The New Orleans Saints-Tampa Bay Buccaneers NFC South divisional matchup has picked up major steam the past couple of seasons and to those who actually pay attention to the NFL, the Saints-Bucs are indeed a rivalry of sorts.
Prior to the 2023 season, the Buccaneers and Saints games have provided fireworks not only with the play but the extracurriculars as well.
Whether it is the Mike Evans beef with Marshon Lattimore or just the general disdain for one another the matchup always came through with great antics. That level of disdain for each other has led many to see the games as ones that need to be circled on the calendar especially since both teams usually end up near the top of the division.
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Leading up to the Bucs-Saints' first meeting of the year this past Sunday, Saints' defensive lineman Cam Jordan majorly downplayed the idea that the matchup with the Bucs should be considered a rivalry.
The Buccaneers certainly heard Jordan's comments as they came into New Orleans ready to play and walked out of the swamp of Louisiana with a 26-9 victory.
The defense continued its strong play this season coming away with three sacks, two fumble recoveries, and an interception. The Buccaneers' offense also re-found its footing after a lackluster performance against the Philadelphia Eagles. The running game eclipsed the 100-yard mark for the second time in four games and Baker Mayfield continued to show his effectiveness and efficiency going 25/32 for 246 yards while spreading the wealth around finding three different wide receivers for touchdowns.
As much fireworks there were for the Bucs the same can't be said for the Saints as they failed to score a single touchdown in the contest and as for the extracurricular activities, there was no nonsense.
Following the huge win that puts the Bucs at the top of the NFC South, offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs fired back at the comments made by Jordan earlier in the week.
"I guess it's not much of a rivalry anymore, according to 94," Bucs' Tristan Wirfs said of Cam Jordan's comments about Saints-Bucs games. "They're kind of gunning for us now ... For them to downplay it? It's a division game. (There's) always going to be a lot behind it."
Tristan couldn't be any more right. If you want to downplay how much divisional games mean go right ahead, but for the Buccaneers each divisional game is a rivalry game as it is a goal of theirs each season to win the division. The battles with the Atlanta Falcons and the Carolina Panthers pale in comparison to the games between the Saints and the Bucs so it is easy to see why there is always so much hype surrounding the games.
Next time it may be better to just not speak on the subject, Cam.
You can follow Caleb on Twitter @chsnole
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