Tom Brady has struggled against the New Orleans Saints since his move to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Will he be successful this time? The omens for Sunday’s clash do not necessarily inspire hope.

Munich/New Orleans – Four losses in a row, six touchdowns with eight interceptions including a shutout in the 0-9 loss last season – Tom Brady’s regular-season record in a Tampa Bay Buccaneers jersey against the New Orleans Saints could hardly be worse.

Only the playoff win in January 2021 (30:20) conceals the sobering statistics from the Bucs’ point of view.

Now the two division rivals meet again in Week 2

Brady: “For every loss, there are reasons “

In order to finally get that longed-for regular-season win that would be tantamount to a 2-0 start to the current season, the quarterback is looking back at the failures of previous years.

“I think we have to understand why we lost those games. There are reasons for every loss,” Brady told a media panel on Thursday, adding a little later, “We have to show good football. From the offence to the defence to the special teams. They’re just too good to think we’re going to dominate one phase of the game and then win. “

Problematic for a good offensive performance, however, is when half the receiving corps may not be available and, in addition, the use of regular offensive tackles Tristan Wirfs and Donovan Smith is questionable.

Mike Evans had a limited practice on Wednesday and none at all on Thursday, while Chris Godwin and Julio Jones have not been on the field with the team this week. At least Russell Gage was able to return from his hamstring injury and running back Leonard Fournette did the same.

Saints: Hardened secondary, strong front

Whether that’s enough to move the ball down the field against a strong Saints secondary, though, remains to be seen. In Week 1, New Orleans did allow 215 yards through the air against the Atlanta Falcons, but allowed just eight passes for a new first down as well as no passing touchdowns.

The pass defense led by cornerback Marshon Lattimore and the safety duo of Tyrann Mathieu/Marcus Maye is among the best in the league. The defensive front of Cameron Jordan and Marcus Davenport is not to be underestimated anyway, even though Atlanta quarterback Marcus Mariota rarely faced high pressure in the first game of the season.

“They’re just a tough, hard-nosed team. They’re well coached, they have a lot of strong players and they’ve been a winning organisation for a long time. They know how to get the job done,” Brady praised the upcoming opponent, immediately noting, “It’s a tough environment, but when you play good teams away from home, you have to play well. The last couple of times we’ve played them, we haven’t done that well. “

Buccaneers: Running game key?

So where to start to make the return trip to Florida with a win in the bag?

The key could be the running game, New Orleans was vulnerable against the run in Atlanta. And wide receiver Michael Thomas, who made an impressive comeback after a two-year absence, will have to be contained.

Otherwise, the fearful opponent strikes again – and Brady quickly finds himself at 0-5.