Heated rivalries highlight the matchups to watch in Saints vs. Bucs
The New Orleans Saints have their second game against a division opponent this week and face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Saints are looking to bounce back from a loss to the Green Bay Packers a week ago. The whole NFC South is looking for a bounce back after losing last week, matter of fact.
This is a divisional matchup that felt like it was on the way to becoming a true, heated rivalry a couple of years ago. That feeling has faded as of late, but these two are still highly competitive teams. Saints versus Buccaneers will be a war with many smaller battles included. There are dynamic matchups and players who flat out don’t like each other.
These are the three matchups to watch on Sunday:
Marshon Lattimore vs. Mike Evans
Saints versus Bucs may not be a rivalry, but Marshon Lattimore versus Mike Evans is 1,000% a rivalry. It’s the headliner of any Saints-Bucs showdown. Lattimore and Evans is a matchup of two players performing at a high level who simply do not like each other. The matchup has resulted in two ejections via Evans’ cheap shots, as well. Actions like that give this rivalry more attention, and showcase Evans’ frustration from losing the battle more frequently than he has won.
Alvin Kamara vs. Devin White and Lavonte David
This is an underrated matchup. Tampa Bay has had the returning running back’s number since the 2020 season. Kamara has went over 80 total yards once in his last six games against the Buccaneers, including playoffs. A big reason for that is the athletic linebacker duo of Devin White and Lavonte David. Their ability to fly sideline to sideline works really well against Kamara.
Michael Thomas vs. Carlton Davis
There isn’t the level of bad blood in this matchup as the aforementioned wide receiver-cornerback showdown, but there likely isn’t any love lost here. Davis played Thomas well in 2020, but Thomas was dealing with injuries in two of the three games. These two then had a back and forth on Twitter followed by Davis speaking on their issues in an interview. Thomas scored a touchdown on Davis in the one time they faced off in 2022.
