A new starting quarterback was not enough to break the New Orleans Saints’ losing streak.
New Orleans blew a 27-24 halftime lead and lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 51-27 in the Superdome on Sunday, extending their losing streak to four games and falling to 2-4 on the season. The Saints will return to the Superdome on Thursday night to host the Denver Broncos.
After the Black-and-Gold fell into a 17-0 hole in the first quarter, the defense and special teams rallied to boost the team and help them come back and take the lead before halftime. The Saints recorded three interceptions, while the Saints special teams unit accounted for one of the team’s touchdowns.
However, the Saints as a whole were sluggish in the second half. The Buccaneers outscored New Orleans 27-0 in the final two quarters, thanks in part to the Saints’ poor tackling. The Saints also lost a critical member of the defense midway through the game. Cornerback Tyrann Mathieu suffered a forearm injury that forced him to miss the second half.
All of New Orleans’s points came in the second quarter. In all, the Saints scored on only four out of 14 possessions. In the second half, the Saints posted only 107 total yards of offense, punted the ball four times, and turned the ball over via interception twice.
In all, Tampa Bay racked up 594 yards of total offense compared to the Saints’ 303 total yards of offense.
Rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler showed flashes of brilliance early in the game. The Saints’ fifth-round draft pick completed 22 of 40 passes for 243 yards, and one touchdown. While Rattler had a rhythm in the first half, Tampa Bay’s defense adjusted to Rattler in the second half, holding him to 11 completions on 23 attempts, 103 yards, and two interceptions in the last two quarters.
Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield finished the game with a stat line of 24 completions on 36 attempts, 325 yards, four touchdowns, and three interceptions. Tampa Bay’s running backs also posted impressive stats. Sean Tucker finished with 136 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries. Bucky Irving also touched the ball 14 times, rushing for 81 yards and a score.
It took only 4:55 for Tampa Bay to score. Mayfield was perfect on the opening drive, going six-for six and averaging about 10 yards per pass to help the Buccaneers take an early lead. Mayfield capped off the drive by finding Chris Godwin in the end zone on a four-yard pass. Godwin was Mayfield’s go-to man on that drive, catching three total passes for 19 yards.
Rattler got his first taste of NFL action as the Saints took the field on the ensuing drive. Rattler hooked up with tight end JuJuan Johnson for a 27-yard completion after catching a block and rolling to his right to find Johnson. Two plays later, Rattler completed a pass to Chris Olave, who fumbled after being hit by Tykee Smith. Antoine Winfield picked up the loose ball and ran it back 58 yards to give Tampa a 14-0 lead after the extra point.
Olave left the game after the play. He was later diagnosed with a concussion and did not return to the contest.
After forcing a Saints three-and-out, Mayfield led the Buccaneers downfield to set up Chase McLaughlin for a 26-yard field goal. The Saints defense helped the Buccaneers in their scoring effort by committing a pass interference and unnecessary roughness, giving Tampa 25 free yards.
The ensuing Saints drive started with little movement and the Superdome crowd as quiet as a church. Rattler woke up the crowd in the final seconds of the first quarter, rushing for 16 yards on a third down to move the chains and then finding tight end Foster Moreau for 13 yards and another first down. The Saints failed to find the end zone on the drive, settling for a 42-yard field goal from Blake Grupe to make the score 17-3 with 13:43 remaining in the second quarter.
The New Orleans defense and special teams kept the momentum on their team’s side. The defense forced Tampa to punt after a three-and-out on their ensuing possession. Rashid Shaheed returned that punt 54 yards for a touchdown to cut the lead to 17-10 after the extra point. On Tampa’s next possession, Paulson Adebo picked off Mayfield and returned the interception to the Buccaneers’ 13-yard line. Alontae Taylor was busted for unsportsmanlike conduct after the play, moving the ball back to the 28-yard line.
Tampa Bay appeared to have stopped the Saints’ ensuing drive on a third-down play, but a defensive holding call kept the drive alive for New Orleans. Still, the Saints failed to find the end zone. Grupe converted his second field goal of the day, a 29-yard attempt, to cut the Buccaneers’ lead to four.
The Saints’ defense picked up where it left off on the next Tampa possession. Practice squad call-up Johnathan Abram intercepted a Mayfield pass intended for Jalen McMillan and returned it to the Bucs’ 10-yard line. On the next play, Rattler found Bub Means in the back left corner of the end zone for each man’s first NFL touchdown. That score and the point after touchdown gave the Saints their first lead of the game: 20-17 with 8:37 remaining in the second quarter.
Tampa Bay regained the lead on their next possession. Baker Mayfield used two big passes—a 39-yarder to Ryan Miller and a 36-yard touchdown pass to Sean Tucker—to put the Buccaneers back on top with 5:39 left in the first half.
Rattler then put the Saints on his back and carried them back to the end zone. Rattler found Means on a rollout pass play, connecting with him on the sideline for a 14-yard gain. Two plays later, Rattler connected with Moreau for a 41-yard gain to put the Saints inside the 10-yard line. Running back Alvin Kamara finished the job, using two carries to go the final eight yards for the touchdown to put the Saints back on top, 27-24, with 2:47 to go in the half.
The Buccaneers appeared to be headed towards another score on the following drive, but defensive lineman Cameron Jordan intercepted Mayfield to give back the ball to New Orleans. The Saints, however, failed to advance the ball, going three-and-out and punting the ball back to the Buccaneers.
The Saints missed two golden opportunities to intercept Mayfield on the final drive of the first half. Adebo and Kool-Aid McKinstry both dropped potential picks, each of which would have set up the Saints for a last-second field goal before halftime. Still, Tampa failed to score before time expired, allowing the Saints to take a three-point lead into the locker room at the half.
The Saints and the Buccaneers played hot potato with the ball for the first eight minutes of the third quarter. Tampa finally put an end to the trading of possessions when they capped off a seven-play, 92-yard drive with a 55-yard touchdown pass from Mayfield to Godwin, putting Tampa on top 31-27 with 4:25 to go in the frame. Willie Gay, Adebo, and Taylor all missed tackles on the scoring play, allowing Godwin to collect his second touchdown of the afternoon.
The Saints opened the fourth quarter on a low note. Rattler’s pass intended for Shaheed was intercepted near midfield by Zyon McCollum. Tampa Bay capitalized. Irving gained 31 yards on the first play after the takeaway, while Tucker picked up another 18 yards. A personal foul against the Saints’ Abram put the ball inside the 10-yard line. An offensive pass interference call backed them up to the 13-yard line, but Mayfield found tight end Cade Otton for third touchdown of the day. The Bucs’ two-point conversion attempt failed, keeping the score at 37-27 with 12:34 left in the game.
The Buccaneers scored an insurance touchdown with 5:33 to go in the fourth quarter when Irving crossed the goal line, giving Tampa Bay a 43-27 lead after the extra point.
Tampa Bay got the ball back just a few moments later when Tykee Smith intercepted a Rattler pass intended for Shaheed. The Buccaneers proceeded to go 64 yards downfield and score on a five-yard Tucker touchdown run to give Tampa their final margin of victory.
Rattler and the Saints attempted to put together one final scoring drive in the waning seconds of the game, but that drive was stopped at the Tampa Bay 22-yard line when William Gholston sacked Rattler with no time left on the clock.
Kamara was a non-factor for the Saints in the second half, rushing for only three times for 10 yards. He finished the day with 13 carries for 40 yards and one touchdown and five catches for 24 yards.
Tampa Bay improves to 4-2 on the season. They return home for a Monday night matchup against the Baltimore Ravens (4-2) next week.