**
How'd they do in 2017? The Saints won the NFC South last season and made it to the divisional round of the 2017 playoffs before losing to the Minnesota Vikings by a score of 29-24. They finished the regular season with an 11-5 record that included an eight-game winning streak in the middle of the season. With a chance to clinch the division against Tampa Bay in the last game of the year, the Buccaneers were able to secure the win at home to close out their season on a high note. It was losses by Atlanta and Carolina that clinched the division for the Saints, instead. Anything interesting between the two teams? - The Bucs won their first-ever meeting in December of 1977 by a score of 33-14 to snap the infamous 0-26 losing streak suffered by the club during its first two seasons. The quarterback of the Saints at the time was Archie Manning, father to Peyton and Eli. More recently, the teams have split the season series for the past three years thanks to the aforementioned Tampa Bay victory during the last game of the regular season for the two teams on December 31. - In 2008, the Buccaneers gave Head Coach Jon Gruden his 100th victory with the club after the defense intercepted Saints' QB Drew Brees three times in a 23-20 defeat of New Orleans. - This will be the third time in the history of the two clubs that they will open the season against one another and the second time in New Orleans. The Bucs opened against Saints in 2002 at home to start their Super Bowl-bound season. The last time the two teams opened against each other was 2008 at the Superdome. What about off the field? New Orleans and Tampa are both home to Carnival Krewes. The term krewe refers to an organization that puts on a parade or a ball during Carnival season, mostly around the Gulf of Mexico. The two most famous parades are held in New Orleans for Mardi Gras and Tampa for Gasparilla. So… what if I want to go? **Tampa and New Orleans are 482 miles apart … when flying. It's about an hour and a half flight over the Gulf of Mexico from TPA to MSY. Driving is a different story. To go around the Gulf, you'll have to drive 657.5 miles and it'll take you about nine hours.
