Tom Brady and the Buccaneers finally beat the Saints
New Orleans Saints vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers: It’s finally a win for the Buccaneers against the Saints. Tampa Bay improved to 2-0 on the season with a 20-10 victory at Caesars Superdome in Week 2 after going 0-4 against their NFC South rival since Tom Brady arrived.
There were 30 points scored in this game, but it was mostly a rock fight. As a result, the Saints were able to shut out the Bucs for the first half, while Bucs managed only three points at the half. Mike Evans and Marshon Lattimore were ejected for fighting in the second half, resulting in the offensive outburst and New Orleans’ ultimate demise.
Tampa Bay ran away with the game after the Saints turned the ball over on four straight possessions in the second half. Despite throwing three interceptions, Winston threw 236 yards and a touchdown. A touchdown and 190 yards were thrown by Brady. Tampa Bay’s three interceptions came from Bucs cornerback Jamel Dean.
Check out our takeaways below for a more detailed breakdown of what happened.
New Orleans Saints vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Buccaneers’ victory reasons
In the end, it was the Buccaneers’ defense that saved the day. The Tampa Bay offense struggled to move the ball and was shut out in the first half as Todd Bowles’ unit kept the club within striking distance. In the second half, this unit continued to create turnovers that led to points by clamping down on Jameis Winston. Three of New Orleans’ turnovers occurred in just five plays during the second half. Immediately following that run, safety Mike Edwards came up with a pick-six that completely turned the game around.
Due to Evans’ ejection, Chris Godwin, and Julio Jones’ inactivity, Breshad Perriman proved to be Brady’s key outlet offensively. In the fourth quarter, he caught three of his five targets for 45 yards, including a 28-yard touchdown.
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Here are some reasons why the Saints lost
A moment ago, it looked as though the Saints would sweep the Buccaneers. Dennis Allen’s team was extremely stout on third and fourth downs during the first half, shutting out Brady’s offense. On the sidelines, Brady was visibly frustrated.
However, the offense was unable to fully take advantage of the defensive success against Brady, as they scored only a field goal on their opening drive of the game and punted on their remaining four possessions.
Then, the second half is where things went really off the rails. They had five total turnovers, including three interceptions by Winston on three consecutive drives. While there were some opportunities to hit Chris Olave deep, the Saints did seem to be forcing the ball in his direction a bit too much. On top of largely not connecting on the deep shots, they started to result in turnovers. Winston’s first interception was on a deep ball intended for Olave that Dean was able to leap over and intercept. The next possession for Tampa Bay was its lone touchdown drive by the offense and broke the 3-3 lead.
Olave fumbled when Winston and Olave attempted another deep pass. It was possible that Olave could have cut the Bucs’ lead to just a field goal before the two-minute warning if he stayed on his feet. With 13 targets, Olave gained 80 yards on five caches on the day.
Providing the opposing team with the ball five times in the second half is not going to help you win many games in the NFL.
An important turning point
During the game, the brawl between these two clubs — primarily Evans and Lattimore — was pivotal. Both clubs were less than pleased to lose those players to ejection, but their responses to the skirmishes were very different.
At the time of the fight, the game was tied at three points apiece with 12:49 remaining in the fourth quarter. After the dust settled, Tampa Bay punted the ball to the Saints at their own 45-yard line. This possession was the start of three straight possessions that ended in turnovers post-fight, giving New Orleans five total turnovers in the second half. After Winston’s initial interception, the Buccaneers scored 17 points from his three subsequent interceptions.
A game’s play
It was the first time anyone had reached the end zone on the day when Brady scored to Perriman in the fourth quarter to break the tie. In the middle of this period, the Buccaneers scored 17 points as the tide swung in their favor. The thr Also, Brady’s throw was pristine, despite his lack of sharpness on the day yard dart was Just out of reach of the Saints’ defensive back, and the 28-yard dart was thrown ahead of Perriman in the end zone
Here’s what’s next
After this, the Buccaneers will head back to Tampa, where they will host the Green Bay Packers in Week 3. Following this loss, the Saints will head to Carolina to take on the Panthers.