By Ross Jackson
As the New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers close out their seasons head-to-head, Tampa is playing for its postseason life while the Saints are looking to cash in for pride. For New Orleans, the team is caught in an interesting conundrum and will again be led by rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler. Meanwhile the Bucs are looking to tie records and earn a playoff spot.
Here are five things you need to know about Sunday’s matchup between the Saints and Bucs.
- New Orleans intends to compete.
It should be no surprise that even with no postseason life available, the Saints do intend to compete Sunday in Tampa. After two very disappointing losses, New Orleans wants to finish the season on a high note.
Many fans, though, want the opposite. A loss would immediately keep the rival Atlanta Falcons out of the playoffs, as the Bucs face a win-and-in scenario. Fans also hope that a loss would improve the team’s already top-10 draft position, which is not a likely result with only a few opportunities to move up no more than two spots.
But after the New Year’s Day terrorist attack in New Orleans, the Saints players and coaches have shared a tone of motivation throughout the week.
- Several injury returns were talked up but came up short.
The Saints spoke for weeks about keeping the door open for the potential returns of quarterback Derek Carr, wide receiver Chris Olave and running back Alvin Kamara. But one day ahead of the final game of the year, it looks like none are likely to make it back to the field.
The initial reporting around Carr’s injury, which he suffered in the team’s Week 14 win over the New York Giants, was that his season would be over. Interim head coach Darren Rizzi openly refuted those estimations and continuously suggested that Carr was working his way to getting back out in the field. Despite that work, the hopeful return never came to fruition, and Carr was ruled out of the season finale on Friday.
Kamara is doubtful, and there doesn’t seem to be much of a reason for Olave to rush back for a final game even if he has been practicing and getting back into playing shape.
- Bucs wide receiver Mike Evans is on the brink of history.
Evans only needs 85 receiving yards to reach 1,000 yards for the 11th consecutive season. Expect quarterback Baker Mayfield to force feed Evans a bit putting young cornerbacks Alontae Taylor and Kool-Aid McKinstry under a lot of pressure.
- Tampa’s secondary will not be at full force.
The Bucs will be without cornerback Jamel Dean (knee) and safeties Antoine Winfield Jr. (knee) and Jordan Whitehead. Whitehead was involved in an auto accident on Saturday and was moved to the Non-Football Injury list, making him unavailable until he is removed from the list.
This could be good news for Rattler, who will be looking to impress in his final opportunity of 2024. Watch for Bucs head coach Todd Bowles to counter with a blitz-heavy approach against the young passer. Tampa already blitzed at the NFL’s third-highest rate.
- This could be interim head coach Darren Rizzi’s final game with the Saints.
Typically, when interim head coaches don’t get hired for the full-time coaching role after their interim season, they don’t stick around. There has been some speculation that Rizzi could stick around, but historically that wouldn’t be something worth expecting.
Many outside of New Orleans learned Rizzi’s name for the first time thanks to his meme-worthy expressions and clippable interactions with media. But for The Saints, he’s been an integral part of their special teams success since 2019.
Seeing an end to his tenure would be a tough departure for many. He is highly respected by the organization, beloved by the coaching staff and roster and has become a bright spot in an otherwise dim 2024 season for fans, even if only in fleeting moments. If the next head coach can find a way to convince him to stick around, it would be a massive win for New Orleans.
