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A rivalry rekindled: Bucs’ Tom Brady vs. Saints’ Drew Brees

Insults, bad blood and a messy divorce at quarterback spice up the NFC South series, which kicks off Week 1.
 
Two of the league's greatest quarterbacks, new Buc Tom Brady and the Saints' Drew Brees, make the Tampa Bay-New Orleans division rivalry even sweeter.
Two of the league's greatest quarterbacks, new Buc Tom Brady and the Saints' Drew Brees, make the Tampa Bay-New Orleans division rivalry even sweeter. [ BILL FEIG | Associated Press (2015) ]
Published May 8, 2020|Updated May 8, 2020

Ladies and gentlemen, NFL fans from the Gulf Coast to the fruited plain, we’ve got ourselves a rivalry.

It’s the Bucs and Tom Brady vs. the Saints and Drew Brees. They will kick it off in Week 1 of the NFL season in New Orleans.

The teams meet again in Week 9, when the Saints visit Tampa Bay on Sunday Night Football, one of five prime-time games for the Bucs, the most in club history.

Related: PRINTABLE BUCS 2020 SCHEDULE

The Bucs-Saints matchup has always been a cut above all the others in the NFC South when it comes to the temperature of their conflict. Take inflamed insults, mix in a drop or two of bad blood and stir it up with a messy divorce at the quarterback position, and you have a recipe for a rivalry.

Just to spice it up, the guy Brady replaced in Tampa Bay, quarterback Jameis Winston, signed a one-year contract with the Saints, joining a team that he said is “like a Harvard education in quarterback school."

Related: Inside the numbers: Bucs’ new prime-time spotlight is uncharted territory

Winston said he picked the Saints in part because he wants to beat the Bucs “twice a year, every year for the rest of my life," and added he won’t have to learn to play quarterback by using “Google."

What makes it better is the fact that over the next two seasons, the outcome of games between these teams could change the power nexus in the NFC.

Let’s face it, Brady, at 42, may only have two years left in his career. Brees, 41, may have even less and has already reached a deal with NBC when he retires. The urgency of these future Hall of Fame quarterbacks adds to the intrigue. Brees has the most passing yards (77,416) and touchdowns (547) in NFL history. Brady is second in both categories (74,571 yards, 541 touchdowns).

But in order to have a rivalry, you must have some parity. That’s where Brady comes in.

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The Saints have won three consecutive NFC South titles and, since becoming division rivals in 2002, lead the series 20-14. New Orleans has won the last three meetings and five of the past seven.

Brady changes all that. Not necessarily because of his quarterback skill, but by his will.

“He’s someone that we’ve got great respect for and obviously he’s going to change the bar there," Saints coach Sean Payton said in an interview on GetUp! after Brady’s signing. “That’s the one thing, it’s the one player that travels somewhere and it’s not, Man, we’ve got to face this really talented player.' That’s something you obviously have to deal with. The thing that is most troubling is you just know he’s going to raise the bar relative to how that team is going to perform.

“We were on a text not too long ago, and I finished my text back to him with #keepthecannonsquiet. He kind of chuckled. I think that’s the one thing he’ll bring, in such a unique way, is his competitive fire, all those things that will elevate the play of the whole organization."

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Related: Saints’ Cameron Jordan: Bucs have a shot — to finish second

Payton hasn’t always been so respectful of the Bucs.

In 2017, the Bucs nearly got into a brawl during a loss at New Orleans. Winston was pulled from the game with an injury but thrust a finger into the helmet of Saints defensive back Marshon Lattimore on the sideline. Receiver Mike Evans came to the defense of his quarterback and blindsided Lattimore with a vicious hit, costing him a one-game suspension.

When the Bucs beat the Saints in the final week of the regular-season on a last-minute touchdown pass from Winston to Chris Godwin, Payton had a testy exchange after the game with then-Bucs coach Dirk Koetter.

"Here's the thing, I got (ticked) in the last game," Payton said.

"I couldn't see it," Koetter replied about the fight in the first meeting. "I couldn't see it."

Payton then started walking away as Koetter began to explain, "Sean, if I would have seen it ..."

"C'mon," Payton said before pulling away.

It certainly didn’t stop there. When Bucs left tackle Donovan Smith signed a three-year, $41.25 million contract extension before the 2019 season, Saints defensive end Cam Jordan applauded the move by indicating that teammate Alex Okafor would thrive.

“(Alex Okafor’s) food solidified for another 3 yrs now come on back bruhhda,” Jordan tweeted.

“I think it’s great," Smith said this week of the Bucs-Saints dustup. “I think the rivalry is the rivalry. You know and I know. We love to go back and forth. But it’s just going to be hyped. They’re coming into Ray Jay, it’s not going to be the same, you feel me? I feel like we’re going to pack out the stadiums, and it’s not going to be an away game for us or whatever at home."

Related: Can the Bucs’ Donovan Smith block out the pressure?

Bucs linebacker Shaquil Barrett agrees about the Bucs’ biggest rival. “Probably the Saints, because they beat us convincingly last year,” he said. “We shouldn’t lose, and we shouldn’t lose like that, ever.”

It’s clear that Brady and the Bucs are the NFL media darlings this season, but the league didn’t do them a ton of favors.

Three of the five prime-time games are on the road, and playing three in consecutive weeks won’t be easy.

The Bucs begin the gauntlet with a Thursday night game at Chicago on Oct. 8. After hosting Aaron Rodgers and the Packers at 4:25 on Oct. 18, the Bucs have three consecutive games on prime time: at the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday Night Football; at the New York Giants on Nov. 2 before the Sunday night game against the Saints at home.

There is also a Sunday night game against the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes. Brady also will duel Aaron Rodgers and the Packers.

But making Brady and the Bucs open the season at New Orleans is a tough break.

Related: Can somebody get this Bucs schedule dusted for Goodell’s fingerprints?

Although he will be surrounded by explosive pass catchers such as Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Rob Gronkowski and O.J. Howard, it will be Brady’s first game in a Bucs uniform. He is bound to be sharper with more games under his belt.

Brees holds a 3-2 record over Brady, but two of those wins came when he was with San Diego.

Then again, the home-field advantage for the Saints in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome may be negated if fans are unable to attend.

As if this rivalry wasn’t getting salty enough, coach Bruce Arians weighed in. When asked what’s the biggest difference Brady will make, Arians didn’t hesitate.

“I hope it will run a lot smoother," Arians said. “We had a lot of turnovers last year, and that was a big problem for us. I think Tom will eliminate a lot of that."

Put that on your bulletin board, Winston.

Times staff writer Eduardo A. Encina contributed to this report.