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Game Preview: Saints vs. Buccaneers - 2023 NFL Week 4

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers visit the New Orleans Saints for Week 4 of the 2023 NFL regular season on Sunday, Oct. 1, 2023 at 12 p.m. CT.

saints vs bucs game preview week 4 2023 nfl

WEEK 4 · Sun 10/01 · 12:00 PM CDT

Buccaneers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

AT

Saints

New Orleans Saints

FOX
WWL 105.3FM/870 AM
Caesars Superdome

After a two game road trip, the 2-1 New Orleans Saints return to the Caesars Superdome this Sunday to take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Saints are tied with Tampa Bay and Atlanta for first place in the NFC South and are looking to rebound this week from a road bump of an 18-17 loss last Sunday at the Green Bay Packers. With starting quarterback Derek Carr being forced to leave last Sunday's game with a shoulder injury, a week of practice and rehab will play a role in the evaluation of whether Carr or Jameis Winston receive the start against the Buccaneers. Whoever is behind center will have the opportunity to work with the prolific wideout trio of Michael Thomas, Chris Olave, and Rashid Shaheed, a group that combines consistency with the ability to make big plays. Running back Alvin Kamara will also make his 2023 debut this Sunday against the Bucs.

After three seasons with Tom Brady, the Buccaneers turned to a new signal caller this offseason, signing free agent quarterback Baker Mayfield. Despite this and other personnel/coaching staff changes, they have started off fast at 2-1 also with wins over NFC North opponents Chicago and Minnesota. On the defensive side of the ball, they are still the stingy unit of recent years, Led by defensive-minded head coach Todd Bowles, their linebacking corps of Devin White, Lavonte David and Shaquil Barrett have each been selected to at least one All-Pro team.

Meetings between the Saints and Buccaneers have been ultra-competitive battles in recent years. Both defenses have been the story in the last three meetings between the clubs, with the winning teams' average score being just 15 points and New Orleans shutting out Tampa Bay en route to a 9-0 victory back in 2021. Fans can expect a physical game on Sunday between elite defenses with special teams units playing a major role.

Around the NFC South in Week 4: The Atlanta Falcons (2-1) play the Jacksonville Jaguars (1-2) at London's Wembley Stadium at 8:30 a.m. CT and the Carolina Panthers (0-3), play at the Minnesota Vikings (0-3) at 12:00 CT.

SAINTS vs. BUCS SERIES HISTORY

The Saints and Buccaneers first met in 1977. New Orleans has posted a 39-23 regular season record vs. Tampa Bay, the club's best winning percentage (.629) vs. an opponent they've played at least of eight games against.

In the 63 games of the series there has been:

  • 2,124 points scored by New Orleans, 1,151 allowed. 
  • A seven-game regular season New Orleans winning streak from 2011-2014 and from 2018-2021.
  • A 18-10 record for the Saints in games played in New Orleans. 
  • 25 games decided by double-digits. 
  • Seven games decided by 21 or more points. 
  • 34 games decided by seven points or less. 
  • A 41-point win by New Orleans on December 16, 2012, the club's first shutout against the Buccaneers. 
  • Since both clubs joined the NFC South in 2002, New Orleans has swept the regular season series eight times.

THE LAST MEETING

Saints 16, Buccaneers 17; December 5, 2022 @ Raymond James Stadium The Tampa Bay Buccaneers came back from a 13-point deficit to beat the New Orleans Saints 17-16 on Monday at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. The Saints led 16-3 with 5:21 to play when Tom Brady went to work, leading Tampa on a 91-yard drive that ended with a 1-yard touchdown pass.

Quarterback Andy Dalton was 20 of 28 for 229 yards and one touchdown. Alvin Kamara was held to 26 yards on 12 carries. Rookie receiver Chris Olave had four receptions for 65 yards and fellow rookie Rashid Shaheed had three for 75 yards. The Saints were penalized six times 84 yards and were just five of 14 on third down. FULL GAME RECAP

New Orleans Saints players in action during their 2022 Week 13 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

SAINTS vs. BUCS SERIES FAST FACTS

Saints' Largest Margin of Victory:

41 points, Saints won 41-0 on 12/16/12 at Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

Buccaneers' Largest Margin of Victory:

27 points, Buccaneers won 48-21 on 12/23/01 at Raymond James Stadium. 

Current Series Streak:

Buccaneers won last two games, 9/18/22-present). 

Saints' Longest Win Streak:

Seven games,11/16/11-11/28/14 and 12/9/18-12/19/21. 

Buccaneers' Longest Win Streak:

Two games (eight times), most recently 9/18/22-present. 

Most Points by Saints in a Game:

44 points, Saints won 44-34 on 12/6/87 at the Louisiana Superdome. 

Most Points by Tampa Bay in a Game:

48 points (two times, Tampa Bay won 48-21 on 12/23/01 at Raymond James Stadium and Tampa Bay won 48-40 on 9/9/18 at Mercedes-Benz Superdome. 

Most Combined Points (Both Teams):

88 points, Buccaneers won 48-40 on 9/9/18 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. 

Fewest Points by Saints in a Game:

Three points, Buccaneers won 10-3 on 12/4/05 at Tiger Stadium. 

Fewest Points by Buccaneers in a Game:

0 points, Saints won 41-0 on 12/16/12 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome and Saints won 9-0 on 12/19/21 at Raymond James Stadium. 

Fewest Combined Points (Both Teams):

9 points, Saints won 9-0 on 12/19/21 at Raymond James Stadium.

SAINTS vs. BUCS STATISTICAL COMPARISON

2023 NFL League Rankings

Table inside Article
Saints Buccaneers
Record 2-1 2-1
Scoring Avg. (NFL Rank) 17.7 (25) 19.3 (19t)
Opp. Scoring Avg. (NFL Rank) 16.7 (6) 19.7 (9t)
Total Off. (NFL Rank) 314.7 (20) 284.3 (25)
Rushing Off. (NFL Rank) 93.3 (21) 78.0 (27)
Passing Off. (NFL Rank) 221.3 (15) 206.3 (20)
Total Def. (NFL Rank) 288.0 (9) 359.0 (22)
Rushing Def. (NFL Rank) 99.7 (10) 103.0 (17)
Passing Def. (NFL Rank) 188.3 (8) 256.0 (14)
Kickoff Return Avg. (NFL Rank) 21.0 (18t) 23.0 (12t)
Punt Return Avg. (NFL Rank) 24.5 (2) 6.0 (26)
Turnover Margin (NFL Rank) +2 (9t) +5 (2)
Penalties 17 14
Penalty Yards 179 93
Opp. Penalties 23 14
Opp. Penalty Yards 170 93

SAINTS vs. BUCS SUPERLATIVES

A look at the top individual performances for Saints players against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the previous 62 regular season meetings between the two clubs.

RUSHING YARDAGE vs. TAMPA BAY (100+yards)

  1. RB Rueben Mayes – 24 carries for 172 yards @ Louisiana Superdome 10/19/1986
  2. RB Chris Ivory – 15 carries for 158 yards @ Raymond James Stadium 10/17/2010
  3. RB Craig Heyward – 20 carries for 155 yards @ Louisiana Superdome 11/11/1990
  4. RB Deuce McAllister – 15 carries for 123 yards @ Louisiana Superdome 10/8/2006
  5. RB George Rogers – 23 carries for 120 yards @ Louisiana Superdome 11/29/1981
  6. RB Deuce McAllister – 26 carries for 110 yards @ Raymond James Stadium 11/2/2003
  7. RB Deuce McAllister – 31 carries for 109 yards @ Raymond James Stadium 9/9/2002
  8. RB Deuce McAllister – 21 carries for 102 yards @ Louisiana Superdome 10/10/2004

PASSING YARDAGE vs. TAMPA BAY (300+yards)

  1. QB Drew Brees – 37-of-45 for 439 yards and three TDs @ Mercedes-Benz Superdome 9/9/2018
  2. QB Drew Brees – 29-of-45 for 383 yards and one TDs @ Raymond James Stadium 10/16/2011
  3. QB Drew Brees – 24-of-31 for 381 yards and four TDs @ Mercedes-Benz Superdome 12/29/2013
  4. QB Drew Brees – 27-of-37 for 377 yards and four TDs @ Raymond James Stadium 10/21/2012
  5. QB Drew Brees – 35-of-57 for 371 yards and two TDs @ Mercedes-Benz Superdome 10/5/2014
  6. QB Drew Brees – 23-of-32 for 343 yards and three TDs @ Louisiana Superdome 9/7/2008
  7. QB Ken Stabler – 29-of-43 for 333 yards @ Louisiana Superdome 12/5/1982
  8. QB Drew Brees – 26-of-46 for 322 yards and one TD @ Raymond James Stadium 9/15/2013
  9. QB Drew Brees – 24-of-32 for 314 yards and three TDs @ Raymond James Stadium 11/5/2006
  10. QB Teddy Bridgewater – 26-of-34 for 314 yards and four TDs @ Mercedes-Benz Superdome 10/6/2019

RECEIVING YARDAGE vs. TAMPA BAY (100+ yards)

  1. WR Michael Thomas – 11 receptions for 182 yards @ Mercedes-Benz Superdome 10/6/2019
  2. WR Michael Thomas – 16 receptions for 180 yards @ Mercedes-Benz Superdome 9/9/2018
  3. TE Jimmy Graham – 10 receptions for 179 yards @ Raymond James Stadium 9/15/2013
  4. TE Jimmy Graham – Seven receptions for 124 yards @ Raymond James Stadium 10/16/2011
  5. WR Marques Colston – 11 receptions for 123 yards @ Raymond James Stadium 11/5/2006
  6. WR Willie Snead IV – Seven receptions for 122 yards @ Raymond James Stadium 12/13/2015
  7. WR Lance Moore – Nine receptions for 121 yards @ Raymond James Stadium 10/21/2012
  8. WR Marques Colston – Seven receptions for 118 yards @ Raymond James Stadium 10/16/2011
  9. WR Joe Horn – Nine receptions for 118 yards @ the Louisiana Superdome 12/7/2003
  10. WR Michael Thomas – eight receptions for 114 yards @ Raymond James Stadium 11/7/2019

SACKS vs. TAMPA BAY (3+)

  1. LB Pat Swilling – four sacks @ Tampa Stadium 11/11/1990
  2. DE Bruce Clark – three sacks @ Superdome 9/9/1984
  3. LB Darion Conner – three sacks @ Houlihan's Stadium 9/18/1994
  4. DE/DT Willie Whitehead – three sacks @ Raymond James Stadium 11/2/2003

SAINTS vs. BUCS CONNECTIONS

New Orleans QB Jameis Winston won two ACC championships and one national championship at Florida State from 2013-14. Winston was the 2013 Heisman Trophy winner and was the first overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft by the Buccaneers in 2015, holding passing yardage and touchdown pass franchise records, completing 1,563–of-2548 passes for 19,737 yards with 121 touchdown passes in 72 games with 70 starts.

New Orleans Defensive Coordinator Joe Woods served as a defensive quality control coach in Tampa Bay from 2014-15.

Woods tutored Tampa Bay LB Shaquil Barrett when he served as defensive coordinator of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2017-18.

Saints CB Isaac Yiadom and Barrett were teammates in Denver in 2018.

New Orleans Defensive Line Coach Todd Grantham served as defensive coordinator at the University of Florida from 2018-21.

Saints RB Tony Jones Jr.  is a St. Petersburg native who played both baseball and football at IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fl.) and was teammates at Notre Dame with Buccaneers OL Robert Hainsey at Notre Dame.

Saints LB Demario Davis and DT Nathan Shepherd played for Tampa Bay Head Coach Todd Bowles and run game coordinator/defensive line Kacy Rodgers with the New York Jets.

Saints Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator Darren Rizzi, Bowles, Rodgers and Tampa Bay Outside Linebackers Coach George Edwards served on the same Miami staff.

Bowles served as defensive coordinator & secondary coach at Grambling State from 1998-99.

Bowles tutored New Orleans S Tyrann Mathieu in Arizona from 2013-14, when he was defensive coordinator.

Mathieu and Saints DE Tanoh Kpassagnon and DT Khalen Saunders played with Tampa Bay TE David Wells in Kansas City.

Buccaneers WR Trey Palmer was a standout at Kentwood (La.) HS, played at LSU from 2019-21 as a member of their national championship team.

Saints DB Jordan Howden and Buccaneers S Antoine Winfield Jr. and TE Ko Kieft were college teammates at the University of Minnesota.

Saints VP/Player Engagement Fred McAfee played for Tampa Bay in 1999.

New Orleans Offensive Asst. D.J. WIlliams prepped at Tampa Catholic HS and his father, former Buccaneers QB Doug Williams, is in the club's Ring of Honor.

New Orleans WR Tre'Quan Smith played at UCF.

Tampa Bay Quarterbacks Coach Thaddeus Lewis played quarterback for Saints Offensive Line Coach Doug Marrone in Buffalo in 2013, when he was head coach of the Bills.

Tampa Bay LB Devin White is a Springhill native who prepped at North Webster HS and played at LSU.

New Orleans G/C Max Garcia played at the University of Florida.

Tampa Bay Defensive Assistant Joey Fitzgerald served on the Southeastern Louisiana staff in 2017 and served on Grantham's defensive staff at Florida in 2018.

New Orleans Saints players in action during their 2022 Week 2 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

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