TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-7) won’t need to be doing any scoreboard-watching on Sunday. If Tampa Bay can take care of business against the New Orleans Saints (5-11), the Bucs will win their fourth straight NFC South title.
“You always want to have the mentality of protecting your home turf,” Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield said. “I know that hasn’t exactly gone that way this year, but you want to be able to play in front of your crowd, just the energy, get them involved early, especially a rivalry game in the division.”
The Saints will look to play spoiler while dealing with several injuries to key offensive players. New Orleans has lost four of its last five games and is averaging just 11 points per game in that span.
“We can’t sleep on anybody, a divisional opponent,” defensive back Zyon McCollum said. “They’re going to come in here and give everything they have. They have nothing to lose, so we have to be prepared. This is a t-shirt and hat game, so a lot of excitement around the locker room.”
Wide receiver Mike Evans needs 85 yards in his quest for an 11th straight 1,000-yard receiving season. If he can get to that number it would tie Jerry Rice for the longest such streak in NFL history.
“Let’s put it in perspective: You’re talking about tying somebody that has all the receiving records across the NFL throughout history,” Mayfield said. “You’re talking about somebody that consistently in this community that has raised people up, continued to be the face of this franchise. So that record is important for us. Winning is the most important part, but those things go hand in hand. Mike is a huge part of this offense, a huge part of this passing game. Getting him involved early and often is a lot of the reason we’ve had success.”
The Bucs and Saints kick off at 1 p.m. Sunday at Raymond James Stadium.
A frustrated Zephyrhills homeowner still has flooded yard months after Hurricane Milton.
