SmashMouth

New Orleans Saints at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were momentarily the darlings of the NFL in Week 1, when they dropped 48 points on the New Orleans Saints. The two teams have taken different paths since then.

The Saints won 10 in a row following that Week 1 shocker, only recently having the streak broken in a 13-10 loss to Dallas last Thursday. Tampa Bay, meanwhile, has won four more games during a tumultuous season that has included multiple quarterback changes, one fired coordinator.

So, while looking ahead, let us also look back a bit.



Round 2
The Buccaneers shocked the Saints, 48-40, in the season opener (more on that later). A lot has changed since that day.

Ryan Fitzpatrick took the New Orleans secondary by storm in Week 1, kept the job when Jameis Winston returned from suspension, lost his job by Week 5, got it back after leading a spirited second-half comeback against Cincinnati, then lost it again after throwing three interceptions in Week 11 against the Giants.

Tampa Bay fired defensive coordinator Mike Smith in October after the Buccaneers gave up 2,200 yards of total offense in their first five games, then head coach Dirk Koetter took over play-calling duties from offensive coordinator Todd Monken in a 16-3 loss to the Redskins in Week 10 (duties that have since been restored).

Since taking the starting job back, Jameis Winston has played some of the best football of his career. He was inserted at halftime against the Giants three weeks ago and led Tampa Bay to 28 second-half points, nearly completing a dramatic comeback, then led Tampa Bay to two straight wins after that. His passer rating the last three weeks is 119.1.

The Buccaneers team that caught the Saints off guard in Week 1 will not be the same team that New Orleans will see this week.

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