Is it safe to call the New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers rivals yet? Tampa Bay beat the Saints twice last season for the first single-season sweep since 2007, which was also their first back-to-back wins against New Orleans since the 2017-2018 seasons.
The Saints have been in full control of this series throughout its history. They’re ahead 39-24 in their all-time matchups with Tampa Bay and a win on Sunday would be their 40th victory in 64 games against the Buccaneers. The Bucs still have some ground to make up before we’ll be ready to christen this as a competitive rivalry, but winning three in a row would certainly be a compelling argument.
So it’s no surprise to see veterans like Cameron Jordan downplaying the emotional aspect in these games. Jordan has played 25 games against the Buccaneers and won 17 times. It’s not like there’s a long-running history with the Atlanta Falcons, who have taken as many losses from the Saints (54) as victories won themselves (54). Until the Bucs tip those scales in their favor, they’ll continue to be an afterthought when the Saints prepare to face their divisional opponents.
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