New Orleans Saints Situation Critical: Must-Win Against Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay will be the site of a war zone today at 1 p.m. as the New Orleans Saints face-off against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

That's because there is way too much on the line for the Saints.

The defending Super Bowl champs have created quite a stir in the NFL among both their fans and their enemies.  The lackluster play exhibited by the Saints in the first five games of the season have been downright baffling, especially after their loss to the Arizona Cardinals last week, a team they should have handled easily from the first scrimmage.

In fact, the Saints should count their blessing for their 3-2 record because it easily could have been worse given the nail-biting nature of their wins. 

That leaves the Saints in a must-win situation against the Bucs today because a loss and a 3-3 record would also give the Bucs a 4-1 record.  That may be too big a hole to cut it in the NFC’s South division.  Especially if New Orleans wants a shot at defending their Super Bowl crown. 

The Saints are currently in third place in their division behind the second place Bucs and the first place Atlanta Falcons (4-1) and seventh in the NFC.  The Falcons go head-to-head with the Philadelphia Eagles, and the outcome could be determined in a coin toss. 

However, you cannot ignore Falcon QB Matt Ryan who is playing some ridiculous football and could easily pull out a win if that horse shoe is still up...well, you know where. 

A win by the Falcons and the Bucs would put the Saints two games out of first in the division, effectively putting their backs up against the wall and the season in dire straits.  The notion of the Saints missing the playoffs all together will become less and less far-fetched.

Facing the Bucs won’t be easy, especially considering all the injuries facing key Saints' players.  Also, the Bucs have played well enough to earn a 3-1 record, but was their competition all that good? 

Let’s see, they’ve beaten the Browns (1-4), the Panthers (0-5) and the Bengals (2-3).  No I can’t really say that these teams are any good, so the Bucs accomplishments so far this season with their only loss against Pittsburgh, doesn’t exactly paint a true picture of a 3-1 team.

Another chink in the Bucs armor comes at the hands of their rush defense that has allowed opponents to gain 143.3 yards a game (30th in the NFL).  Not a stat that leaves opposing running backs shivering with fright.  Painting the Bucs as a winner right now is downright delusional.

The Saints are suffering badly in the injuries department as they have lost key players on both sides of the ball.  Reggie Bush is out with a broken leg, Darren Sharper (an important part of the defense) is out with a knee injury and last season’s leading rusher Pierre Thomas has an ankle problem.

To compound this even more is the status of Drew Brees, who is sporting a knee brace.  If he’s hurting how effectively can he play?

The injuries are an obvious reason for the Saints poor start this season, but they have the talent to hang in there while their injured players recoup. 

The New Orleans Saints need to beat the Bucs to recover their confidence and give them a chance at reclaiming their forward stance on the gridiron.