Saints quarterback Jameis Winston might have been dealing with a back injury as New Orleans hosted Tampa Bay on Sunday, but that didn't mean the Buccaneers would be taking it easy on him.
The Bucs' ball-hawking defense proved that with its play on the field before linebacker Devin White doubled down with postgame comments aimed at Winston. Winston threw three interceptions as the Saints turned the ball over five times in the contest, losing a pair of fumbles in the 20-10 defeat. White referred to the turnover-prone Winston while sending quite the verbal jab.
"I mean, when Jameis left our team, everybody knows what he did that last year. And we felt like we had a great defense then and he threw 30 picks," White said on the FOX Sports broadcast after Tampa Bay's win, as shared by NFL reporter Dov Kleiman.
"We just knew he would give us the ball (Sunday). We knew the running backs would cough it up," White continued. "That's something we came in talking about. We want 30 turnovers as a ball club ourselves, so this just was another game to go attack the ball."
White's reference to Winston's 30 interceptions dates back to the 2019 campaign, the quarterback's last in Tampa Bay. The Buccaneers went out and added free-agent quarterback Tom Brady that offseason, and Brady's play complemented the Tampa Bay defense all the way to a Super Bowl title.
And while the pre-Brady era in Tampa Bay feels like forever ago, especially to some fans of the New England Patriots, it's clear White didn't forget those troubling days for the Bucs organization with Winston behind center.
The Buccaneers now get set to face Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who doesn't have the same turnover-prone attributes, in Week 3. The Saints, meanwhile, will face the Carolina Panthers in their Week 3 clash.
