Marshon Lattimore and Tom Brady exchanged some heated words, then the Saints CB waved off the Hall of Fame QB. What else could be expected in another defensive showcase that was deadlocked at 3-3 midway into the 4th quarter?
That's when everything went haywire. Bucs RB Leonard Fournette got into the action with a shove and Lattimore gave it right back. Then came a hard-charging Mike Evans to lay a blindside hit on the Saints cornerback -- yes, another one.
"I just was trying to have my teammates' back," Evans said. "I seen him punch somebody in the face. I'm not going to let that happen. ... We've got each other's back. We've been together for a while now. We know when we come to New Orleans it gets spicy."
Spicy was a fair word to describe the atmosphere in Week 2 at the Caesars Superdome. The rest? That's up for debate. It was likely a situation that would've been defused quickly on the field, but the hard-charging Evans sent Lattimore flying to the turf, and the resultant benches-clearing brawl ended with both Evans and Lattimore ejected from the game.
After a Jameis Winston interception, it was Brady leading the Bucs into the end zone with a TD pass to Breshad Perriman with PJ Williams in coverage.
In the end it was a 20-10 Bucs win at the Superdome, marred by five turnovers on the Saints' side. But the home pulled just as many punches as Evans did on the evening.
"Evans cheap-shotted him last time," Saints running back Mark Ingram said, "and Evans cheap-shotted him this time."
He was referring, of course, to the Saints-Bucs matchup in 2017 that saw a similar throwdown. In that instance it was then-Bucs QB Jameis Winston and Fournette getting into it, with Evans sprinting over and knocking Lattimore to the ground. This time it was Brady, and Evans came flying in from the sideline. But there have also been more casual dustups, like this one in 2020 that only resulted in Lattimore's helmet being thrown off.
Still, Ingram took exception to Lattimore being thrown out of the game alongside Evans, while Fournette evaded any penalty whatsoever despite instigating the brawl. The decision to eject players is made in New York and out of the hands of the on-field officials.
Related
"I don't see how any man could look at that and see somebody just cheap shot, blindside you, when they're really just talking. You know what I mean? They're talking, gibbering back and forth and somebody comes and just earholes you, like blatantly," Ingram said. "He did it twice. That was the second time he did that to Marshon. You know, nobody respects that, man. But, you know, it just sucks."
There's no love lost between the Saints and Bucs, and it's only gotten more testy the past two seasons with New Orleans winning all four regular season matchups, while the Bucs got the better of them in 2020 en route to a Super Bowl title.
The Saints' offense was stuck in the mud a majority of the day against an equally stout Bucs defense. WR Michael Thomas caught the lone Saints touchdown of the day while battling often against Bucs DB Carlton Davis, though no punches were thrown. Thomas had similar feedback for the opposing No. 13's behavior.
Related
"That's just like a little bit out of control, man, what those guys be doing. It's hard not to react like Marshon does when you're getting pushed in the back," Thomas said. "That reaction, you're trying to protect yourself. Somebody pushed you. That's not tough, that's not cool. That's not whatever you want to call it. ... It's getting old. So, you know, but we can't allow that to hurt us as as a team so we just had to find a way to lock in and stay disciplined."
It's impossible to say whether the Saints' fate would've been any different had Lattimore not been tossed from the game, but it can't be debated that the Bucs took clear control after that point. They nabbed three interceptions and recovered a fumble in the final quarter, and scored 17 consecutive points to put the game out of reach.
More discipline, whether in the form of fines or suspensions, is likely. But one way or another the Saints now find themselves looking up at the Bucs, who now hold 1st place in the NFC South. The Saints are in second at 1-1, while the Panthers and Falcons sit at 0-2. The Saints don't matchup up with the Bucs again until Week 13 on Monday Night Football. Get the fireworks ready for that one.
Related
━━
Check out our new podcast Inside Black & Gold, wherever you get your podcasts. LINKS: Apple | Spotify | Audacy ... remember to rate and subscribe!