Buccaneers vs. Saints NFL Week 4 odds, props: Mike Evans-Marshon Lattimore rivalry renews with New Orleans defense on historic roll

The NFL and its TV partners like to promote quarterback rivalries – Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning, Joe Burrow vs. Patrick Mahomes, etc. – but quarterbacks aren't truly "rivals" because they're not on the field going against one another. In that vein, I would argue the best current individual rivalry in the NFL is the feud between Buccaneers Pro Bowl receiver Mike Evans and Saints Pro Bowl cornerback Marshon Lattimore. The rivalry will be renewed Sunday in the Big Easy with New Orleans -3 on the SportsLine consensus.

Evans and Lattimore have gotten into a few scuffles over the years. They see a lot of each other as division rivals. We rarely saw Brady lose his cool on the field, but he did in Week 2 last year in New Orleans, a 20-10 Bucs win. Brady helped incite a skirmish that led to the ejections of Lattimore and Evans, who got a one-game suspension (Lattimore missed the rematch injured). Evans also was dinged a game in 2017 for running onto the field and shoving Lattimore in the back. In 2020, Lattimore was fined $10,500 for unnecessary roughness for shoving Evans in the back, prompting Evans to rip his helmet off.

"You've got two great players, and they want to compete," Bucs coach Todd Bowles said of Sunday's matchup. "Both want to win. As long as they play within the whistle, that's fine. We don't want to hurt our team. I'm sure they don't want to hurt their team, so it'll be a competitive ball game just keeping them between the whistles."

The future Hall of Famer Evans, who can hit free agency after the season, is off to a terrific start with 17 catches for 297 yards and three scores. He is set at over/under 4.5 catches and 59.5 yards and is +180 for an anytime TD.

Courtesy of Sharp Football Analysis, in 11 career games with Lattimore on the field, Evans has reeled in 29-of-57 (50.9%) targets for 493 yards and four touchdowns. Per ESPN, Lattimore has the second-lowest completion percentage (48%) allowed as the nearest defender against Evans since 2017 among players with at least 10 targets (including the playoffs). Evans is averaging just 50 yards per game against the Saints in his career, 25th among the 31 teams he's faced.

Lattimore, a four-time Pro Bowler and former NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, is a big reason why the Saints have not allowed more than 20 points in 11 straight games, the longest active streak in the NFL and tied for the longest this century. The last team to hold 12 straight opponents to 20 points or fewer was the 1994-95 Cleveland Browns, coached by Bill Belichick. Tampa Bay averages 19.3 points per game and is set at O/U 17.5, with the Over a slight favorite.

Offensively, it's mixed news for the Saints. Starting QB Derek Carr left Sunday's loss in Green Bay – New Orleans was up 17-0 when he left in the third and lost 18-17 – with a shoulder injury and is not expected to play on Sunday. Former Bucs No. 1 overall pick Jameis Winston would start in his place. Pro Bowl running back Alvin Kamara will return from his three-game suspension. He is set at O/U 52.5 yards rushing.

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