The Saints and Buccaneers do not like each other, as tends to be the case with divisional rivals in the NFL, and that’s particularly true of Bucs star receiver Mike Evans and Saints star corner Marshon Lattimore. Those two have been seeing each other twice a year for many years, battling on the outside and have been known to get into some physical and verbal altercations.
On Sunday, the Bucs visited New Orleans in a battle of the NFC South’s presumed favorites, and the defenses were dominating the day in what was a 3-3 game in the early fourth quarter. After the Bucs failed to convert a third down as a Tom Brady deep pass down the sideline went incomplete, Lattimore was jawing with Brady and Evans came sprinting over to light him up, sparking a brawl on the middle of the field.
— lowlight heaven (@lowlightheaven) September 18, 2022
Lattimore and Evans were ejected for their roles in the fight, with both teams getting handed offsetting unsportsmanlike penalties, and the Bucs were forced to punt the ball away on fourth down. The Saints immediately threw an interception trying to complete a bomb down the field, meaning the absences of Lattimore and Evans would be felt quickly with the Bucs offense coming back onto the field in a tie ball game. We’ll find out which team that proves to be more costly for as a tight game wears on, but each team lost a key contributor thanks to a rather wild sequence.