BUCCANEERS (8-6) VS. SAINTS (6-8)
SATURDAY, 4:25 P.M. ET, MERCEDES-BENZ SUPERDOME, NEW ORLEANS uTV: FOX, DIRECTV 712
Announcers: Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston, Laura Okmin
About the Buccaneers: After playing valiantly in defeat at the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night, Tampa Bay trails the NFC South-leading Atlanta Falcons by a game and faces a must-win situation in the Big Easy on Christmas Eve. Despite being done in by the Cowboys’ dynamic rookie duo, QB
and RB the Buccaneers remain in the hunt for the second wild-card berth in the NFC. But with another tough road game on tap, Tampa Bay can’t let the Dallas loss linger. The Saints want to avenge the 16-11 loss in Week 14 and deal a severe blow to the Bucs’ playoff aspirations. “We have to hit next week hard and go 1-0,” QB said after the Cowboys ended the Bucs’ fivegame winning streak.
Quarterback bounced back with a vengeance from two abysmal outings, throwing for 389 yards and four touchdowns with a stellar 127.9 passer rating in a 48-41 road victory against the self-destructive Arizona Cardinals. Brees had thrown six interceptions and zero touchdown passes in back-to-back losses to the Detroit Lions and Tampa Bay. Though assured of their third consecutive non-winning season and fourth in the last five seasons, the Saints can have a major impact on how the NFC South plays out with season-ending games against the Buccaneers and Atlanta Falcons (Jan. 1, Georgia Dome).
It wasn’t that Martin put up big numbers in Game 1 between the teams (23 carries, Saints quarterback Drew Brees on Sunday rebounded from two subpar outings.
66 yards, one TD), but he picked up the tough yards and took pressure off Winston and the passing game. Robertson, the Saints’ leading tackler with 102, didn’t play against the Bucs because of an injured shoulder.
He has thrown at least three interceptions in 15 games during his brilliant 16-year NFL career, with a high of five games coming against the Buccaneers, including Game 1 between the teams this
WHO WILL WIN AND WHY
season in Week 14. Brees and the Saints are 2-3 in those games against Tampa Bay and 1-0 in New Orleans, where they won 37-31 in overtime in 2014.
The Saints beat the Seattle Seahawks, Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams this season, making them the mythical champs of the NFC West. New Orleans is 1-5 against the rest of the NFC and 1-3 against the AFC West.
KEYS TO THE GAME
1. Run angry: A case could be made that Saints coach Sean Payton abandoned the run in favor of the pass against Tampa Bay on Dec. 11. Compared to 41 passes, they rushed 16 times for 46 yards (only five times in the second half for 22 yards) and picked up two first downs on the ground.
The Bucs need to get WR and TE
more involved in the rematch. The team’s leading pass catchers were limited to eight catches for 89 yards and zero TDs in Game 1. Evans has a team-high 10 TD receptions; Brate has seven, the most by a Bucs tight end since Jimmie Giles had eight in 1985.
3. Game of feet: If the first game is any indication, the rematch could come down to kickers and rookies who took different paths to the NFL. Lutz is an undrafted free agent from Georgia State; Aguayo was the 59th overall pick of this year’s draft after the Bucs traded up. Both were 3-for-3 on field goal attempts in the Dec. 11 game.
Brian Allee-Walsh