TAMPA, Fla. -Tampa, Florida – Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers came back to lead the game in the final three seconds and defeated the New Orleans Saints 17-16 on “Monday Night Football.”
The Bucs were able to overcome the deficit of 16-3 by scoring two scores in the closing 3:03 of the game and then sweep the series of them. NFC South rival.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
In a total reverse of the roles from last week’s game in which they Cleveland Browns trailed nearly all game, but came back to beat them Buccaneers in overtime The Bucs (6-6) were able to overcome an unsustainable loss to score two crucial touchdowns in the final minutes to beat the Saints.
Quarterback Tom Brady connected with rookie tight end Cade Otton for a 1-yard touchdown that reduce the Saints down to 16-10. Then on the next play, Brady made two passes that went to Julio Jones, Chris Godwin and Scotty Miller, who added the 10-yard run by Leonard Fournette.
A hold-up call by the left side of Donovan Smith wiped out a Godwin touchdown at the middle of the goal line however Brady ran into quarterback Rachaad White to score the 6-yard game-winning pass. This was Brady’s 44th career fourth-quarter comeback, surpassing the record set by Peyton Manning.
QB breakdown: Devoid of All-Pro right-hander Tristan Wirfs, Brady struggled with not just the deep ball, but the screen game as well. He also didn’t take into account linebacker Demario Davis falling into coverage, and the ball was intercepted by him on the pass intended for Russell Gage that set up the field goal of 38 yards just before halftime. It was Brady’s third interception of the season long, it was the second time that he was unable to recognize an opponent’s linebacker. Of course, nothing was of any importance when Brady ultimately led two scoring drives that secured victory.
Unsettling trend Red zone remains be a problem even if they even reach it. The franchise’s top player, Mike Evans, who was repeatedly targeted and had only two catches in the last game did not even hear his name called at 1:26 in the first half , despite cornerback Marshon Lattimore’s absence. Brady as well as Evans did connect in the middle of the second period to make a play of 22 yards however it didn’t work following a White dropped the ball.
Key point the Bucs’ objective every week in defense is to keep their opponents to 17 or less points. The mark was on the line on Monday, but the offense’s inability of putting points in the scoreboard sometimes has led to unreasonable expectations. But, Brady was able to win the game this time against the defense, which was missing the presence of several crucial players in its secondary, including Antoine Winfield Jr., Sean Murphy-Bunting, and Mike Edwards.
Awe-inspiring NFL Next Gen Stats stat: Brady has had a loss in each of the six regular-season match in the series against the Saints since the Saints joined Tampa Bay in 2020 and currently has 12 turnovers against the Saints. Brady has a total of three losses against every other opponent.
Next game: San Francisco 49ers (4:25 p.m. ET, Sunday)
New Orleans Saints
The Saints were able to see their season slip by in just three minutes.
The Saints (4-9) were in control throughout the game in a crucial game against the Buccaneers which could be a contender to win an upcoming playoff spot in the NFC South division. However, a costly 44-yard pass interference penalty against cornerback Paulson Adebo, who was a Buccaneers player, put them in their own Saints one-yard mark.
The Bucs scored, and the Saints defense failed to react effectively creating the conditions for the final comeback. QB Andy Dalton was sacked for 10 yards of loss on second-and-7 at 2:54 left after which a pass to Taysom Hill to get a first down was thrown away on third-and-17.
The Bucs drove slowly across the field in order to score, sabotaging the Saints hope of an impressive record during Dennis Allen’s first year in the position as well as any hopes of making gains in the division over the month that is to come. The Saints have suffered a series of heavy defeats this season, and have frequently been a bit bitter about losing games because of their own mistakes regardless of whether they were key penalties or a turnover.
This will certainly be the case in this game, since it could be the final attack in their efforts to salvage their season.
“That one was difficult because we had a great chance to win this game, but we failed to finish. We didn’t finish the job,” Allen said. “It stings. It is a sucking.”
QB breakdown: Although Dalton was a good player for the majority during the contest, his run of losses to teams in prime time continue as the Saints were unable to come up with a response offensively at the final minutes to the match. Dalton finished 20-of his 28 passes for an impressive 225 yards, and scored a touchdown however, he was sacked during the final offensive play and was not helped by his pass catchers, including Hill dropping a throw deep that could have resulted in a first-down. Dalton did not make any major errors, but the Saints made too many field goals without reaching the end zone, and they didn’t score a touchdown in the moment it mattered.
Rashid Shaheed’s breakthrough performance: The freshman wide receiver at Weber State has increasingly been receiving more opportunities in the offense due to his lightning speed and return capability. Shaheed was more than a display on Monday, he showed on the national stage that he is an integral player in the team’s offense. Shaheed not only managed to Shaheed return a punt 41 yards. He also was captivating almost every time he took the ball. He tallied the most impressive four receptions of his career for the distance of 71 yards. Shaheed has played a role in being one of the positives to the struggling Saints.
A promising trend Positive trend: The Saints have been among the teams that have suffered the most in the league with regard to turnover ratio throughout the season, going into Monday’s game having only two interceptions by the defense. It was up to Brady to turn that around. Brady only had two interceptions throughout the season prior to coming into the game, but Brady has been a top spot for interceptions against the defense since he was drafted by Tampa Bay in 2020. New Orleans picked him off one time, bringing the number of interceptions to nine from the Saints as the Buccaneer and forced the team to concede a ball to be fumbled. Although it could be an indication that their luck is shifting in that department, it’s also like a little too late to make a difference to their season.
Amazing NFL Next Gen Stats stat Hill’s 30 yard receiving touchdown has been the very first TD Hill has recorded in 10 game in the Buccaneers. He hasn’t played anyone else more than once without scoring a score.
Next game Next game: at. Atlanta Falcons (1 p.m. ET, Dec. 18)
