Bucs Downplay Saints Rivalry

The Bucs go into Sunday’s contest against the Saints needing to break a bad streak. New Orleans has come out on top in four of the past five contests and has won seven straight regular season meetings. While Tampa Bay’s one victory in that span came in the 2020 playoffs on its way to the Super Bowl, it has not been lost upon the media and fans alike that Tom Brady and Co. have not performed their best against their NFC South rivals in black and gold.

Most recently, the Bucs’ bad run includes two losses against the Saints last year in which they were embarrassingly defeated in both games. In their first matchup in Week 9, the Buccaneers blew a late 27-26 lead in the fourth quarter and let a Trevor Siemian-led Saints team comeback and win 36-27. That was after Jameis Winston tore his ACL early in the game. Later in the season, the Saints shut out the Bucs, 9-0, at Raymond James Stadium in Week 15.

With the background established heading into Week 2, how did some of the Bucs feel about this being a rivalry? For the most part, they downplayed it and consider it just another game they have to win.

Bucs LB White Preaches Being Consistent

Bucs ILB Devin White and OLB Shaq Barrett – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Bucs inside linebacker Devin White gave a response that was very team captain-like when discussing if Sunday’s game has any extra meaning.

“A win just makes us 2-0, I don’t think it establishes nothing,” White said after practice Wednesday. “After this, it’ll be what 14, 15 more games left? Just being consistent from last week and obviously getting better when we watch the film. There’s a lot of bad things that we did, we just want to be a better football club and man, whatever team is next, that’s a team that hopefully we come to work with and put good stuff on tape and that’s just the team that [has to] receive the good things we do.”

When asked if the Bucs have anything to prove against the Saints, White said he doesn’t see it that way.

“We just got to win, I don’t think we got nothing to prove to nobody,” he said. “We struggled against them and won a Super Bowl in the same year [2020]. It’s just more so about us and what we do and just holding each other accountable and playing good ball.”

Playing good ball will be key for the Bucs coming into New Orleans against a team that also is 1-0 after winning a 27-26 nail-biter against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 1. One key for them will be shutting down New Orleans’ weapons on offense. Not only do the Saints have a healthy Winston back, but they supplemented Alvin Kamara and Michael Thomas by signing free agent Jarvis Landry and drafting Chris Olave in the first round of the 2022 Draft.

Winfield Downplays Outside Noise

Bucs DB Antoine Winfield, Jr. – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

One of the key players tasked with defending many of these weapons is Antoine Winfield Jr., who spoke to Pewter Report’s JC Allen yesterday in the new Touchback Tuesdays series.

“We just set the standard [last week against the Cowboys],” Winfield said. “We’ve done it before, so why can’t we do it again?”

Much has been made of what the media and fans have said about their results against the Saints, but that is not something the team is focused on.

“That’s all outside noise,” Winfield said. “We treat every week the same, it doesn’t matter who we’re going up against. Every week, we got to come in and put that work in to go out here and win a game. That’s the only goal, to go out there and win. So, we don’t really listen to the outside noise, we’re motivated internally.”

It’s Just Another Game For The Bucs

Bucs RT Tristan Wirfs and RB Ke’Shawn Vaughn – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Buccaneers offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs does not believe in the outside noise hyping this game up either. Tampa Bay hasn’t beaten New Orleans during the regular season in his career, which makes it hard to classify Sunday’s contest as a rivalry game. Wirfs said as much after Wednesday’s practice.

“It’s not a rivalry unless there’s some give and take,” he said.

While there has been more taking losses than giving them recently, all three of White, Winfield, and Wirfs said that to them, this is just another game early in the season.

It is not about rekindling a rivalry as much as getting off to a hot start. The Bucs have their work cut out for them over the next couple of weeks, facing the Packers and Chiefs back-to-back after the Saints. Getting a win on Sunday is crucial not just to lessen the chatter about their struggles against New Orleans, but to establish themselves as the top dog in the NFC South and the NFC as a whole.

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