Buccaneers 51-27 Saints (Oct. 13, 2024) Game Recap

NEW ORLEANS – For Baker Mayfield, the way the Tampa Bay Buccaneers weathered a wild second quarter in which they blew a 17-point lead was emblematic of their mindset since traveling to New Orleans on Tuesday to escape the path of Hurricane Milton.

Mayfield overcame three turnovers for 325 yards and four passing touchdowns, and the Buccaneers beat the New Orleans Saints 51-27 on Sunday in what they hoped would be a morale boost for their many fans who suffered widespread damage to Milton earlier in the week .

“The last few weeks have been tough for the Tampa area and all of South Florida,” Mayfield said. “Today was a team that took everything that everyone has been through, ups and downs, and dealt with it as best as they could and fought through it and tried to make it work.

“That’s life,” Mayfield added. “Of course, a natural disaster is not easy to deal with, but you find a way to overcome it.”

For the Saints, the result was a blemish on rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler's first start in the NFL and extended New Orleans' losing streak to four after it opened the season with two lopsided wins.

But with the timeline for first-string quarterback Derek Carr's return from an oblique injury uncertain, Saints coach Dennis Allen said his intention is to use Rattler again Thursday night as the Saints try to end their slump against Denver .

“There were some encouraging things, some things he'll learn from,” Allen said, noting that New Orleans' difficulty running the ball and defensive mistakes in the second half made Rattler's job more difficult as the game went on. “I don’t think we did enough around him to help him.”

Trailing 27-24 at halftime, the Bucs (4-2) took the lead for good with Chris Godwin's second touchdown of the game – a 55-yarder with a short catch and a long run that missed three Saints tackle attempts.

“Our tackling was atrocious,” Allen said. “When you don't tackle, you give up explosive plays… and that just snowballed on us.”

Safety Zyon McCollum's flying interception of Rattler's underthrown pass started a fourth-quarter drive that ended with Mayfield's 8-yard scoring pass to tight end Cade Otton on third-and-goal as Tampa Bay continued to pull away.

The Buccaneers collected all sorts of colorful statistics and highlights in the Superdome, which was mostly empty before the end of the game. Only a few lucky fans in Bucs colors remained as Sean Tucker scored the winning margin for the second time.

The Bucs “played with a heavy heart, just watching what happened in Tampa Bay,” Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles said, confirming that the team planned to return to its normal headquarters in Tampa after the game.

“Our hearts are meant for the city. “It’s a tough town,” Bowles said. “We don’t know where we’re going back to, but in our small part we wanted to get one for the city. We're going to try to help in any way we can when we get back, so after having a… To go through a week like that and come out victorious made the guys feel special.”

The Bucs passed for 277 yards as a team, led by Tucker with 136 yards and a touchdown. Bucky Irving added 81 yards and a short touchdown. Tucker also turned a short catch into a 36-yard touchdown.

Tampa Bay became just the fifth team in NFL history to record at least 300 yards passing and 275 yards rushing in a game. The Bucs' 594 total offensive yards were the second most the Saints have ever gained.

Rattler, who had two interceptions, finished 22 of 40 for 243 yards and a TD pass to fellow rookie Bub Means. Alvin Kamara scored his seventh touchdown of the season on a 4-yard run and Rashid Shaheed returned a punt 54 yards for a touchdown.

Mayfield capped the game's first possession with a 4-yard TD pass to Godwin.

Rattler's first series ended when receiver Chris Olave was pulled shortly after a catch by Tykee Smith. Olave also absorbed an unchecked helmet-to-helmet hit from McCollum, and safety Antoine Winfield Jr. grabbed the loose ball and returned it 58 yards to make the score 14-0.

Chase McLaughlin's 26-yard field goal made it 17-0 late in the first quarter before the Saints scored 20 straight points in 5:06 with the help of Saints interceptions in Bucs territory. Defensive linemen Paulson Adebo and Johnathan Abram set up an assisted field goal and Rattler's 10-yard scoring throw for Means.

Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan intercepted Mayfield's batted pass, preserving the Saints' lead until halftime, but that was only a brief respite for a struggling New Orleans.

Injuries

Buccaneers: Cornerback Jamel Dean left in the first quarter with a hamstring injury.

Saints: Olave's injury has further weakened an offense already without Carr, tight end Taysom Hill (ribs), center Erik McCoy (groin), Cesar Ruiz (knee) and guard Lucas Patrick (chest). … Starting safety Tyrann Mathieu left in the first half with a forearm injury.

Next

Buccaneers: Host Baltimore in a Monday night game on October 21st.

Saints: In Thursday night's home game, the Broncos' Sean Payton will coach his first game in the Superdome since his brief retirement from the Saints following the 2021 season.

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