Latest NFL news puts Buccaneers' NFC South title hopes at stake
TAMPA BAY – The Buccaneers are looking to win back-to-back NFC South titles for the first time in franchise history as they enter the 2022 season. They've never been in better position to do so with Tom Brady at quarterback and the majority of their Super Bowl roster still intact. Vegas even continued to consider […]
TAMPA BAY – The Buccaneers are looking to win back-to-back NFC South titles for the first time in franchise history as they enter the 2022 season. They've never been in better position to do so with Tom Brady at quarterback and the majority of their Super Bowl roster still intact.
Vegas even continued to consider the Buccaneers the favorite to win the NFCS after Brady retired. Those odds obviously became much greater once he announced his return back in March.
But those odds took a big hit on Monday when the division rival Saints signed All-Pro defensive back Tyrann Mathieu. All of a sudden, the Saints defense has a lot of the swagger back that it lost during free agency. And honestly, Mathieu is likely to make the defense an even better in 2022.
Why is this a problem for the Buccaneers? Well, let's just say Brady and the offense struggles mightily against Dennis Allen's squad. And when I say mightily, I mean it.
For starters, Brady and the Bucs are 0-4 against the Saints over the last two years. The Saints have outmatched them in every phase of the game and have made the Buccaneers look downright terrible, for the most part.
Brady has thrown 24 interceptions with the Buccaneers over that span. Eight of them have come in four regular season meetings against the Saints. He's only played in three games in which he didn't throw a touchdown pass and the Saints claim two of those games.
The Buccaneers offense averages nearly 33 points in 29 games against opponents that aren't the Saints. It averages just 13 points per game in four regular season games against the Saints defense.
It's not just the Saints defense, either. The Buccaneers have struggled against the Saints, as a whole, with Brady at quarterback. The Buccaneers defense allowed 34+ points in three of four regular season meetings and has seen major letdowns such as allowing Trevor Siemian to walk all over it back when the two teams met last Halloween.
The Saints offense is also restocked with talent after the draft. Michael Thomas is healthy and ready to go and everything has been quiet with Alvin Kamara's legal situation due to his most recent hearing getting pushed back to early August. The Saints picked Trevor Penning in the first round, who will be an adequate replacement for the departed Terron Armstead.
It all boils down to Jameis Winston, who showed vast improvement in his second year under Sean Payton before tearing his ACL against the Bucs. The NFC South crown will be up for grabs if he can continue the trajectory he was on last year.
The Buccaneers are still the favorites to win the division with Brady at the helm. But things will be much, much different moving forward.
Featured image via Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
