The New Orleans Saints defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23-13 on Sunday afternoon inside Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. The win keeps the Saints’ playoff hopes alive heading into the season’s final weekend.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Saints started fast, receiving the opening kickoff and driving all the way down the field. A 14 play, 73-yard drive was capped off by a Derek Carr four yard touchdown pass to Juwan Johnson on third and goal. That gave the Saints an early 7-0 lead.
Following the early touchdown, the two teams traded punts on the next two possessions. The Bucs then put together a drive that was aided by multiple defensive penalties. However, Alontae Taylor jumped in front of a Baker Mayfield pass at the two yard line for an interception to end the drive.
After the teams traded punts for the second time, the Saints took over at their own 40. An eight play, 60-yard march was capped by another Carr touchdown pass, this time a 22-yard strike to Taysom Hill to extend the lead to 14-0.
Tampa’s next opportunity was thwarted due to a Zack Baun sack, giving the Saints one more chance before the half. They took advantage of a bad punt and drove seven plays and 19 yards to get into field goal range. Blake Grupe delivered the 45-yard attempt to make it 17-0 heading into the locker room.
The second half began the way much of the first went: with the Bucs offense struggling to create any traction. The two teams ended up punting on their first drives. Tampa put together their best drive of the day, but had it ended early when Demario Davis recovered a fumble. New Orleans used that opportunity to go seven plays and 45 yards, adding a second Grupe field goal that made it 20-0.
The New Orleans defense came to play, and they would force another turnover. This time it was a Jonathan Abram interception. The offense was unable to do anything, and Tampa finally got the ball moving on the next possession. Eight plays and 91 yards ended with a touchdown strike from Mayfield to Trey Palmer to keep the Bucs alive.
However, the Saints offense put together a sustained drive that took over four minutes off of the clock and ended with another Grupe field goal to make it 23-7. Tampa got a long pass complete on the first play of the ensuing possession, but Palmer then fumbled the ball and the Saints recovered.
The fireworks were not completely over, perhaps in honor of the new year. Mayfield and the Bucs got the ball back and struck on a 47-yard touchdown to Godwin. After one successful two-point try was negated due to offsetting fouls, the Saints stopped the ensuing try, keeping a two-score lead at 23-13. After recovering an onside kick, New Orleans was finally able to kneel out the clock and secure the win.
BIG NUMBER: 4
The Saints forced four Buccaneer turnovers, not allowing their offense to put anything together throughout most of the game. It was just what they needed in a must-win situation.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Jonathan Abram
Abram has been inactive throughout most of the season. However, he was active in a big way on Sunday. Five tackles, a pass deflection, an interception and a forced fumble for the veteran safety helped the Saints’ defense dominate against Tampa.
UP NEXT: The Saints close out the regular season back at home inside the Caesars Superdome when they face the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, January 7th at noon.