Bucs defense seeking redemption for losses to Saints last season

TAMPA — Bucs outside linebacker Shaquil Barrett has been looking forward to Sunday all offseason, not just because it’s Week 1, but because he’s been waiting for another shot at the Saints.

To be the best, you have to beat the best, and the retooled Tom Brady-led Bucs are considered legitimate contenders to unseat New Orleans in the NFC South. But last season’s two losses to the Saints — 31-24 in the Superdome in Week 5 and 34-17 in Week 11 in Tampa — have stuck in Barrett’s craw for a long time.

“It felt like they just controlled the game (both times), and whenever we did claw back, they just went up again by another touchdown or a field goal,” Barrett said. “We feel like we were in it, but we really weren’t in it. I just feel like we didn’t play our best defense at all. I really just want to get back at them and go ahead and try to get this win.”

In each loss, a few mistakes set the Bucs behind and they had to catch up.

“We’re trying to get where they’re at,” Bucs inside linebacker Lavonte David said.

In the first game, cornerback Carlton Davis was ejected for an illegal hit for lowering his head while making a tackle — an ill-timed play because the game was tied at 10 and the Saints were pinned in their own territory with a first-and-20. The 15-yard penalty and automatic first down resuscitated that drive, which ended with a go-ahead touchdown.

On that drive, Saints quarterback Teddy Bridgewater exploited then-Bucs cornerback Vernon Hargreaves, who had to cover Michael Thomas because of Davis' ejection. Thomas schooled Hargreaves on his way to a 182-yard receiving day, as the Saints scored touchdowns on consecutive drives to take a 24-10 halftime lead.

It was also the first time last season that a team contained Barrett. The Bucs didn’t have a single sack and gave up 457 yards of total offense.

“It was more us inflicting wounds on ourselves,” Bucs coach Bruce Arians said.

In the second game, the Bucs fell behind 20-0 at halftime, but the defense was pinned up against a short field on both Saints' touchdown drives in the half.

Trailing 6-0, O.J. Howard bobbled a pass that went behind him. He tipped the ball into the air and into the hands of Saints linebacker Demario Davis, giving New Orleans possession at the Tampa Bay 16-yard line. The Saints started their next possession at their own 49 after a 27-yard punt return by Alvin Kamara.

In that game, Winston threw four interceptions, including a pick-six that made it a two-touchdown game late.

“It was strictly the turnovers,” Arians said. “And we didn’t get off to a fast start defensively. We let them take it and go down the field. Those things are all easily correctable and they’ve seen themselves do it, so let’s see if they can fix it.”

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In the second game, the Bucs defense held New Orleans to field goals on their first two drives — of 60 and 68 yards — before Winston’s first interception pinned them back.

The Saints held the Bucs to just one sack in the two games and averaged 110.5 rushing yards against a defense that allowed just 73.8 rushing yards per game last season. The Saints were 15-for-28 on third downs.

Saints coach Sean Payton, however, said he saw tremendous progress in the Bucs defense. They cut Hargreaves, the young secondary grew with more playing time, and they were the league’s most stout run defense throughout the season.

“When you watch the film over the course of the year as they progressed, the last six, seven weeks of the season, there wasn’t another defense in the league playing as well as these guys,” Payton said. “They’re very talented, I think there’s a confidence about how they play, and they provide a lot of challenges.”

So for players like Barrett, who have been stinging from those losses, a win Sunday at the Superdome would offer a slice of redemption.

“It would most definitely be a statement win, because they’re a respected team in the league by pretty much everybody and they have been a contender every year,” Barrett said. “To come out and get our first win against them would be big for us (and) a big step in the right direction.”

Contact Eduardo A. Encina at eencina@tampabay.com. Follow @EddieInTheYard.