LANDOVER, MARYLAND – JANUARY 09: Quarterback Tom Brady #12 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers congratulates running back Leonard Fournette #28 after a touchdown during the 4th quarter of the game against the Washington Football Team at FedExField on January 09, 2021 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be cheering for the Chicago Bears to upset the New Orleans Saints to set up a more favorable NFL playoff matchup vs. the Rams.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were able to hold on late Saturday night against Washington and the heroics of Taylor Heinicke. They are now on to the Divisional Round and their opponent is still not determined.
The Bucs did their job and got the win. Now they will be rooting for the Chicago Bears to take down the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.
Buccaneers fans should root for the Bears to upset the Saints
The Buccaneers and Los Angeles Rams both won Saturday. A Bears win would mean all three Wild Card teams took down division champions this weekend. It also means the Buccaneers get a home game against Los Angeles next weekend and avoid playing the Green Bay Packers in Lambeau Field. A Saints win means Tampa is heading to New Orleans who are 2-0 vs. their NFC South rivals this year.
Fans will recall the Rams also beat the Buccaneers this year in a 27-24 decision on Monday Night Football, but considering Jared Goff, Aaron Donald and Cooper Kupp are banged up, they will gladly host them and hope for a different result this time around.
The two losses for the Buccaneers against the Saints were not as close. The first came in Week 1 in Tom Brady‘s Tampa debut. He threw two interceptions and the Saints took home a 34-23 victory. Things only got worse in the second meeting as Brady tossed three interceptions and the Saints won 38-3 in a game that was 31-0 at halftime. And that was at Tampa.
So in addition to Bears fans, Tampa Bay fans will be rooting for Mitchell Trubisky to pull the big upset on Sunday evening.
A Bears win in New Orleans is improbable, but certainly not impossible. Brady and the Bucs will now become huge Trubisky fans and root hard in order to get a home game and be significant favorites next week.