Ranking the Buccaneers NFC South rivals heading into 2024 season
By Brad Smith
No. 3 Rivalry: Buccaneers vs Saints
Compared to their rivalry with Atlanta and Carolina, Tampa Bay's history with New Orleans since 2002 has been nothing short of one-sided. For reference, the Saints have won 40 of the 65 total meetings against the Buccaneers, including the playoffs, highlighted by a 10-4 mark from 2015-2021.
Since then, Tampa Bay has managed to win three of the past five meetings by an average of 9.3 points, including a 26-9 victory over New Orleans in week four. Regardless, the Saints still have the overall advantage in division titles and playoff berths over the Bucs, with marks of 7-6 and 9-7 entering the 2024 season.
Before the Bucs' dominant stretch of winning the NFC South for the last three seasons, it was the Saints that ran the division. From 2017-2020, New Orleans won four straight division titles with a combined 49-15 record, three playoff wins, and an appearance in the 2018 NFC Championship. Before that, the Saints won division titles in 2006, 2009, and 2011, while managing to win Super Bowl XLIV behind Drew Brees, their first and only Super Bowl Championship in team history.
With the majority of pundits and fans focusing on the NFC South as a two-team race between the Bucs and the Falcons, the Saints are a team that shouldn't be counted out this early as a contender for the division. Last season, New Orleans actually finished with a 9-8 record, the same as Tampa Bay's, but the tiebreaker went to Tampa Bay based on divisional record.
2023 marked the first season of veteran quarterback Derek Carr as the Saints' QB1, and the ten-year vet had his shares of highs and lows. Overall, Carr threw for 3,878 passing yards, 25 touchdowns, eight interceptions, and a 97.7 passer rating on 68.4% completion. Carr did close the season especially strong, posting a 14-2 touchdown-to-interception ratio and leading New Orleans to a 4-1 mark in their last five games.
Even with solid play from Carr, the Saints' offensive line struggled mightily, allowing 31 sacks and 35 quarterback hits, per Sports Reference. Former All-Pro tackle Ryan Ramczyk was a shell of himself in 2023 with a chronic knee injury, and 2022 first-round pick Trevor Penning was atrocious at the start of the year, and played just 14 offensive snaps in the final 11 games.
Defensively, the Saints finished their fourth consecutive season with a top-10 scoring defense, but there are some cracks in the foundation. Age is a key concern on defense for New Orleans, as they'll enter the season with 35-year-old starters at defensive end (Cameron Jordan) and linebacker (Demario Davis), and a 32-year-old starter at safety (Tyrann Mathieu).
In 2024, Tampa Bay and New Orleans will play their first meeting against one another in week six at the Caesars Superdome at 12:00 PM CT. In the final week of the season, the Saints will meet the Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium for their second matchup, in a game that will likely hold playoff implications based on how the teams do next season.
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