The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a simple scenario for extending their season.
If the Buccaneers (9-7) defeat the visiting Saints (5-11) on Sunday afternoon, they will be NFC South champions for the fourth consecutive season and will host a playoff game next weekend.
“We have a chance to control our own destiny, which is all you can ask for,” coach Todd Bowles said. “So we’ve to go out and take it.”
If Tampa Bay loses it can still win the division if the Atlanta Falcons fall to the Carolina Panthers. If it wins, it can move up from the No. 4 seed to No. 3 if the Seattle Seahawks beat the Los Angeles Rams. But the main thing is to win and get in.
And the Buccaneers have been winning a lot lately, going 5-1 since their bye week, including a 48-14 romp over the visiting Panthers last Sunday.
“We shouldn’t respond any other way than the way they responded last week,” Bowles said. “It’s a division opponent. We know it’s going to be a dogfight. We had to win the last game of the season last year to get in. It was a dogfight with Carolina. So we expect the same thing.”
Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield is the reigning NFC Offensive Player of the Week and has won that award twice in the last three weeks. He completed 27 of 32 passes for 359 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions and a near-perfect passer rating of 153.0 against the Panthers. Rookie Bucky Irving added 113 rushing yards on 20 carries.
“I think that was probably the most consistent we’ve played for four quarters,” Mayfield said.
Reaching the playoffs has been a long shot for the Saints for a while, and it became mathematically impossible two weeks ago.
They lost seven consecutive games earlier in the season, leading to the firing of head coach Dennis Allen and the promotion of special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi to interim head coach.
New Orleans won three of its first four games under Rizzi, but has lost its last three — a 25-10 loss to Las Vegas in the home finale last week, a 34-0 rout at Green Bay on Dec. 23 and a 20-19 home loss to Washington on Dec. 15.
“It’s just been a tough season overall,” safety Tyrann Mathieu said. “We just want to go to Tampa Bay — we know those guys have to win that game — so we know it’s going to be like a prime-time game. I think we need to show up with that intensity knowing that.”
Rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler is expected to make his sixth start in place of injured Derek Carr. Rattler’s first start came in a 51-27 loss to the visiting Buccaneers on Oct. 13.
Tampa Bay took a 17-0 lead after one quarter, the Saints grabbed a 27-24 halftime lead, then the Bucs outscored New Orleans 27-0 in the second half.
Three Saints starters — Carr, running back Alvin Kamara (groin) and linebacker Pete Werner (concussion protocol) missed practice Wednesday. Three Bucs starters — safety Antoine Winfield Jr. (knee), cornerback Jamel Dean (knee) and tight end Cade Otton (knee) — also missed practice.
As the Saints were reporting for practice Wednesday morning they were learning of the terrorist truck attack in the French Quarter overnight that killed 14 people and injured dozens more.
Rizzi said the team prayed together and reflected on the attacks during its team meeting.
“I feel like we’re playing this last game for this community,” Rizzi said.
–Field Level Media
