The NFL’s Divisional Round headline matchup has Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints hosting Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in their third meeting of the season, and there’s already a popular narrative making the rounds: that it’s tough to beat the same team three times in a single year.
But it’s a fake narrative. Made up. False. If the Saints lose to the Buccaneers, it won’t be because of any sort of payback after two previous wins.
Thanks to research from Chase Stuart for Football Perspective, we can look back on NFL history and see that 17 teams have been in the Saints’ position before, hosting a playoff game against an opponent they defeated twice in the regular season.