The New Orleans Saints were looking for a second divisional win of the season when they visited the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. Here’s a quick recap of all the action.
First Quarter
The black and gold got the action
underway in this one, and instantly kicked into gear. Tyler Shough found Devaughn Vele and Juwan Johnson for a total of 28 yards, and found more yards on the ground through himself and Devin Neal.
In no time, Neal was punching in a 3-yard touchdown run to give the visitors a 7-0 lead.
The Bucs’ opening drive was equally productive, however, and Baker Mayfield’s 21-yard shot to Chris Godwin was the biggest play that preceded a 24-yard touchdown catch and run for Bucky Irving.
With the game tied 7-7, the Saints went three-and-out.
Tampa Bay found more momentum as they got the ball back, but couldn’t convert on a 4th-and-1 just past midfield.
Shough found Foster Moreau for 16 yards to move the Saints into Bucs territory before the end of the quarter.
Second Quarter
New Orleans failed to find another first down, meaning Charlie Smyth came out for a 48-yard field goal attempt. But he missed wide left.
A tripping penalty against Nathan Shepherd gave the Bucs 15 yards as their ensuing drive got underway, but they couldn’t capitalize as another punt soon followed.
But a miscommunication resulted in an interception from Shough almost immediately, with Zyon McCollum returning the ball into Saints territory for Tampa Bay.
Despite Bucky Irving running for 12 yards on the first play, the Saints defense was able to keep another Bucs possession to relatively few yards. Chase McLaughlin’s 41-yard field goal gave the hosts a 10-7 lead.
The Saints proceeded to go three-and-out before the defense came up with yet another 4th down stop, holding Sean Tucker for no gain at midfield.
But Neal was soon stopped on his own run on 4th-and-1 for a turnover-on-downs, this time in Tampa Bay’s favor. With less than a minute to work with, Mayfield and co were unable to find field goal range as the half came to a close at 10-7.
Third Quarter
Mayfield found Godwin and Cade Otton to begin the second half before throwing an interception to Alontae Taylor.
Shough punished the mistake, handing off twice to Neal before taking off for a 34-yard touchdown run to give the Saints a 14-10 lead.
Tampa Bay found a quick response, helped by a 28-yard pass interference against Jonas Sanker. Their drive went 65 yards in under 4 minutes, with Tucker running for 13 yards down to the 1-yard line before punching it in for the score on the next play.
But New Orleans would find a response of its own, driving 53 yards led by a 21-yard run from Neal. Shough thought he’d found Olave for 1st-and-goal, but Cesar Ruiz was called for an illegal man downfield penalty. Smith was good instead to tie the game at 17-17.
Mayfield scrambled for 16 yards and a first down as the Bucs closed out the quarter with the ball.
Fourth Quarter
The hosts’ drive dried up from there, as Mayfield couldn’t find Godwin on 4th-and-2, resulting in yet another failed 4th down conversion.
Shough took over near midfield, finding Olave twice for a total of 22 yards. Neal then found 14 more yards with a catch of his own, before the rookie quarterback took off for his second running touchdown of the game, this time from 13 yards out to establish a 24-17 Saints lead.
Irving ran for 32 yards on the first play of the ensuing drive as the hosts sought a tying score, but they only managed 9 more yards on the drive and had to settle for a 37-yard field goal to cut into the lead.
Shough soon converted a pair of 3rd downs with passes to Vele, which cut into the clock remaining. The Saints eventually punted with 1:48 on the game clock.
But the Bucs attempt at a game-winning drive went virtually nowhere, as Mayfield’s pass to Otton was short of the yard to gain on 4th down from their own 26-yard line, and the game was over. Shough knelt out the clock from there to secure the 24-20 win for the black and gold.
Now 3-10, the Saints return to the Caesars Superdome for the first time in two weeks to face the Panthers on December 14th.
