The New Orleans Saints offense and the defensive unit of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers come into Sunday’s matchup on distinctly different paths.

The Saints offense seeks to capitalize on the momentum of last week’s victory over the Panthers, in which they piled up 444 total yards, 89 of which came on a 13-play game-winning drive that culminated in a Pierre Thomas touchdown catch with 50 seconds left.

Meanwhile, Tampa Bay’s defense was torched for 41 points by a previously unremarkable San Francisco offense, including over 200 yards on the ground.

Though they’ve  appeared stout at times, especially during their week 3 victory over Atlanta, in which they held the Falcons to only 30 rushing yards, the Buccaneers defense currently ranks in the bottom 3rd of the NFL in defending both the rush and the pass.

The Saints offense has been both methodical and explosive in the early season, mixing the run well with the pass, and will be a tough unit for Tampa Bay to slow down.

Passing Game

If you’re looking for more evidence of the dominance of the Saints offense, ESPN ran a big feature this week on the freakish 58.6% third-down conversion rate the Saints have this year.  Brees has completed 42 of 56 passes for 566 yards with seven touchdowns and zero interceptions on third-down.

What that means is that the Saints are capable of not only unleashing big plays, but also wearing defenses down.  Daren Sproles has become Drew Brees favorite short-yardage option and look for the Saints to exploit Tampa Bay’s young, aggressive defensive unit through a flurry of short passes and screen plays.

Tampa Bay will rely on all-pro corner Ronde Barber and experienced strong safety Sean Jones to contain playmakers Jimmy Graham and Marques Colston.  They’ll also look to get pressure on Brees from the defensive line, which is led by Michael Bennett, who has two sacks.

Running Game

The Saints three-headed running attack took on a slight alteration last week, when for the first time this season, Darren Sproles lead the team in carries with 11.  Don’t be surprised if this trend continues, as Sproles has broken a handful of big runs, something rookie running back Mark Ingram has failed to do.

Pierre Thomas has yet to hit double digits in carries for a game, but has been consistent with a 4.5-yard average and should receive his usual 6-8 carries.

The Buccaneers have performed inconsistently against the rush throughout the season.

They had a stellar game against the Falcons and Michael Turner, but were gutted by feature backs Adrian Peterson and Frank Gore.  They have a young, aggressive line-backing corps, led by leading tacklers Mason Foster and Geno Hays, who will be in charge of corralling the Saints running backs.

Matchup to Watch

Marques Colston is 6 foot 4.  Ronde Barber is 5 foot 10.  Look for Colston, who has been regaining momentum after his game 1 injury, to use his height to try to exploit Barber and the Buccaneers secondary.