Week 18’s New Orleans Saints versus Tampa Bay Buccaneers finale feels different knowing we won’t be seeing Marshon Lattimore versus Mike Evans. Lattimore has missed this game before due to injury, but this is the first matchup between the teams since Lattimore’s trade to the Washington Commanders earlier this season.
The rivalry between Lattimore and Evans always gave Saints fans something to look forward to, regardless of team success. In a day and age of love between opponents, there was genuine disdain and animosity between these two players. It made for a compelling 60 minutes twice a year, at least when Evans wasn’t getting himself ejected by starting fights midway through the afternoon.
But highlighting Lattimore’s absence is no disrespect to Alontae Taylor and Kool-Aid McKinstry. They haven’t reached the status of Lattimore as a consistent, proven commodity with shutdown coverage. And maybe most importantly, they don’t have the history with Evans to generate the same level of anticipation around the head-to-head matchup.
That being said, Evans has a history of being slowed down by the Saints’ top corners, whether that’s been Paulson Adebo or someone else. If Taylor and McKinstry could collectively carry that torch, this may begin a whole new round of bragging rights for Saints fans.
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