On Sept. 18, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the New Orleans Saints 20-10. It ended a six-game losing streak in the regular season against them. Much like last week, the Bucs’ defense was massive in the victory. They were able to force five turnovers and make Jameis Winston and the Saints offense’s lives harder and it led to another low scoring, gritty win.
Defense Gets it Done
The Tampa Bay secondary was huge in week two. They picked Winston off three times as Jamel Dean had two interceptions in the second half and Mike Edwards had a pick-six that put the Bucs up 20-3 late in the fourth quarter to essentially ice it. Winston had plenty of overthrows that boosted the secondary’s confidence all day long.
Another notable performance was once again Devin White who had 11 tackles and a sack (the Bucs had five in total). Shaquille Barrett added two sacks and five tackles, too. Antoine Winfield and Lavonte David also chipped in with a sack each.
The defense got to the New Orleans’ run game a lot as well. They allowed Saints’ running back Mark Ingram just 60 yards and a fumble thanks to safety Logan Ryan.
The team also came up big on third downs, holding New Orleans to converting just 4-13.
Big plays by the defense allowed the Bucs to separate from the Saints in the second half. Just like week one, the defense stepped up big time en route to victory.
Head coach Todd Bowles on his defense: “They want to be good. They’re trying to be good…they try to stay stingy in the red zone.”
Mike Evans vs. Marshon Lattimore
Following an incompletion intended for Scotty Miller, Lattimore and Tom Brady got into a verbal altercation. That made Leonard Fournette step in and push Lattimore away from Brady. Mike Evans eventually stepped in and shoved the Saints’s cornerback to the turf.
Evans on the fight: “I was just trying to have my teammates back… I ain’t gonna let that happen.”
Both Lattimore and Evans have had lots of history as far as beef goes. The two get into it on plenty of occasions in their careers and it was a huge reason the Buccaneers got the energy needed to separate themselves from the 3-3 tie in the middle of the game.
Both Evans and Lattimore were ejected. Evans was suspended for next week’s game, as announced earlier today. He had 61 receiving yards prior to exiting the game.
Offense Comes Through Late
Brady finished with 190 yards and a touchdown pass to Breshad Perriman. The play was shortly after the large skirmish and it put Tampa Bay up 10-3 and they would continue to cruise on for the win.
Although it was a seemingly average day, Brady was without Chris Godwin and Julio Jones. Godwin is suffering from a slight hamstring issue and Jones has some little problems in his knees.
Brady did get Miller back and he was active with three catches for 34 yards. Russell Gage stepped up, leading the team in receptions with five.
Statistically, the Bucs played slightly worse than the Saints. However, it was the defense’s energy and the heat of the rivalry that pushed Tampa Bay to end the Saints’ regular season winning streak.
Up Next
In week three, the Buccaneers have their home opener in Raymond James Stadium as they take on the Green Bay Packers. Kickoff is at 4:25 p.m. ET.