Buccaneers and Saints Meet in NFL Week 6

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will travel to New Orleans to go head-to-head against the Saints in Week 6 of the NFL.

The Bucs are hoping to earn their first conference win on Sunday, and luckily for them, they are favored to win over the Saints.

With Hurricane Milton hitting the Tampa area hard Wednesday evening, the team evacuated to New Orleans and has been practicing in Tulane’s  Yulman Stadium. Despite the tragedy, the players and coaches remain focused on the game and playing for something bigger.

https://twitter.com/Buccaneers/status/1844165951518126089

Building Momentum

Unfortunately for the Bucs, they are in a daunting stretch of the season with three divisional games in four weeks–including Sunday’s game against the Saints. They also have two upcoming “Monday Night Football” games against the Ravens and Chiefs in Week 7 and 9, respectively.

Coming off a 36-30 overtime loss last week against the Falcons, the Bucs will need to gain momentum this weekend if they want to stay at the top of the NFC South.

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The Bucs and the Falcons share a spot at the top of the division, but a win this weekend may create an opening to overtake the Falcons.

Luckily for the Bucs, there is hope for them; Quarterback Baker Mayfield is off to the best start of his career.

Mayfield leads the league with 13 touchdowns (11 passing, two rushing) and has only thrown two interceptions.

Turning Things Around

The Saints also took a tough loss against the Kansas City Chiefs (5-0), who came out on top with a 26-13 victory on Monday night.

Statistically, though, New Orleans has the best red zone defense in the league, only turning 25% of their opponents’ trips to the red zone into points.

The Saints not only left with their third loss in a row but also with an injury. Quarterback Derek Carr suffered an oblique injury in the fourth quarter of the defeat, and he is expected to miss multiple weeks.

Rookie Spencer Rattler will make his first career start as he steps up in Carr’s place. Rattler is tasked with turning around the Saints’ luck, beginning with this weekend against Tampa Bay. The former South Carolina Gamecock QB threw for 10,807 in 5 years at the collegiate level. He also tossed 77 touchdowns and only 32 interceptions in his college career.

Dennis Allen announced that Spencer Rattler will start Sunday vs the Buccaneers pic.twitter.com/7oTpF3KPJK

— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) October 9, 2024

The offensive line has also been without center Erik McCoy and his backup, Shane Lemieux, who has also gone into injury reserve.

The last time the Saints and Bucs faced each other was in December 2023, where the Saints beat out the Bucs 23-13. Though it is not looking as bright for the Saints this time, both teams need to take Sunday to build momentum and turn things around.

Streaming

Kickoff will be at 1 p.m. EST at Caesars Superdome in Louisiana. The game will stream on FOX Sports or NFL+.