Bucs at Saints, let’s talk about it.
Football is a game of inches, but it’s also a game of quarters. Let’s dive into a quarter-by-quarter breakdown of some Tampa Bay Bucs’ football. Today, the Bucs traveled to Louisiana for a meet and greet with New Orleans Saints NFC South. Sunday’s game was a tale of beauty, disgust, and magnificent gratification.
First Quarter:
Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images
The Bucs made the strategic decision of winning the toss and taking the ball, a seldom used tactic in today’s NFL. Foregoing any chance of double dipping, the Bucs’ choice of starting with ball was validated by Tampa’s opening drive. Starting with a Mike Evans pass and ending with a Chris Godwin catch in the end zone, the Bucs, with little resistance, took the ball down the field and put New Orleans in a 7-0 hole. Less than five plays later, Antoine Winfield Jr. turned 7-0 into 14-0. Rookie Tykee Smith forced a fumble, allowing Winfield Jr. to remind Bucs’ fans that he has returned as he scooped up the loose ball and strided down the down the sideline for the Tampa Bay score. After a first drive fumble, Spencer Rattler and the Saints responded with a punt. The Bucs transitioned the game from a punt to a Chase McLaughlin kick. 17-0, Bucs. The Saints’ next drive prompted FOX to put a ghastly statistic on screen— The game had seen nine Buccaneer first downs to New Orleans’ seven offensive snaps.
Second Quarter:
The Bucs started the game’s second period sporting the largest first quarter lead, against the Saints, in the history of the franchise. The Saints started the quarter by eating into that lead— Three points on a Blake Grupe field goal. 17-3, Tampa Bay. Baker Mayfield and the Bucs’ offense then preceded to muddle through a penalty laden drive which began with a rare 12 men in formation on offense call and ended with an unnecessary roughness penalty against Sterling Shepard. Jake Camarda’s return to action was not a return to form— Rashid Shaheed returns punts and he returns them well. Camarda’s first punt quickly led to him attempting to track down Shaheed in space. He failed and the Saints scored. 17-10, Bucs. Good things are foretold to come in threes, unfortunately for Tampa Bay fans, when it rains it also pours. Following an atrocious drive, Baker Mayfield fired not one, but two interceptions. Mayfield’s two turnovers gave the rivalry a very vintage moment. From 17-0 to 20-17 in less than seven minutes of game time— A collapse. A collapse the way only the Bucs, while playing the New Orleans Saints could manage.
Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images
Having lost poise, the lead, and momentum, Tampa was able to breathe again when Baker Mayfield returned to his early-game mojo finding Sean Tucker, who has been a spark plug in recent weeks, for a field-flipping touchdown. With no panic, the Saints took the ball and took the lead right back. 27-24, New Orleans. Back on offense and back to throwing interceptions— Bucs’ number one fan Cam Jordan, snagged this one. With the opening quarter won by the Bucs and the second dominated by New Orleans, Sunday’s game found its intermission, but not before the Tampa Bay offense engineered one of the oddest two-minute drills in recent team lore. A drive that started with a running play, no timeout and a seeming willingness to embrace halftime, finished with a lateral play akin to what a losing team would normally feature as last gasp near the end of a game.
Tampa’s decision on the last play of the half might seem like a small one in the game’s totality, however, it can serve as an inkling into the level of desperation the Bucs have internally. Trailing by only three points, the team thought the best approach would be attempting a play with a remarkably high risk of turnover and little to no success rate, rather than being patient and having the big-picture view point of an entire second half waiting around the corner. The Bucs will not win this game trying to get it all back in one play— That mentality, if they maintain it, will take an ugly second quarter and create an ugly game.
Third Quarter:
One punt, two punt, I punt, you punt. The fireworks of the second quarter were silenced early in the third as each team traded punts. Baker Mayfield broke the cycle, simply playing point guard— Finding Chris Godwin in the flat and watching, as he proceeded to run the length of the field for his second touchdown of the contest. What would follow would be Spencer Rattler’s first rookie mistake. Lofting a ball down field, Rattler underthrew speedy Rashid Shaheed which allowed Zyon McCollum to snatch an interception.
Fourth Quarter:
Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images
As the game’s final quarter got underway, Baker Mayfield and the Bucs’ offense remembered who they were prior to the team’s disastrous second quarter. Mayfield’s touchdown toss to Cade Otton marked his fourth of the day and perhaps the final nail in the Saints’ coffin. A defensive stand followed and then the Tampa Bay ground attack took over. Featuring Bucky Irving and Sean Tucker, the Bucs rammed the Saints’ defense into the turf at the Superdome. Bucky Irving gave Tampa a 44-27 lead and a chance for the Bucs’ defense to intercept Spencer Rattler again— Completing his introduction to the Bucs’ faithful, Tykee Smith ensured he’d leave Sunday’s game with a forced fumble and his first career interception. When it’s going good it’s going good, Tampa’s offense decided 44 points wasn’t quite enough and ran the score up to 51 with Sean Tucker’s first score of the season.
Not all wins are created equal and for the Tampa Bay Bucs to pull themselves out of the funk they manifested in the game’s second quarter, against this opponent in particular, Todd Bowles and his team should be highly commended.
Noteworthy performers:
Sean Tucker: 14 carries, 136 yards, 2 total TDs
Chris Godwin: 11 catches, 125 yards, 2 TDs
Bucs’ Rushing Offense: 277 yards
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