The Tampa Bay Buccaneers bounced back strong in week two, beating the New Orleans Saints 26 to 19. The Bucs looked nothing like the team that showed up against the Tennessee Titans last week, as Jameis Winston and the defense both put on a great effort in a game that ended up being much closer than it needed to be after some late-game foibles, but unlike teams of the past four years, this Bucs team actually closed out the game with the defense actually stopping Drew Brees from marching down the field.
The Bucs started the game strong, forcing the Saints to punt on the first two drives, on of them after a sack-fumble which the Saints managed to pick up after some confusion on the field. While the offense stalled repeatedly thanks to some ill-timed penalties and poor pass-blocking, the team still got out of the first quarter with a 3-0 lead after a 55-yard Kyle Brindza field goal and some strong running by Doug Martin.
One standout on defense early was Jacquies Smith, who notched two sack-fumbles (both recovered by the offense) in the first half and kept harassing Drew Brees around the edge. After flashing repeatedly last season, he seems to be thriving in a starting role this season. Gerald McCoy helped and was his usual disruptive self, notching a sack to force the Saints’ fourth consecutive punt on the day. You can’t keep Drew Brees down forever, though, and two big Marques Colston catches allowed Mark Ingram to finish off the Saints’ only successful drive of the first half.
While the Bucs offense kept defeating itself for most of the first half, Jameis Winston and company turned it on in the final drive of the first half, finishing the half with a beautiful fifteen-yard touchdown pass to Vincent Jackson to give the Bucs the lead going into the half. Despite a number of drops, Winston’s statistics were very impressive, completing eight of 12 passes for 98 yards and a touchdown in the first half.
And once the Bucs got going, they didn’t stop. Jameis Winston opened the first half with a beautiful touchdown drive, including a deep throw that led to a defensive pass interference call in the endzone. Winston capped that off himself with a rushing touchdown, giving the Bucs a 17-7 lead. Add in a Chris Conte interception on the subsequent drive, and a Sterling Moore forced fumble on the drive after that, and the Bucs were leading 23-7 and comfortable heading into the fourth quarter.
The fourth quarter saw the Saints mounting a comeback, though. They got a touchdown after three times from the goal-line, but an outstanding tackle by Johnthan Banks on the two-point conversion kept it to a two-score game. A preventable Jameis Winston fumble on third down after he looked to run gave the ball right back, but the Bucs’ defense forced a three-and-out and the field goal went wide left. Winston’s first mistake on the day went unpunished. Of course, Doug Martin then fumbled the ball right back and that one did lead to a touchdown, after the refs robbed the Bucs by picking up a flag. And while Jameis Winston showed some of that magic, he couldn’t close out the game, giving the Saints another chance with three minutes remaining.
The Bucs defense finished out the game, though: Chris Conte forced a fumble on Mark Ingram and Henry Melton recovered the ball just along the sideline — that was Conte’s second turnover on the day after a disastrous week one effort. The Bucs didn’t try to get a touchdown despite the outstanding field position, instead running the clock and making it a 26-19 game with 1:51 remaining. But the Bucs defense closed out the game in style, sacking Drew Brees for the fourth time in the game and allowing no big plays to keep the Saints out of the endzone.