In 2021, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won seven of their last eight games and scored an average of 33 points in those wins. The one loss in that span, a 9-0 blanking by the 6-7 New Orleans Saints at Raymond James Stadium in Week 15. That was one of the five victories the Saints have logged in their last seven trips to Tampa. It's safe to say the 2025 Buccaneers are well aware that they can't take any New Orleans team lightly, even one that is coming in with a 2-10 record.

The Buccaneers have won their last three games against New Orleans, however, and Head Coach Todd Bowles knows the formula for getting a second consecutive season sweep: Take the ball away on defense. Don't turn it over on offense.

"Any time we play them, it's always who wins the turnover battle – every time," said Bowles. "The records are out the window. They play hard, we play hard, we both know each other pretty well. Whoever wins the turnover battle wins the game."

The Buccaneers prevailed 23-3 in Week Eight in the Superdome when they won the turnover battle 4-1, including a game-tilting pick-six by outside linebacker Anthony Nelson. The Saints' only points came on a 15-yard drive after a Baker Mayfield fumble late in the first half. Tampa Bay intercepted both New Orleans quarterbacks, Spencer Rattler and Tyler Shough, after the Saints made the switch to their rookie at halftime. The second-round draft pick has started every game since and has thrown for 1,068 yards, five touchdowns and four interceptions while completing 65.2% of his passes.

"He's faster than I thought," said Bowles of the Saints' new starter under center. "He plays with a lot of confidence, has a very quick release, very accurate. He's a hell of a competitor."

Shough has understandably made a habit of getting the ball to fourth-year wideout Chris Olave, who ranks second among all NFL wide receivers to Cincinnati's Ja'Marr Chase with 111 targets. He has turned those targets into 73 catches for 781 yards and five touchdowns. Tight end Juwan Johnson has also been an effective weapon in the passing attack with 54 grabs for 576 yards and three touchdowns. Young pass-catcher Devaughn Vele, acquired in a preseason trade with Denver, has begun to emerge as a strong second option in the wake of the team's trade of Rashid Shaheed to Seattle. Vele had a career-best game in the Saints' narrow loss in Miami last weekend, catching eight passes for 93 yards and a score.

Meanwhile, the Saints' veteran-laden defense, which held the Bucs to 212 yards and 14 touchdowns n the Week Eight meeting, continues to hold its own. Ageless linebacker Demario Davis is fifth in the league with 111 tackles and the edge rush trio of Cameron Jordan, Chase Young and Carl Granderson has combined for 16 sacks. The Saints' defense ranks 12th in the NFL in yards allowed, seventh in passing yards allowed and eighth in sacks per pass play.

"[They have] some minor changes here and there," said Mayfield of the Saints' defense since the last time he faced it. "They still do what they do and do it well. I'd say the pass rush is getting home a little bit more. They're trusting Demario in coverage, letting some of the other linebackers blitz. [Davis] is still a matchup nightmare when he lines up [on] the line of scrimmage. [We have] to be aware of where he's at, but I think Granderson and Chase are also playing really well on the edges."

The Buccaneers are not looking past the Saints – Mayfield declined to speak about upcoming matchups with the Carolina Panthers on Wednesday – which means they are concerned only with this Sunday's game not the various playoff scenarios. And yet it is true that Tampa Bay can clinch the division title if it can win its next three games against the Saints, Falcons and Panthers. Conversely, a loss on Sunday to New Orleans would drop them into a virtual tie with the Panthers and would almost certainly mean the division would be coming down to a Week 18 game against Carolina.

"You want to control your own destiny. You don't want to sit and look at scores every Sunday," said Bowles. "If you can control your own destiny and get guys back in the process and acclimate them the right way and they can help contribute, that's all you can ask for."

The Saints, of course, will be just as eager to play spoiler against a bitter rival.

"Against them, it really never [comes easy]," said Mayfield. "We don't like them; they don't like us. They play hard, you can see it on the tape based on the other games that they've played since we've played them last and it shows. We know what to expect; record doesn't indicate how physical this matchup is going to be, what a tough matchup it is. They know us, we know them well, so it's one of those, who can execute better and be the more physical team?"

GAME AND BROADCAST DETAILS

New Orleans Saints (2-10) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-5)

Sunday, December 7, 1:00 p.m. ET

Raymond James Stadium (capacity: 65,844)

Tampa, Florida

TV Broadcast Team: Kevin Harlan (play-by-play), Trent Green (analyst), Melanie Collins (reporter)

Radio: 98Rock (WXTB, 97.9 FM), Flagship Station

Radio Broadcast Team: Gene Deckerhoff (play-by-play), Dave Moore (analyst), T.J. Rives (reporter)

Spanish Radio: 96.1 Caliente

Spanish Radio Broadcast Team: Carlos Bohorquez (play-by-play), Martin Gramática (analyst), Santiago Gramática (reporter)

GAMEDAY INFORMATION

Coming to the game or enjoying pregame festivities? Check out our Buccaneers Gameday Page for everything you need to know about getting ready for the game, Tailgate Packages, Bucs Beach and more!

TICKETING INFORMATION

The 2025 season is underway and there are a limited number of Single Game Tickets on sale now! Visit Buccaneers.com to purchase tickets.

ALL-TIME HEAD-TO-HEAD SERIES

The Buccaneers and Saints were frequent opponents in the '70s, '80s and '90s when the NFL's annual game schedule was heavily influenced by the previous year's standings. They became even better acquainted when the league changed its scheduling format to a divisional rotation in 2002, after a 32nd team was added and the NFL realigned into eight four-team divisions. The Buccaneers left their old NFC Central haunt that year to join the new NFC South, which also drew in the Saints, Panthers and Falcons. That meant two games against the Saints every year, of course.

New Orleans leads the all-time series with Tampa Bay, 40-27 but the Buccaneers have won six of the last seven meetings, including a Week Eight contest in the Superdome earlier this year. Anthony Nelson broke up a scoreless affair in the second quarter with an incredible interception in which he leaped to tip the ball, hauling in the rebound and running over quarterback Spencer Rattle for a three-yard pick six. Sean Tucker added a one-yard touchdown run and Chase McLaughlin earned NFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors for drilling three field goals of 52 yards or longer. The Saints made a switch at quarterback at halftime, replacing Rattler with rookie Tyler Shough but the Bucs limited the home team to a single field goal in a 23-3 decision.

The Bucs also won both games with the Saints in 2024. The first of those was a 51-27 blowout in the Superdome in Week Six of this season. The Buccaneers rushed out to a quick 17-0 lead in the first quarter, keyed by Antoine Winfield Jr.'s 58-yard fumble return for a touchdown, but a rash of turnovers by the offense in the second quarter allowed the Saints to storm back for a 27-24 halftime lead. However, the Bucs scored all 27 of the game's second-half points while amassing a franchise single-game record with 594 yards of offense. Tucker won NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors for his 192 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns in the game.

In the final week of the 2024 regular season, the Saints came to Raymond James Stadium with the Bucs needing a win to clinch a fourth straight NFC South title and rushed out to a 16-6 halftime lead over the home team. However, Baker Mayfield threw second-half touchdown passes to Payne Durham and Jalen McMillan and Bucky Irving iced the 27-19 decision with an 11-yard touchdown run in the final two minutes. The Buccaneers' defense famously got one more defensive stop to prevent a game-tying touchdown and two-point conversion and give the ball back to the offense so Mike Evans could catch one more nine-yard pass and surpass 1,000 receiving yards for the 11th season in a row.

The Bucs also won in New Orleans in 2023, taking a 26-9 decision in the Superdome in Week Four. Mayfield threw touchdown passes to Deven Thompkins, Trey Palmer and Cade Otton and the Bucs' defense held the Saints to 197 total yards of offense. Winfield had another big game, combining a team-high nine tackles with a sack, two tackles for loss, a pass defensed, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

The Buccaneers won five of their last six regular season games in 2023, but the exception was a rematch with the Saints in Tampa in Week 17. New Orleans got the split and kept the Bucs from clinching the division title (for one more week), racing out to a 20-0 lead before finishing off a 23-13 victory. Quarterback Derek Carr threw touchdown passes to tight ends Juwan Johnson and Taysom Hill and the Saints' defense picked Mayfield off twice.

The Buccaneers own the win in the only postseason meeting between the two teams, as they defeated the Saints in the Divisional Round in 2020 by a 30-20 score in the Superdome on the way to the Super Bowl LV championship. That proved to be the final game in Drew Brees's illustrious career, as he retired a few months later. Sean Murphy-Bunting, Mike Edwards and Devin White all picked Brees off as the Bucs rallied from a seven-point deficit in the second half to get the win, scoring the game's final 17 points.

In 2022, the Bucs got their first season sweep of their division rival since 2007. Before that, the Saints had won seven in a row in the head-to-head battle (not counting the 2020 postseason game) dating back to 2018. Tampa Bay won in the Superdome in Week Two in 2022, taking a 20-10 decision that was actually still a 3-3 tie going into the fourth quarter. The Bucs' defense generated five turnovers in the last 17 minutes of game play, including a pick-six by safety Mike Edwards. In the Week 13 rematch in Tampa, on the Monday Night Football stage, the Bucs rallied for two fourth-quarter touchdowns to eke out a 17-16 victory. Tom Brady led 91 and 63-yard touchdown drives in the last five minutes of the game, ending the first with a one-yard touchdown pass to Otton and the second with a six-yard scoring connection with Rachaad White with three seconds left in the game.

During their long winning streak in the series, New Orleans scored at least 28 points in five of those seven games, including a 36-27 decision in New Orleans on Halloween last year. The exception was a 9-0 blanking the Saints delivered at Raymond James Stadium last December, marking just the second shutout for either team in the series and the first since a 41-0 win by New Orleans in 2012. The roughest game for the Buccaneers in that stretch came on a Sunday night in November of 2020 at Raymond James Stadium, with the Saints rolling to a 38-3 decision that was easily Tampa Bay's worst game on its way to that Super Bowl title.

The Bucs-Saints series was first contested in 1977. That initial meeting is famously the first win in franchise history for the Buccaneers, who left New Orleans on December 11 of that year with a 33-14 victory that snapped a franchise-opening 26-game losing streak. The Bucs still had a 3-2 edge in the series by the end of 1982, which would also prove to be the end of the franchise's first run of playoff seasons. The Saints took control of the series by winning six straight in the mid-'80s.

Since they became division mates, the Bucs and Saints have squared off 45 times, 27 of them going in favor of New Orleans. The two teams had a run of season splits from 2015-18, and it wasn't just a matter of the each club holding serve on home field advantage. The Buccaneers actually won at New Orleans in 2015 and 2018, as noted above. That 2018 game was a 48-40 decision that set an NFL record for most combined points in a Week One contest.

Weirdly, the Saints beat Tampa Bay twice in that first NFC South season in 2002, even though the Buccaneers would win the 2002 division title on their way to victory in Super Bowl XXXVII. Those two games represented half of the Bucs' losses that year. In a minor bit of payback, a 2-12 Bucs team beat a 13-1 Saints team in the penultimate week of the 2009 season, before the Saints would go on to win their first Super Bowl. The Saints also won both games in 2020 in the regular season, in another Buccaneers championship campaign.

NOTABLE CONNECTIONS

• Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, who is in his first season with the Buccaneers, played the 2018 and 2019 seasons in New Orleans as a backup to Drew Brees. Bridgewater got into 14 games and logged six starts in that span, and in 2019 he kept the Saints on track to win the NFC South title by winning all five of his starts while Brees was out with an injury.
• Buccaneers Senior Advisor to the General Manager Bruce Arians got his first NFL coaching job in Kansas City from 1989-92 but then returned to the college ranks in 1993. His second crack at the NFL would come in New Orleans, where he was the tight ends coach under Head Coach Jim Mora in 1996.
• Kevin Carberry, the Buccaneers' Run Game Coordinator/Offensive Line Coach, came to Tampa from New Orleans, where he was the assistant offensive line coach in 2023.
• Among the many coaching stops for Buccaneers Assistant Coach Tom Moore over more than four decades in the NFL was one season as the Saints' running backs coach in 1997.
• Fred McAfee, the Saints' vice president of player engagement, played 16 years in the NFL as a running back and that included a very brief stop with the Buccaneers in 1999. McAfee appeared in one game for Tampa Bay that season.
• Safety J.T. Gray, who was signed to the Buccaneers' practice squad on November 21, spent his first seven seasons with the Saints.
• Saints Special Teams Coach Phil Galiano was an assistant special teams coach in Tampa under Head Coach Greg Schiano in 2012-13.
• Saints wide receiver Trey Palmer, who is currently on injured reserve, began his NFL career as a sixth-round draft pick by the Buccaneers in 2023. Palmer played two seasons in Tampa and recorded 51 catches for 557 yards and four touchdowns before being waived in the final roster cutdown this August and claimed off waivers by the Saints.

SENIOR COACHING STAFFS

Tampa Bay:

• Head Coach Todd Bowles

• Offensive Coordinator Josh Grizzard

• Run Game Coordinator/Offensive Line Coach

• Pass Game Coordinator George Edwards

• Run Game Coordinator/Outside Linebackers Coach Larry Foote

• Special Teams Coordinator Thomas McGaughey

New Orleans:

• Head Coach Kellen Moore

• Offensive Coordinator Doug Nussmeier

• Defensive Coordinator Brandon Staley

• Special Teams Coordinator Phil Galiano

KEY 2025 ROSTER ADDITIONS

Buccaneers:

• QB Connor Bazelak (UDFA)
• QB Teddy Bridgewater (FA)
• LB John Bullock (UDFA)
• T Benjamin Chukwuma (UDFA)
• P Riley Dixon (UFA)
• WR Emeka Egbuka (1st-round draft pick)
• G Dan Feeney (FA)
• T Charlie Heck (UFA)
• WR Tez Johnson (7th-round draft pick)
• G Michael Jordan (FA)
• CB Kindle Vildor (UFA)
• CB Benjamin Morrison (2nd-round draft pick)
• CB Jacob Parrish (3rd-round draft pick)
• DL Elijah Roberts (5th-round draft pick)
• DL Elijah Simmons (FA)
• OLB David Walker (4th-round draft pick…on injured reserve)

Saints:

• T Kelvin Banks (1st-round draft pick)
• S Julian Blackmon (FA…currently on injured reserve)
• DT Vernon Broughton (3rd-round draft pick…currently on injured reserve)
• DT Jonathan Bullard (FA)
• CB Michael Davis (FA)
• C Luke Fortner (T-JAX)
• DT Davin Godchaux (T-NE)
• P Kai Kroger (FA)
• TE Zaire Mitchell-Paden (W-BAL)
• RB Devin Neal (6th-round draft pick)
• WR Trey Palmer (W-TB…currently on injured reserve)
• WR Ja'Lynn Polk (T-NE…currently on injured reserve)
• G Dillon Radunz (UFA)
• S Justin Reid (UFA)
• CB Quincy Riley (4th-round draft pick)
• S Jonas Sanker (3rd-round draft pick)
• QB Tyler Shough (2nd-round draft pick)
• TE Jack Stoll (FA)
• LB Danny Stutsman (4th-round draft pick)
• WR Devaughn Vale (T-DEN)
• DE Jonah Williams (FA)
• CB Isaac Yiadom (UFA)

ADDITIONAL 2025 CHANGES/DEVELOPMENTS OF NOTE

Buccaneers:

• The Buccaneers rolled into 2025 with their fourth offensive coordinator in the last four years. This year's transition, however, is a bit different than the last two. In 2023 and 2024, Dave Canales and Liam Coen, respectively, came to town with entirely new offensive systems that the players had to absorb. In 2025, the Buccaneers followed the departure of Coen to be the Jacksonville Jaguars' head coach by promoting former Pass Game Coordinator Josh Grizzard from within. Grizzard is certainly evolving the Bucs' offense in new ways and have his own spin on play-calling, but the basic system remains the same, offering a very helpful continuity for a team that is also returning all of its offensive regulars from a unit that finished in the top five in 2024 in net yards, points scored, rushing yards and passing yards. After Grizzard's promotion, the Buccaneers also hired one of his former colleagues, Kefense Hynson, to be the team's new pass game coordinator.
• To celebrate their landmark 50th season, the Buccaneers have unveiled a new sort of throwback uniform in 2025. In addition to the popular "Creamsicle" togs that they will don for the Thursday night game against Atlanta in Week 15, the Bucs have also worn, for this season only, a white version of their original uniforms worn during the 1976 season. Those uniforms made their debut in the home opener against the Jets in Week Three and were broken out again when the Bucs played at Seattle in Week Five, a game that was a battle of the NFL's two expansion teams from 1976.
• While Todd Bowles remains the play-caller for Tampa Bay's defense, he did make some changes to his defensive coaching staff. Mike Caldwell, who was part of the Bucs' staff from 2019-21 when Bowles was the defensive coordinator, returns to tutor the inside linebackers. Larry Foote has moved from inside linebackers to outside linebackers and is also the team's run game coordinator. George Edwards, who previously coached the outside linebackers, is now the pass game coordinator.
• The Buccaneers started the season without All-Pro left tackle Tristan Wirfs and wide receiver Chris Godwin, but both returned to the lineup in Week Four. However, the Buccaneers' injured reserve list has grown considerably as the season has progressed. Wide receiver Jalen McMillan sustained a severe neck strain in Week Two of the preseason against Pittsburgh and is expected to be sidelined for at least half of the regular season. He is currently on injured reserve but can be designated for return. Since the start of the season, the Buccaneers have also lost defensive linemen Calijah Kancey, tackle Luke Goedeke, guard Cody Mauch, tight end Ko Kieft and safety Rashad Wisdom to injured reserve. Goedeke has since returned to the active roster but Mauch and Kieft are likely to miss the rest of the season. Godwin suffered a second injury that has had him sidelined for weeks and fellow wide receiver Mike Evans is on injured reserve due to a fractured collarbone.
• The changes made to the kickoff process by the NFL during the offseason appear to have impacted the Buccaneers' strategy for that play in a significant manner. Now that a touchback on a ball caught or landing in the end zone puts the ball at the receiving team's 35, the Buccaneers have relied a lot less on touchbacks, which they produced on more than 75% of their kickoffs last year. With that in mind, the team took kick coverage units into serious consideration when shaping the 53-man roster and multiple players – including linebacker John Bullock, cornerback Josh Hayes, outside linebacker Markees Watts and wide receivers Ryan Miller and Kameron Johnson – made the team in large part due to their special teams contributions.

Saints:

• The Saints started the offseason in search of a new head coach after letting Dennis Allen go at midseason last year. They eventually elected to poach the Philadelphia Eagles' championship staff to take their one-year offensive coordinator, Kellen Moore. Moore had spent the last six seasons as an NFL coordinator with the Cowboys, Chargers and Eagles and he led a Philadelphia attack that finished seventh in points scored in 2024.
• Moore brought in a pair of new coordinators, with Doug Nussmeier taking over the offense and Brandon Staley leading the defense. Nussmeier followed Moore over from the Eagles, where he tutored the quarterbacks, the same position he held under Moore in Los Angeles and Dallas. He is a former coordinator on the college level with such powerful programs as Michigan, Florida, Alabama and Washington. Staley got a stint as the Chargers head coach based on his work as a defensive coordinator for the Rams on Sean McVay's staff. This will be the first time since 2014 that Allen is not involved in running the Saints' defense.
• The Saints' transition to youth in the quarterback room was hastened by the surprise revelation early in the offseason that Derek Carr had a shoulder injury that could threaten his entire 2025 season. Carr eventually elected to retire on May 10, after the Saints had used a second-round draft pick on Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough. That set up a training camp battle between Shough and 2024 fifth-round pick Spencer Rattler, who started six games as a rookie but did not record a win in any of them. Rattler eventually won that battle and has started all seven games so far this season. Rather than elect for surgery on his shoulder and spend the 2025 season on the Saints' injured reserve list, Carr retired and in the process gave the team $30 million in cap relief.
• Carr wasn't the only Saints veteran to choose retirement in the offseason. Tackle Ryan Ramczyk, who started 101 games for New Orleans from 2017-23, also hung up his cleats after missing the entire 2024 campaign due to chronic knee issues. He announced his retirement on May 10; safety Tyrann Mathieu took a bit longer to decide but then announced his decision in July on the eve of the Saints' training camp. Mathieu played the last three seasons of his 12-year NFL career in New Orleans, starting all 51 of the team's games in that span.
• The Saints started the season with two tight ends on the reserve/physically unable to perform list, as both jack-of-all-trades Taysom Hill and Foster Moreau were not ready to suit up in September. However, both players were activated on October 4.
• New Orleans traded deep-threat receiver Rashid Shaheed to the Seahawks at the trade deadline on November 4. The Saints got back fourth and fifth-round picks in the deal for Shaheed, who had spent his first three-and-a-half seasons in New Orleans. The Saints also traded guard Trevor Penning to the Chargers on the same day for a 2027 sixth-round pick.
• New Orleans recently made a change at kicker, waiving Blake Grupe, who had missed eight of his 26 field goals on the season. His replacement is Charlie Smyth, a native of Ireland who came to the Saints as part of the International Player Pathway Program in 2024. He spent all of that season on the Saints' practice squad and returned to that unit this season. Smyth was elevated for the Saints' game in Miami last weekend and hit his only field goal try from 56 yards out, while also helping create a successful onside kick in the fourth quarter.

INJURY REPORT

Key:

DNP: Did not participate in practice

LP: Limited participation in practice

FP: Full participation in practice

NL: Not listed

Buccaneers ^:

• WR Mike Evans* (collarbone) – WEDS: LP
• WR Chris Godwin (fibula) – WEDS: LP
• RB Bucky Irving (shoulder) – WEDS: LP
• QB Baker Mayfield (left shoulder) – WEDS: LP
• WR Jalen McMillan* (neck) – WEDS: LP
• CB Benjamin Morrison (hamstring) – WEDS: FP
• OLB Haason Reddick (ankle) – WEDS: FP
• T Tristan Wirfs (oblique) – WEDS: DNP
• S Rashad Wisdom* (quad) – WEDS: FP

^ The Buccaneers conducted a walk-through on Wednesday. The practice status reports from that day are estimations.

* Evans, McMillan and Wisdom are in their 21-day windows to return from injured reserve.

Saints:

• T Taliese Fuaga (ankle) – WEDS: DNP
• RB Alvin Kamara (knee/ankle) – WEDS: DNP
• WR Chris Olave (back) – WEDS: DNP
• S Justin Reid (knee) – WEDS: DNP

BUCCANEERS' UNIFORM COMBINATION

The Buccaneers will wear red jerseys and pewter pants in Week 14.

WEATHER FORECAST

Cloudy with likely showers, high of 76, low of 63, 82% chance of rain, 89% humidity, winds out of the SW at 5-10 mph.

GAME REFEREE

Head referee: Clete Blakeman (18th season, 16th as referee)

BETTING LINE

• Favorite: Buccaneers (-8.5)
• Over/Under: 42.5

INDIVIDUAL STAT LEADERS

Buccaneers-

Points Scored: K Chase McLaughlin, 89

Touchdowns: WR Emeka Egbuka, 6

Passing Yards: QB Baker Mayfield, 2,600

Passer Rating: QB Baker Mayfield, 93.4

Rushing Yards: RB Rachaad White, 421

Receptions: WR Emeka Egbuka, 52

Receiving Yards: WR Emeka Egbuka, 791

Interceptions: LB Jamel Dean, 3

Sacks: Yaya Diaby, 6.0

Tackles: S Tykee Smith, 88

Saints-

Points Scored: K Blake Grupe*, 69

Touchdowns: WR Chris Olave, 5

Passing Yards: QB Spencer Rattler, 1,586

Passer Rating: QB Spencer Rattler, 86.8

Rushing Yards: RB Alvin Kamara, 471

Receptions: WR Chris Olave, 73

Receiving Yards: WR Chris Olave, 781

Interceptions: CB Kool-Aid McKinstry, 3

Sacks: OLB Cameron Jordan, 6.5

Tackles: LB Demario Davis, 111

* No longer with the team

TEAM STAT RANKINGS

Buccaneers-

Scoring Offense: 17th (23.3 ppg)

Total Offense: 21st (316.2 ypg)

Rushing Offense: 21st (109.8 ypg)

Passing Offense: 19th (206.3 ypg)

First Downs Per Game: 22nd (18.6)

Third-Down Pct.: 15th (39.6%)

Sacks Per Pass Attempt Allowed: 14th (6.47%)

Red Zone TD Pct.: t-25th (50.0%)

Scoring Defense: 23rd (25.1 ppg)

Total Defense: 22nd (344.9 ypg)

Rushing Defense: 6th (97.4 ypg)

Passing Defense: 29th (247.5 ypg)

First Downs Allowed Per Game: 13th (18.9)

Third-Down Pct. Allowed: 20th (39.7%)

Sacks Per Pass Attempt: 17th (6.99%)

Red Zone TD Pct. Allowed: 30th (69.0%)

Turnover Margin: t-2nd (+9)

Saints-

Scoring Offense: 30th (15.2 ppg)

Total Offense: 26th (296.6 ypg)

Rushing Offense: 29th (90.7 ypg)

Passing Offense: 20th (205.9 ypg)

First Downs Per Game: 23rd (18.4)

Third-Down Pct.: 21st (37.6%)

Sacks Per Pass Attempt Allowed: 17th (7.51%)

Red Zone TD Pct.: 32nd (38.7%)

Scoring Defense: 22nd (24.6 ppg)

Total Defense: 12th (314.6 ypg)

Rushing Defense: 21st (126.9 ypg)

Passing Defense: 7th (187.7 ypg)

First Downs Allowed Per Game: 17th (19.6)

Third-Down Pct. Allowed: 9th (36.6%)

Sacks Per Pass Attempt: 8th (8.48%)

Red Zone TD Pct. Allowed: 17th (56.8%)

Turnover Margin: t-26th (-5)

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

• LB Lavonte David secured his 14th interception in the Bucs' Week Five win in Seattle, setting up the game-ending field goal. With one more interception, he would join Pro Football Hall of Famers Charles Woodson and Ray Lewis as the only players with 15-plus interceptions, 15-plus forced fumbles and 15-plus fumble recoveries since data began being tracked in 1994.
• David also has 176 career tackles for loss and needs one more to pass Aaron Donald for the third-most TFLs among all NFL players since that statistic began being tracked in 2008.
• DL Vita Vea recorded a sack against Arizona in Week 13, pushing his career total to 34.0 and moving him into sole possession of ninth place on the Bucs' all-time list as he broke a tie with both Brad Culpepper and Jason Pierre-Paul. Vea could move up another spot on the list with just one more sack, passing Chidi Ahanotu (34.5) for eighth place.
• S Antoine Winfield Jr. has 18.0 career sacks, tied with four other players for the 11th most by a defensive back since sacks became an official statistic in 1982. Two more sacks would allow him to tie Charles Woodson for 10th place on that list.
• WR Emeka Egbuka has 791 receiving yards in 2025. With 27 more he would pass Lawrence Dawsey (818) for the fourth-most receiving yards by a rookie in team history.

NOTABLY QUOTABLE

• Head Coach Todd Bowles on what it's been like seeing WR Jalen McMillan's recovery from a 'scary' neck injury: "It was great to see him get cleared. You can see the smile back on his face and him moving around a lot better and him looking great. You can tell he got his weight back up, he's been running quite a bit, so just to see him back out there…I'm happy for him."
• Quarterback Baker Mayfield on WR Chris Godwin Jr. having a strong performance in his second game back from injury: "Even the practice leading up to it, he looked better than he did earlier in the season. He just looked more confident, I'll say that, and just looked more explosive. For him, just translating it and it was good to see him back out there."
• Wide receiver Chris Godwin on playing the New Orleans Saints earlier in the season and what they need to focus on this matchup: "Honestly, I think it's just going to take a lot of communication by us. We [have] to be on the same page offensively and we [have] to make sure we're playing with the right effort and energy as well. It's a divisional game, they're going to bring their best game, and we have to do the same."
• Center Graham Barton on having running back Bucky Irving back from injury and what he does for the offense: "Bucky [Irving] is a massive add because I think going back to 2024 statistically having so much success in the run game being revered as one of those offensive lines, but -- I think we did a great job, not taking away anything from us -- you look at some of those plays…someone might've missed a block or we didn't have it all blocked correctly, but Bucky makes a couple of moves and he's gone. So, having a guy like that who can just bail you out and make a few guys miss, you never know when he's going to take one 30-40 yards, and it can be any run-of-the-mill play where he does that. I think just having that dynamic is really awesome and we're super happy to have him back. I thought he did a lot of great things on Sunday; thought we could have helped him more on certain plays, but just happy to see him out there flying around again."
• Punter Riley Dixon on if he's changed his approach to punting the ball at all this season, or if it's mostly remained the same: "Just staying within yourself. Sometimes you try to do a little too much or try to go for the superhero shots when, really, this game just calls on you to be your best and put your team in the best position to secure field position – especially in this stadium, you know, there's wind, there's a lot of factors going into how much you really want to bite off on each play and how much you're capable of…Then, also, taking what it gives you at certain times. It takes a little bit of patience."