There's no sugarcoating it, the Saints got shellacked in a pivotal NFC South showdown with the Bucs.
Despite a 27-point second quarter that erased a 17-point deficit and had the Saints leading at halftime, they were shut out in the second half for a 51-27 defeat that drew some choice words from the Cajun Cannon in his postgame rant.
Listen to Bobby Hebert's full rant in the player above. Can't see the embed? Click here.
"It’s embarrassing," Hebert said. "It’s a division opponent. Listen, it’s the NFL, it’s like, pros versus pros. I mean, you can not get waxed like we got waxed by Tampa Bay."
No matter how you slice it, this was ugly. The Bucs received the opening kickoff and drove the length of the field a score and a sign of things to come. The Bucs defense got a score of their own on the next possession after Chris Olave fumbled and missed the rest of the game due to a concussion.
The Saints defense forced a pair of turnovers and scored on a Rashid Shaheed punt return, with rookie QB Spencer Rattler connecting with Bub Means for both players' first NFL touchdown. That momentum didn't last into the second half, though. The Saints got outscored 27-0 the rest of the way with a pair of interceptions. The Bucs ran wild with Sean Tucker going for 136 yards after logging just 30 in his career up until Sunday. The Saints' tackling was, as Dennis Allen accurately described it, "atrocious." The Bucs finished the game with 594 total yards compared to the Saints' 303. They racked up 31 first downs to the Saints' 19.
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"This is now Dennis Allen’s worst loss and Tampa Bay has done it. ... It’s the NFL, any given Sunday, but this is embarrassing. This is humiliating," Hebert continued, "and you know what, Dennis Allen, he did acknowledge this — it’s on me. Remember when I told you when the offense sucks, Dennis Allen has nothing to do with it. When the defense sucks and they can’t tackle, uh, no, Dennis Allen’s got to look in the mirror, the coach got to look in the mirrow, the players got to look in the mirror."
There won't be much time for soul-searching, and perhaps that's a good thing. The Saints only have to wait until Thursday for their next chance to end the current skid, but they'll have to do it against a Sean Payton-led Broncos squad that would love nothing more than to land what would feel like a death blow on New Orleans' 2024 season. Another loss would mark a 5th straight, something the Saints haven't done since Sean Payton's final year in 2021.
"Thursday is gonna be here before you know it, and I don’t know, you think the Broncos are good? I don’t think the Broncos are good. … We can beat Denver," Hebert said. "But I don’t know, is it bad vs bad? You know, Sean Payton is coming to town and all of a sudden a big hooplah and all that, but I don’t think the Broncos are very good and the Saints are not very good right now, so what does that mean? So I don’t know, it’s not no measuring stick, about when you’re trying to compete amongst the best, but you’ve got to stop the bleeding."