Divisional matchups always bring a little extra fire. Baker Mayfield just tossed gasoline on it. Before the Tampa Bay Buccaneers head into the Superdome to face the New Orleans Saints in Week 8, the quarterback called out them for “dirty play.” And now, one of the Saints’ defensive captains has stepped forward to respond, calmly, but firmly.

Recently, the NOF Network dropped a clip where Saints’ linebacker Demario Davis didn’t mince words. The veteran said he doesn’t know the full context of Mayfield’s jab, but he’s not buying into the noise.

“Ain’t no words need to be said. And so we’ll get to the game on Sunday and play. I don’t think words will do anything for me or for him or anybody else. I love trash talk. But trash talk ain’t going to do nothing, for nobody before the game. It’s only going to do something for you in the game,” Davis said.

“And you don’t have to verbally trash talk. You can trash talk with your game, too.” In short, Davis is calling Mayfield out, not with words, but with action.

To be fair, Mayfield’s got the stats to back up his confidence this year. Through seven games, he’s posted a 99.8 passer rating with 1,767 yards, 13 touchdowns, and just two interceptions. Plus, he’s fully recovered from his knee issue. So yes, he’s walking into this one with momentum. But for context, let’s see what Mayfield said.

“It has not exactly been clean play from their part when we play them,” Mayfield said. “It is a physical game; it is what it is. You expect it [from a] division rival” And then he talked about the rival coach Kellen Moore saying, “not much else to say besides for the fact that I do not like them.”

Interestingly, while Mayfield threw verbal punches, Moore took it differently, with a positive spin.

Kellen Moore responds to Baker Mayfield

Baker Mayfield’s words have already turned up the temperature ahead of their Week 8 clash. The Saints, sitting at 1-6, haven’t been able to deliver on either side of the ball. And though Moore’s first year in charge hasn’t gone as planned, he’s not letting emotions cloud the moment.

After Mayfield’s recent jab at New Orleans, the Saints’ head coach made it clear he has nothing but respect for the Buccaneers’ signal-caller.

“Division games are always fun…they’re a little bit different than all the rest of the games…this is a phenomenal rivalry,” he said on Wednesday. “Baker has been playing as good a quarterback play in this league, and so it’ll be a fun battle.”

Historically, the Saints have held the upper hand.

They’ve won 40 of the 67 meetings between these NFC South rivals. Yet lately, the tide has turned. Tampa Bay has claimed five of the last six matchups, including back-to-back wins against the Black and Gold. The Bucs have clearly flipped the script.

And Mayfield? He’s been the difference. Since joining Tampa Bay in 2023, he’s 3-1 against the Saints and 4-1 all time. On paper, the Bucs should handle business easily. But on the field, anything can happen. Maybe Moore’s crew finds a spark. What do you think?