Buccaneers Attack Lineman Slams Saints in Week 17 for Dirty Hits
After the New Orleans defense destroyed the Bucs, the NFC North will now be determined by Week 18.
One example of an intra-divisional rivalry gone wild is between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the New Orleans Saints. Although both teams have even records so far this season, 2023 is definitely not an exception as this matchup has historically been a fierce slugfest between elite defenses. This week’s game was no exception to the rule that there would be a lot of heat on and off the field when two clubs have a strong rivalry.
Buccaneers Offensive Tackle Puts New Orleans on Blast
The New Orleans defense had an absolute field day on Sunday as they held the usually consistent offense of Tampa Bay to 349 total yards on offense. One of the biggest victories throughout the game for New Orleans was their ability to get pressure on Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield. While the team only managed to get one sack, they were in Mayfield’s face for what felt like the entire afternoon.
Well, Tampa Bay left tackle Tristan Wirfs had some strong opinions on what the New Orleans defense was doing throughout the game when he was interviewed after the contest.
The first hit that Wirfs mentioned was a late hit by Nathan Shepherd earlier in the season and then he was livid with a late hit made by New Orleans safety Tyrann Mathieu during the game. As a former left tackle, I can sympathize that when someone takes a shot at the quarterback even remotely after the whistle, you have to protect your guy.
It should be noted that Mayfield injured his ribs on the hit from Mathieu but continued playing throughout the game. Offensive lineman protecting their quarterback isn’t anything new but this sort of accusation after a game is certainly not a common occurrence.
The last game of the season will be huge for each team as Tampa Bay is currently tied with New Orleans at 8-8. Tampa Bay holds the tie breaker but if they were to lose against the Carolina Panthers in Week 18, New Orleans would be capable of winning the division with a victory over the Atlanta Falcons. The Buccaneers had been riding a hot streak of four straight wins before getting toasted in the intra-divisional rivalry game against New Orleans.
A playoff berth may not be a major victory as the winner of the division will almost certainly play the Philadelphia Eagles in round one of the playoffs. Unless they were to pull off a major upset in Philadelphia’s absolutely disastrous run of form, a Super Bowl Berth is highly unlikely for either team.
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