monday Night Football, the 5-2 Bucs need to pull themselves together and look for a rebound in the final game before their bye week. Tampa Bay shouldn’t have a hard time getting up for this one, either, as the team heads to New Orleans to take on the hated division rival Saints, who come in at just 1-6.

This is a big game for the Bucs as they look to rebound and keep that Week 7 loss spiral into another loss in Week 8. A win gets Todd Bowles and Co. to 6-2 heading into their bye week, which comes at a good time as this is a roster that is badly banged up right now, even without considering the key players on injured reserve. Not only would a victory in the Big Easy get Tampa Bay to 6-2, but it would also see the team’s record in NFC South play improve to 2-0. Of course, those divisional wins are always crucial and can come in handy later in the year.

The Bucs come in looking for the franchise’s fifth-ever 6-2 start and its first since 2021. And as tough as the Saints tend to be on them even at their worst, this is a different caliber of opponent than the ones they’ve seen in recent weeks. After all, they just wrapped up a four-game stretch against teams with a combined record of 20-8, splitting those games with losses to the Eagles and Lions and wins over the Seahawks and 49ers.

Bucs HC Todd Bowles – Photo by: USA Today

Meanwhile, the Saints come in as one of the NFL’s worst teams this season. It hasn’t been a fun start for new head coach Kellen Moore, as his squad finds itself in the NFC South cellar by a pretty significant margin already. It’s already looking like a lost season for New Orleans only seven weeks in, and things could get really ugly in the coming weeks as it faces Tampa Bay at home and then has back-to-back road games against the Los Angeles Rams and a surging Carolina team. There’s a real chance the Saints hit their Week 11 bye at 1-9 if they can’t pull off an upset at home on Sunday afternoon.

Before we dive further in our “What to Watch For” preview later this week, here’s a general preview of the first of two meetings this season between Tampa Bay and New Orleans:

The Last Time…

Tampa Bay and New Orleans last met in the season finale of the 2024 season, with the Bucs pulling off a 27-19 win at Raymond James Stadium to clinch a fourth consecutive NFC South title. It didn’t come easily, as the Saints led 16-6 at halftime. But the Bucs came roaring back in the second half, getting within 16-13 on a touchdown pass from Baker Mayfield to Payne Durham.

After the Saints extended their lead to 19-13 and took that six-point advantage into the fourth, it was all Bucs. A 32-yard touchdown pass from Mayfield to Jalen McMillan capped off a 12-play, 82-yard drive that took 7:09 and gave the home team a 20-19 lead. Then, Bucky Irving scored from 11 yards out with 1:51 to go to make it an eight-point game at 27-19.

That touchdown by Irving nearly cost Mike Evans his streak of 1,000-yard seasons, only the Buccaneer defense came up with a quick stop and got the ball back to Mayfield and the offense. There was just enough time for Mayfield to find Evans for a 9-yard gain, taking him over 1,000 yards for the season and tying him with Jerry Rice for the longest streak of 1,000-yard receiving seasons in NFL history.

Bucs WR Mike Evans – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Mayfield finished the game 21-of-32 for 221 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, plus he added 68 rushing yards on nine carries. Irving ran 19 times for 89 yards and a score, while McMillan caught five passes for 74 yards and the go-ahead touchdown. But it was that historic moment for Evans, who brought in nine passes for 89 yards, that created a lasting memory for every Buccaneer on the field and on the sideline, as well as all of the Tampa Bay fans in attendance and watching from home.

That victory not only clinched a division title four-peat for Tampa Bay, but it also meant a season sweep of New Orleans, a second in the last three seasons. The Saints lead the all-time series between the two teams 40-27, but the Bucs have won five of the last six meetings, including the last three at the Superdome.

How The Bucs And Saints Are Trending

The Bucs are in need of a bounce-back game on Sunday after what was an overall disastrous night against the Lions on Monday Night Football. Tampa Bay was out of rhythm from the start, especially on the offensive side of the ball. Baker Mayfield never looked comfortable and was unable to take advantage of a Detroit defense that was missing its entire starting secondary. The run game didn’t get going early and was largely abandoned by offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard, and even when the Bucs got within 14-9 early in the second half, the defense couldn’t get the stop it needed on the following drive and let the deficit quickly get back to two scores.

To make matters worse on the night, Mike Evans went down with a concussion and broken collarbone in his first game back from a hamstring injury that cost him three weeks. The top offensive player in franchise history will now miss most of the rest of the season, if not all of it, as he elected to have surgery to repair the bone. He has a chance to come back late this season or potentially in the playoffs, but his absence will be a significant one for the Buccaneer offense in the meantime. Not to mention, Haason Reddick also left the game with an injury that will cost him some time.

So, morale wise, the Bucs are in a tough spot. In Evans, they just lost one of the most influential figures in the locker room, one of the best players in franchise history and a key part of their offense. In Reddick, they’re missing out on a disruptive pass rusher who leads the team in pressures this season. His absence leaves the lack of depth off the edge extremely exposed, as Anthony Nelson and Chris Braswell will have to step up in a big way. Of course, these new injuries are just the latest, as the team is still without Luke Goedeke, Bucky Irving and Chris Godwin Jr., among others, for this Week 8 matchup.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield and RB Sean Tucker – Photo by: USA Today

With all of that said, the Bucs have been fighting through the adversity that has come with this injury crisis all season long. They’re 5-2, and they have a real chance to be 6-2 heading into a bye week that should allow them to get healthier and hopefully get closer to some of their impact players returning. Baker Mayfield will continue to be a leader for this resilient Tampa Bay team, and the “next man up” mentality will only continue to be the key to the team’s chances to win this game and get the bad taste from the Detroit loss out of their mouths.

As much as the Bucs are looking for a rebound, Mayfield himself needs one in a big way. He’ll have to rely on rookies Emeka Egbuka and Tez Johnson, as well as veterans Sterling Shepard and Cade Otton to keep the passing game afloat. It would also help if the run game can get going. Rachaad White needs to lead the way, but perhaps there’ll be a chance for Sean Tucker to get involved and try to have a repeat of the performance he had last year at the Superdome. Back then, he ran for 136 yards and a touchdown and added another 56 receiving yards and another touchdown on his way to NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors.

Defensively, the Bucs largely need to stay the course. They’ve been trending in the right direction in recent weeks when it comes to racking up sacks and takeaways, and that even continued in an otherwise-forgettable loss to the Lions. Nelson, Yaya Diaby, SirVocea Dennis and Tykee Smith all sacked Jared Goff, with Diaby’s causing a fumble that was recovered by Elijah Roberts. Later in the first half, Jamel Dean brought in his third interception of the season, setting a new career high.

Bucs CB Jamel Dean – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

If the defense can cut down on the explosive plays it allows, such as the 78-yard touchdown run and 30-yard and 28-yard catches and runs it allowed to Jahmyr Gibbs in Week 7, it’ll be in good shape. Todd Bowles‘ unit has largely played pretty well this season, though now it will have to cope without Reddick and Calijah Kancey, two of its top pass rushers.

As for the Saints, they’ve been trending downward since, well, 2021. They haven’t made the playoffs since Drew Brees retired after the 2020 postseason loss to the Bucs, and they don’t look like they’re going to be in any position to change that this season or maybe even next. This has been a disaster of a season already, with Kellen Moore‘s team starting 0-4 before finally winning a game in Week 5. But that wasn’t a springboard for New Orleans, as it has lost back-to-back games since.

This really just isn’t a very talented Saints roster. With Derek Carr’s retirement, the team was left without a proven quarterback. It drafted Tyler Shough way too early in the 2025 Draft only to go with Spencer Rattler, last year’s fifth-round pick who started six games as a rookie and lost all of them while completing just 57 of his passes for 1,317 yards and four touchdowns to five interceptions.

Rattler has started all seven games for New Orleans this season, and the record hasn’t been better at 1-6. However, he hasn’t really been the problem for the most part. He’s completing 67.7% of his passes through seven weeks and has 1,450 yards and eight touchdowns to four interceptions.

Bucs DT Vita Vea and Saints QB Spencer Rattler – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Rattler has a few reliable targets to throw to, with Chris Olave leading the way with 44 catches on 71 (!!) targets for 440 yards (10.0 avg.) and three touchdowns. Rashid Shaheed is always a threat to make a big play, and he has 30 catches on 45 targets for 356 yards and two touchdowns. Tight end Juwan Johnson has 31 catches for 315 yards and a score, too. It would help the New Orleans offense if Alvin Kamara (342 rushing yards, 123 receiving yards) started to produce a bit more. And it would help if the offensive line could get it together, as Rattler has been sacked 15 times and the Saints are only averaging 100.1 rushing yards per game.

The Saints have some talent on defense, too, but not enough. And the problem with the talented players that unit does have is that they’re old. Demario Davis is still productive (61 tackles, five tackles for loss, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery), but he’s set to turn 37 in January. The ever-talkative Cameron Jordan isn’t the same player he once was, yet his 2.5 sacks are the second-most on the defense behind Carl Granderson‘s 4.5.

With that said, there’s some younger talent in the secondary, and the Saints have been good at taking the ball away this season. Kool-Aid McKinstry leads the team with two interceptions, while rookies Jonas Sanker and Quincy Riley have one each. New Orleans has forced and recovered five fumbles, too, totaling nine takeaways, which is in the top half of the league and one more than Tampa Bay has. The issue is that the Saints still only have a turnover margin of +1, while the Bucs are three better at +4.

Saints HC Kellen Moore – Photo by: USA Today

While the state of their roster would indicate this Saints team is far from getting back to being the Saints of the 2010s, they’ve still been a tough out this season. Their first two losses were by seven and five points, respectively, and even after a 44-13 blowout loss against the Seahawks, they kept it a game against the Bills in Buffalo the next week. And after beating the Giants in Week 5, they’ve lost to the Patriots by six and the Bears by 12 in a game that was within one score for nearly three quarters. So, while the Bucs are clearly the better and more talented team, this isn’t a pushover of a team they’re facing.

Here’s how the Bucs and Saints stack up heading into Week 8:

Bucs Offense: 13th in scoring offense (24.9 PPG), 16th in total offense (338.9 yards per game), 9th in passing offense (239.3 yards per game), 24th in rushing offense (99.6 yards per game)

Saints Offense: 29th in scoring offense (17.9 PPG), 24th in total offense (297.9 yards per game), 24th in passing offense (197.7 yards per game), 23rd in rushing offense (100.1 yards per game)

Bucs Defense: 22nd in scoring defense (25.0 points allowed per game), 17th in total defense (328.0 yards allowed per game), 21st in passing defense (229.0 yards allowed per game), 11th in rushing defense (99.0 yards allowed per game)

Saints Defense: 27th in scoring defense (26.6 points allowed per game), T-19th in total defense (335.7 yards allowed per game), 12th in passing defense (206.3 yards allowed per game), 24th in rushing defense (129.4 yards allowed per game)

As of Wednesday night, the Bucs are 4-point favorites, with the Over/Under set at 46.5 (per Hard Rock Bet).

Bucs at Saints Game Information

When: Sunday, October 26
Where: Caesars Superdome (New Orleans, LA)
Kickoff: 4:05 p.m. ET
TV: FOX – Kenny Albert (Play by Play), Jonathan Vilma (Analyst), Megan Olivi (Reporter)
Bucs Radio: 98Rock – Gene Deckerhoff (Play by Play), Dave Moore (Color), T.J. Rives (Reporter)
Spanish Radio: 96.1 Caliente – Martín Gramática, Santiago Gramática