This season has been an up and down one for the Bucs this year. They came in with all the hype in the world when they signed Tom Brady and his former partner in crime in New England, Rob Gronkowski . They even signed Antonio Brown who had ruined his reputation throughout the league with his crazy antics and his legal troubles off the field. This year is going to be Tom Brady’s first time not having the home field advantage for the playoffs during his 20 year career in a wild card game.  The Bucs played The Washington football team with a 7-9 record and champions of the worst division in football, the NFC east. Tampa ended up winning 31-23 in a really exciting match up with both sides of the ball playing really good. The top story from the game had to be Washington backup QB Taylor Heinicke as it was his first game he started in the NFL and it was a playoff game against the greatest quarterback to ever play the game. Heinicke showed tremendous heart and laid it all out on the line during his first game as he threw for 306 yards one touchdown, one interception and was Washington’s leading rusher with 46 yards and a touchdown.

On to the next round, Tampa is playing their divisional rival the New Orleans Saints, who they lost to in both games this year in really bad fashion. The first game they were competitive with a score of 23-34 but in the second match up they lost 38-3. But it’s a new year and this game might be the last between Brady and Brees as this might be Brees’ last game in the NFL with the many hits of retirement this season. This game feels like it’s going to be a great one with all the pressure on these teams as Tampa came in with all the hype with flashy names and big numbers while the Saints were eliminated in the playoffs the last couple of years in some of the worst heartbreak losses in recent NFL history. These include the Minneapolis Miracle and a two seasons ago when the saints had a chance to go to the super bowl but there was a tragic non pass interference call that altered NFL history forever and its still talked about today that they should have gone to the ship.

For the Bucs to win against the Saints, they would need no have a lock down defense and try their best to keep the ball out of New Orleans possession. The Bucs need to find a consistent form of offense because in their last outing , they were lackluster on offense, as they couldn’t even put up double digit points. This is going to be a fierce game with a ton on the line. The divisional rivalry is going to show in this game with all the hard hits, cheap shots and the refs just letting the ball speak for itself.  With the old rivalry with Drew Brees, Brady or the elite wide receiver matchup with Antonio Brown and Marshon Lattimore, this is going to be a damn good game. We’ll see who comes out on top this week and who wants it more.