Game action photos from the New Orleans Saints playing host to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 1 of the 2020 NFL season.
In their NFC Wild Card win over the Chicago Bears, the New Orleans Saints advance and will play host to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, Jan. 17 in the divisional round of the 2020 NFL playoffs at 5:40 p.m. in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The game will be broadcast on FOX. Here's what Saints fans need to know about our next NFC postseason opponent:
How did the Buccaneers get to the divisional round? They went 11-5 in the regular season to secure the No. 5 seed in the playoffs. Tampa defeated the Washington Football Team 31-23 in a Wild Card game Saturday, Jan. 9 with New Orleans native Leonard Fournette rushing for 93 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries. The St. Aug and LSU product also had four catches for 39 yards.
Coach: Bruce Arians. The veteran NFL coach is in his second season in Tampa. Previously he had been the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals for five seasons.
Quarterback: Tom Brady. The 43-year-old is in his first season in Tampa after leading New England to six Super Bowl titles. Brady threw for 381 yards and two touchdowns in the Wild Card win. Brady threw for 4,633 yards and 40 touchdowns against just 12 interceptions during the regular season.
Meetings this season: The Saints and Bucs met in the season-opener at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome with the Saints winning 34-23. The second meeting in Tampa was not close as the Saints cruised to a 38-3 victory.
Difference-maker on offense: Wide receiver Mike Evans. The seven-year veteran has reached 1,000 receiving yards every season, a first in the NFL. He caught six passes for 119 yards in the win over Washington.
Difference-maker on defense: Linebacker Lavonte David is in his ninth year out of Nebraska and continues to excel, making nine tackles and a sack in the victory over Washington. Fellow linebacker Devin White, an LSU product, missed the Washington game for Covid reasons but should be back for the divisional game. He finished the regular season with nine sacks and 97 tackles.
Special teams report: 12-year veteran Ryan Succop is the kicker and he went four-for-four on field goals Saturday against Washington. He was 28 of 31 for the season with a long of 50 yards. Bradley Pinion is the punter and Jaydon Mickens handles most of the kick returns.
They said it: "A lot of guys are enjoying the win, but our work's not done. For tonight we're going to sit here and enjoy it but we're going to get back to the drawing board for some things we want to correct." - Tampa offensive tackle Donovan Smith after beating Washington