The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will face their nemesis, the New Orleans Saints, on Sunday afternoon in the first of two division matchups this season. We are counting down the hours until the 1 p.m. ET kickoff at Caesars Superdome. Although it is only Week Two, it is a battle for first place in the NFC South. Tampa Bay has not won a regular-season game in the series against New Orleans since the opening week of 2018, with the Saints taking the next seven. Tom Brady is 0-4 against the Saints during the regular season since he signed with the team. On Sunday, the Bucs will aim to reverse the narrative, taking an early edge in the division race. After a week of preparation, here is what it comes down to:

4 Stats That Matter

• 67.78. Falling just behind the Cowboys, the Saints' defense graded out at No. 2 in blitz passing situations last season. On 129 blitz attempts, the Saints' defense got home on 14 sacks for a loss of 104 yards (9.79 percent). The unit allowed a passer rating of 67.78 when collapsing the pocket. Dennis Allen has an arsenal of talent at his disposal, including tone-setters Cameron Jordan and Demario Davis. New Orleans did not register a sack in Week One versus Atlanta, but the unit will be looking to take advantage of the Bucs' shuffled offensive line.
• 16. New Orleans ranked last in the league in points scored on the first possession in 2021. The NFL average was 36 points and the Saints recorded just 16. Slow starts often forced the Saints to play catch-up and become one-dimensional in 2021. The trend continued in 2022 against the Falcons. Atlanta's defense dominated at the point of attack throughout the first three quarters, forcing the Saints to enter a no-huddle, hurry-up mode in the fourth period.
• 180. The New Orleans defense ranked 30th in the league in plays of 10-plus yards given up, with the Giants (31) and Texans (32) coming in behind last season. The Saints' defense gave up a total of 180 big plays, 45 runs (15.4 average distance) and 135 passes (19.3 average distance). Opponents were able to successfully move the chains with chunk yardage gained, and the Bucs will strive to add to the mix come Sunday.
• 35.2 %. Since the start of the 2021 season, the Bucs have blitzed on 35.2 percent of dropbacks, second-highest in the NFL, and pressured quarterbacks on 33.5 percent of dropbacks, fifth-highest in the league. Todd Bowles is invariably linked to his aggressive, attack-styled defense. He utilizes multiple looks to keep offenses off-balance, maximizing skillsets in the 3-4 base, hybrid subpackage system. Players thrive in the setup, penetrating at the line of scrimmage, freeing up linebackers and allowing the secondary to feast off errant throws.

3 Lineup Notes

• Tampa Bay wide receiver Chris Godwin has been ruled out of Sunday's game against New Orleans and left tackle Donovan Smith is listed as doubtful to play. On Smith's odds for Sunday's NFC South clash, Head Coach Todd Bowles stated, "Donovan will be close. It will be hard for him to make it, but we'll see. The rest of the guys, we'll see on Sunday." Smith suffered a hyperextended right elbow during the season opener against Dallas, exiting the game in the second quarter. Backup swing tackle Josh Wells, who has taken first-team reps in his place this week, would start at left tackle if Smith does not suit up.
• In addition to Godwin, four other receivers – Mike Evans (calf), Russell Gage (hamstring), Julio Jones (knee) and Breshad Perriman (knee) – are listed as questionable to play versus the Saints and practiced in a limited fashion on Friday. Both running back Leonard Fournette (hamstring) and right tackle Tristan Wirfs (abdomen) were also listed as questionable.
• Saints' cornerback Paulson Adebo missed practice this week with an ankle injury that sidelined him for Week One, and he has been ruled out. Running back Alvin Kamara did not participate in practice on Thursday or Friday due to a rib injury and is listed as questionable. Additionally for New Orleans, running back Mark Ingram (ankle), receiver Tre'Quan Smith (shoulder) and quarterback Jameis Winston (back) were limited participants in practice and were listed as questionable. Winston told local reporters earlier in the week, "This week is about us competing against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I'm here now, I'm healthy and I'm ready to rock. That's it."

2 Challenges Presented by the Saints

Despite giving up 201 yards on the ground to the Falcons last week with both Cordarrelle Patterson and dual-threat quarterback Marcus Mariota leading the charge, the Saints still have the makings of a formidable crew. A year ago, New Orleans allowed the fourth fewest points in the league, ranked seventh in yards allowed and fourth against the run. Cameron Jordan remains a top-tier defensive end in the league, bating tackles with a plethora of pass rush moves. David Onyemata is often overlooked in the interior, rocking offensive linemen back with power out of his stance. Linebacker Demario Davis can do it all - delivering blows to ballcarriers and crashing the pocket from A and B-gap blitzes. He has had success against Tampa Bay in the past, delivering hits on Brady from the inside. Davis is difficult to block and whether it is a down lineman or Fournette picking up the blitz in a one-on-one scenario, keeping Brady clean in the pocket is vital. The Saints' secondary is led by Marshon Lattimore, who has the speed to turn and run with vertical threats. Each star-studded name has the capability of wrecking the game. With the Buccaneers' offensive line undergoing a rebuild phase, Dennis Allen will certainly dial up the pressure. Who wins the battle in the trenches will likely dictate who comes away with a victory on Sunday.

An area that often flies under the radar is special teams. In recent years, New Orleans has come out on top in that category. On Sunday, the Bucs will face one of the league's best return men in Deonte Harty, who has a tendency of gifting the Saints favorable field position. Last season, Tampa Bay ranked 30th in kickoff coverage but a new era has dawned. Both K.J. Britt and rookie Cade Otton made significant contributions on Sunday in punt/kickoff coverage. Otton had three tackles, snuffing out the elusive KaVontae Turpin of Dallas. Harty has breakaway speed, stretching the field as both a return specialist and as a receiver. After his All-Pro rookie year in 2019, Harty averaged 9.5 yards per punt return in 2020. He also had 690 kick return yards, ranking seventh in the league in that category. He is coming off a "down year" by his standards as a return specialist, but his elusiveness remains a threat. The Bucs need another stellar outing on special teams in the Superdome.

1 Key Thought from Todd Bowles

Focus on Sunday against the New Orleans Saints:

"It's Week 2 – we want to win the game, number one. Number two, it's a rivalry – you always want to beat your division and it's always going to be a tough ballgame. But we're trying to get a win. It's not exacting revenge or anything else; we need that to get to where we've got to go. It's not a rivalry right now. They've beaten us six straight times and in order for us to make it a rivalry we're going to have to try to win a few times. But it's just important for us to win the ballgame."