Nothing erases the disappointment of a loss quite like a win against a divisional opponent—especially when that team is the New Orleans Saints. Despite sitting with only one win, the Saints are a familiar nemesis, and they’d love nothing more than to hand the Bucs another loss. Let’s break down what each team needs to do to secure the win.
BUCS WIN IF…
Bucs on Offense: A key to the Bucs' success this season has been avoiding throwing interceptions —they’re 5-0 when they don’t throw picks and 0-2 when they do. Baker Mayfield needs to be cautious with the ball to avoid giving the Saints any momentum or favorable field position.
Come out swinging! Play like you "will" win, not just like you "should" win. Don’t let the Saints hang around. Forget about running the clock and establishing a run game early—go score points! Ideally, we can run the ball to kill the clock in the second half.
At the same time, let’s not rely on long shots down the field so much. We got greedy from our success with long passes against the 49ers and Seahawks, but struggled to do so against the Lions. There were short to intermediate route opportunities to be had, but were wasted on these long shots. If there’s one critique of Josh Grizzard, it’s his tendency to go vertical too often. Missing on those passes kill potentially good drives. And In today’s NFL, deeper passes can lead to turnovers as talented defensive backs have more time to make plays.
Bucs on Defense: Games like this worry me about our defense. By the second quarter, you start to realize that we’re struggling to get their offense off the field, and before you know it, we find ourselves down at halftime. Let’s hope that’s not the case this week.
We need our playmakers to step up. Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler will throw interceptions, but he can heat up if we let him find a rhythm. Yaya Diaby, get after the quarterback! Lavonte David and SirVocea Dennis, shut down Alvin Kamara on those underneath passes! Zion McCollum or Antoine Winfield, let’s see some interceptions! These types of games should be handled early by our playmakers. I trust Tykee Smith and Vita Vea to do their jobs.
SAINTS WIN IF…
Saints on Offense: Every team would love to establish a run game against the Bucs, similar to what the Lions did last week. However, the Saints don’t have the same talent as the Lions. They’ll need Rattler to connect with Chris Olave for big plays. Olave is extremely talented and could be a Pro Bowler on the right team—let’s not let him get going against us.
There’s always the concern that Kamara can break off some long runs or receptions. However, their best chance lies in Rattler being able to stand in the pocket against our blitzes and finding open receivers. They should focus on short, efficient passes to keep the clock running and limit the Bucs' offensive opportunities.
Saints on Defense: With Cameron Jordan and Demario Davis leading the charge, the Saints have a chance to slow most offenses down. They’ve become more of a bend-but-don’t-break defense, ranking high in limiting big plays but low in rushing yards allowed. The Saints need to prevent Rashaad White and Sean Tucker from taking over the game and instead force Baker to work for every yard, making him efficient without deep shots. If they can do that, they may force a turnover or two, giving them a chance to steal the game.
FINAL WORD: The Bucs have a bye week following Sunday’s game, and a 6-2 record would set them up nicely for the second half of the season. While the Bucs are the better team on paper, that doesn’t guarantee success in the NFL, where upsets happen every week. Here’s hoping the Bucs can avoid being one of those teams this week!
Prediction: Bucs win 27-17.