Buccaneers Beat Saints, 51-27

NEW ORLEANS — The Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the New Orleans Saints, 51-27, in the Superdome on Sunday.

The city of New Orleans knows what it’s like to play for a purpose. In 2005, the Saints’ first game back in New Orleans in over 21 months after Hurricane Katrina devastated the bayou city, there was no other outcome but victory. That they did, in dominant fashion. When the Bucs flew into New Orleans early to flee the wrath of Hurricane Milton at the end of last week, it was a familiar tale for Saints’ fans.

So, to little surprise, the Buccaneers won by four scores, marking the second-most points scored in a game in franchise history.

Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield mirrored the resilience of Tampa Bay, overcoming 11 team penalties and three interceptions by throwing for 325 yards and four TDs.

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Bucs Lose Lead Early

Tampa Bay (4-2) took an early 14-0 lead in the first quarter.

The first drive of the game went for 74 yards and a touchdown to Chris Godwin. Godwin led the Bucs with 11 catches for 125 yards. He got his first of two touchdowns with a 4-yard reception on first-and-goal.

The Saints’ (2-4) first drive lasted just three plays. Wide receiver Chris Olave coughed up the football just past midfield and safety Antoine Winfield Jr. scooped it and scored a 58-yard touchdown.

The early lead didn’t last long. New Orleans exploded for 27 points in the second quarter. Rashid Shaheed sparked the scoring frenzy with a 54-yard punt return to make the score 17-10.

The Saints defense followed up with a second-quarter clinic. It managed three interceptions in four Bucs drives. New Orleans capitalized on the short field position by scoring twice out of the three turnovers.

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Rookie QB Spencer Rattler made his NFL debut for New Orleans. Starting QB Derek Carr went down with an oblique injury last week against the Kansas City Chiefs. Rattlers first touchdown was caught by rookie receiver Bub Means, his first NFL touchdown.

Saints led 27-24 at half.

Buccaneers Flip Script

A 92-yard drive capped by a Godwin 55-yard touchdown catch put the Bucs back on top to start the second half. Godwin’s second TD of the game made the score 31-27. The Saints never had the lead again.

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Tampa Bay’s defense intercepted Rattler twice. It also scored three more TDs, including a 5-yard run from running back Sean Tucker, who got his first NFL touchdown.

The Buccaneers showed resilience. They played for each other, their fans and their city.

“The last few weeks have been tough for the Tampa area and all of South Florida,” Mayfield said. “Today was a team embracing everything that everybody was going through, ups and downs and handling it the best way you can, fighting through it and trying to make it work.”

The Buccaneers had 594 yards from scrimmage, the most in a single game in franchise history.

They are also the fifth team in NFL history to total 300+ passing yards and 275+ rushing yards in a game.

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Preview

The Saints play the Denver Broncos (3-3) on Thursday at 8:15 p.m. (NBC).

The Buccaneers host the Baltimore Ravens (4-2) next week on Monday Night Football at 8:15 p.m. (ESPN).