The New Orleans Saints are set to face their first divisional opponent of the 2025 NFL season this weekend when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers visit the Big Easy. Both teams are coming off big losses as the Saints fell
to the Bears and the Bucs fell to the Lions.
The NFC South foe will be playing on a short week after losing 24-9 on Monday Night Football on the road versus the Detroit Lions. Even with the loss, Tampa Bay still holds a one-game lead over the rest of the division, but New Orleans is firmly in last place with a 1-6 record.
New Orleans has managed to score over 20 points in a game just once this season. Although there has been substantial progression in the play of quarterback Spencer Rattler, the offense is stale, lacks consistency, and is completely inefficient.
Although turnovers hadn’t been much of a factor before last week, having four possessions end with the football in your opponents’ hands by way of your QB is not a good trend for the Saints. The Buccaneers have a +4 turnover differential to this point in the year and will look to increase that number when playing a struggling offense with a shaky QB and an unhealthy offensive line.
Last weekend, the Saints lost starting center Erik McCoy for the season due to a torn bicep. He suffered the injury against the Bears, but was not the only member of the offense to suffer a season-ending injury in the contest. Running back Kendre Miller played just two snaps in last Sunday’s game before exiting, and it was later revealed that he had suffered a torn ACL.
Chris Olave was one of the only bright spots for New Orleans last week as he earned his first career multi-touchdown performance. He once again proved his worth, despite being the subject of numerous potential trade candidate discussions.
Longtime member linebacker Lavonte David anchors Tampa Bay’s defense. David is third on the Bucs for total tackles and is tied for the second most sacks on the roster. The 2012 draft pick has spent his entire career in Tampa, but continues to be a mainstay for one of the better defenses in the league.
Tampa Bay has held New Orleans to under 20 points or less in five of the previous seven meetings between the two storied franchises. Unless the Saints can shake that trend, I believe that this weekend will provide a lot more disappointment for members of Who Dat Nation.
The Bucs have given up an average of 25 points per game through seven contests this year, and Spencer Rattler and the Saints will need to take advantage of this to prove he is capable of running the offense in the NFL. Otherwise, change may be on the horizon.
Head coach Kellen Moore has made note that utilizing rookie backup Tyler Shough is a “week-to-week” decision. How much rope does he give to Rattler? How many losses will it take? Only time will tell…
