Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. New Orleans Saints: Full New Orleans Game Preview

The New Orleans Saints will play their first home game of the 2015 season Sunday when they welcome the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

New Orleans is coming off a 31-19 road loss to the Arizona Cardinals in Week 1. The Saints had their hands full on both sides of the ball throughout the contest, and although there were some bright spots, coach Sean Payton’s squad was overwhelmed by the Cardinals in the fourth quarter.

Arizona’s top-notch secondary made things difficult on the Saints receiving corps all afternoon, and New Orleans was unable to come up with the big plays Payton’s offense is known for.

The Saints should have a more favorable matchup Sunday against coach Lovie Smith’s club, which was blown out by the Tennessee Titans in Week 1, 42-14.

New Orleans will look to achieve better offensive balance in their second outing of the season, while the defense will try to generate a more consistent pass rush.

Read on for a preview of this Week 2 divisional matchup, which kicks off Sunday at 1 p.m. ET/12 p.m. CT.

News and Notes

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New Orleans and Tampa Bay Continue Divisional Rivalry

The Saints and Buccaneers first met in 1977 and have squared off a total of 46 times, according to the Saints' official site.

New Orleans and Tampa Bay didn’t become divisional foes until 2002, when the NFL realigned its divisions and placed the two franchises in the NFC South.

The two clubs have since slugged it out twice a year, and the rivalry has produced some intense contests, some of which have held postseason implications. 

New Orleans leads the series, 29-17, and come Sunday the Saints will be looking to extend a rather lengthy winning streak over the Buccaneers. Payton’s squad has reeled off seven consecutive wins in the series, although the games have been competitive in recent years.

In fact, three of the last four meetings between the teams were decided by six points or less, according to Buccaneers.com. The Saints closed out the 2014 season last December with a 23-20 win over the Buccaneers in Tampa and earned a hard-fought 37-31 overtime victory in the Superdome a couple of months earlier.

Saints Return to Superdome

Throughout the Sean Payton era in New Orleans, the Saints have enjoyed a tremendous home-field advantage, as the deafening Superdome crowd has been a thorn in the side of opposing offenses.

New Orleans went undefeated at home in 2013 but lost its home-field edge in the latter half of last season. The Saints dropped an unheard-of five straight games at home to close out the year and were beaten by two or more touchdowns in three of those contests.

Drew Brees and Co. will try to regain their Superdome supremacy this Sunday in their first divisional clash of the season.

Injury News

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The Saints were without three defensive starters in their Week 1 loss to the Cardinals last Sunday, and the same three players reportedly missed practice again on Wednesday.

Cornerback Keenan Lewis (hip), safety Jairus Byrd (knee) and linebacker Dannell Ellerbe (toe) did not practice Wednesday, according to the injury report on the team’s official site.

Meanwhile, running back C.J. Spiller, who missed the preseason with a knee injury, returned to practice. The offseason free-agent acquisition was limited in workouts, and it's not yet certain if he'll suit up against the Buccaneers.

Saints to Get First Look at Jameis Winston

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Sunday’s matchup will be the first of what could be many battles between the Saints and Tampa Bay quarterback Jameis Winston, who was the first overall pick in the 2015 draft.

The former Florida State Heisman Trophy winner joins an impressive NFC South quarterbacking fraternity that already includes the likes of Drew Brees, Matt Ryan and Cam Newton.

Winston struggled in his NFL debut last week, tossing two picks as the Titans dominated the Buccaneers in all phases.

The rookie signal-caller was without his primary target in the passing game, however, as wideout Mike Evans was sidelined with a hamstring injury. Evans practiced Wednesday, according to Buccaneers.com senior writer Scott Smith, albeit on a limited basis.

Regardless of Evans' status, New Orleans defensive coordinator Rob Ryan will no doubt try to harass Winston with an aggressive pass rush, and the raucous crowd at the Superdome could also serve to help the Saints’ cause.

Key Matchups to Watch

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Jahri Evans, Max Unger and Tim Lelito vs. Buccaneers Defensive Tackles

The Saints tallied just 54 rushing yards on 20 carries in last week’s defeat, and Payton will try to get Mark Ingram, Khiry Robinson and the New Orleans ground game up and running in this one.

The play of the interior offensive line will be key, and center Max Unger, along with guards Tim Lelito and Jahri Evans, will be challenged by Tampa Bay defensive tackles Gerald McCoy and Clinton McDonald. In addition to their duties in the running game, Unger, Lelito and Evans will also have their work cut out for them in the pass-protection department.

Tampa Bay is quite capable of generating pressure from up the middle, and as the Saints learned last season, McCoy is an especially tough assignment. In the teams’ first meeting of 2014, the former third-overall pick recorded four tackles, with two going for losses, and was a terror on the pass rush with four hits on Drew Brees. Just last week, he had a sack against the Titans, while McDonald collected four tackles.

If Brees and the New Orleans offense is to have success Sunday, the interior offensive line will have to keep McCoy in check on most snaps, which certainly won't be easy.

Brandon Browner and Delvin Breaux vs. Tampa Bay Receivers

As an inexperienced quarterback on the road in a hostile environment, Winston will be in the crosshairs of Rob Ryan and the Saints pass-rushers. New Orleans will look to get Cam Jordan and Hau’oli Kikaha off to fast starts, and it goes without saying that the Saints will need to put the heat on the rookie as often as possible.

As an NFL starting quarterback, Winston will have his share of growing pains, but he has the good fortune of being able to work with a pair of physically imposing wide receivers.

Mike Evans and Vincent Jackson both stand 6’5", and the Bucs will try to get them involved early and often. Evans, who was out last week, was limited in practice Wednesday. Evans' status for Sunday is uncertain, but Winston will still be able to turn to athletic receiving tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins, who hauled in five balls for 110 yards and two touchdowns last week.

One of the keys to the game for the Saints defense will be the play of their starting cornerbacks, Brandon Browner and Delvin Breaux.

Given Browner’s hulking size (6’4” and 221 pounds), it stands to reason that New Orleans brought him on as a free agent this offseason in part because of the abundance of sizable receivers in the NFC South.

Payton confirmed as much in his Wednesday conference call and was quoted by the Saint's official site on how Browner’s size factored into the decision to sign him:

"

It very much played into the decision. Tampa Bay has two big (wide) receivers. You watch Atlanta; they have big receivers. Carolina, although Benjamin was hurt in this preseason, but I’d say more than any other division you are going to see some of the bigger, better receivers, sizewise, in our league.

"

At 6’1” and 195 pounds, Breaux also has the size needed to man up with tall receivers on the outside. The former CFL star has displayed a nice blend of athleticism and skill in his short tenure with the Saints thus far, but he’ll need to raise his physicality against the likes of Jackson and Evans.

Prediction

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The Saints are coming off a tough loss to a well-rounded Arizona squad that could very well end up in the thick of the NFC title race.

In Week 2, New Orleans doesn’t have quite as challenging a matchup, but Payton’s squad can hardly pencil in the visiting Buccaneers as a guaranteed win.

Tampa Bay has played the Saints extremely tough in recent years, and although Lovie Smith has a young squad, he has an ample collection of talent at numerous positions.

That being said, don’t count on the Buccaneers coming into the Superdome and leaving with a win Sunday.

Look for Brees and the offense to finally unleash the downfield passing game early on in this one, while Ingram and Robinson will provide sufficient support on the ground.

Winston will show some improvement in his second outing, but it won’t be enough amid the relentless roar of the Superdome crowd.

Saints 27, Buccaneers 13