In the most important game of the season up to this point, the New Orleans Saints will hit the road for a collision with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a game that could determine the NFC South title.
New Orleans (5-2) sits in second place in the NFC South by a half a game. The Saints picked up an important win over the Chicago after slipping past the Bears 26-23 in an overtime thriller this past Sunday afternoon.
Tampa Bay comes into the game with an overall record of 6-2 and has won three games in a row. The Buccaneers survived an upset this past Monday, as they escaped with a 25-23 win over the New York Giants.
New Orleans defeated Tampa Bay in the first game of the year 34-23, which gives the Saints a one game advantage over the Buccaneers in the division. Tampa Bay would like nothing more than to take down New Orleans and take over the NFC South lead halfway through the season.
Tampa Bay has seemed to find its rhythm offensively since the acquisition of quarterback Tom Brady, tight end Rob Gronkowski and running back Leonard Fournette. In their last five games, the Buccaneers have scored 35 points or more and still have another weapon, wide receiver Antonio Brown, at their disposal.
Brown was acquired via a trade, but did not suit up against the Giants.
The question for New Orleans is will they get their main receiving targets back this week. All-Pro Michael Thomas has been out since week one with injuries and a suspension. The newest addition to the wide receiver corps, Emmanuel Sanders tested positive for COVID-19 and has been out for a couple of weeks.
New Orleans is hoping that Sanders and/or Thomas will be available Sunday. The Saints did add a defensive player to the roster when they picked up Kwon Alexander in a trade with San Francisco.
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Tracey Jagneaux
Sports Editor