Sometimes anticipation can provide a huge letdown and the New Orleans Saints’ 38-3 bludgeoning of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was a reminder of how fleeting success can be in the NFL.
The Buccaneers never left the dock to set sail on Sunday night as the Saints’ offense cranked on all cylinders to minimize Tampa Bay’s top-ranked defense. The offensive side of the ball was no different for Tampa Bay as the New Orleans defense frustrated Bucs quarterback Tom Brady as he was picked off three times.
“I certainly have to play a lot better,” Brady said. “Turning the ball over against good teams never helps. We just didn’t play the way we were capable of playing. Everyone’s got to do a lot better, and it starts with me.
By midway through the second quarter, Saints quarterback Drew Brees had thrown three touchdown passes while the Buccaneers had started with four three-and-outs.
With 8:45 remaining before halftime, New Orleans running back Alvin Kamara scored from a yard out to give New Orleans a 28-0 lead as the showdown for first place in the NFC South never materialized.
“It was shocking to watch us practice the way we practiced all week and the confidence we had coming in,” said Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians. “We have to go back and look in the mirror as coaches, players, everybody, from yesterday to today.”
The Buccaneers never had the momentum. In fact, they didn’t have a first down until after Brees had hit Tre’Quan Smith with a 14-yard touchdown pass and then subsequent scoring tosses of seven yards to Adam Trautman and 12 yards to Emmanuel Sanders.
Tampa Bay had to abandon a running game that has been much improved behind Ronald Jones, who only had three carries for nine yards. In fact, Tampa Bay’s five rushing attempts were the fewest in a game by one team in the history of the NFL.
Brady was then saddled with having to deal with the speed and quickness of a New Orleans defensive front that was ultra-aggressive in sacking him three times while acquiring nine hits.
“We were in two-minute offense pretty quickly in this one because we were only going to get so many possessions,” Arians commented. “We had to throw the football and obviously you’ve got to protect better when you have to throw the football like that.”
New Orleans has proved to be Brady’s nemesis so far as five of his seven interceptions have come against New Orleans, while the Saints also sacked him three times in the 34-23 loss in Week One.
“The pressure helps, but when you’re down 28 and you’re not running the ball, the pressure’s coming,” explained Arians. “It’s still no excuse for interceptions, but he was getting hit and it’s definitely not on him.”
The Buccaneers are developing a trend of struggling in the prime-time matchups as they dropped a 20-19 decision in Chicago on a Thursday night in Week Five. Last week’s 25-23 Monday night win over the Giants had many tense moments as well. The Buccaneers trailed 14-6 at halftime and through the third quarter before taking over the fourth to pull out the win.
“As players, we’ve got to prepare harder,” said Brady. “We’ve got to execute better. There are no excuses for what it is. It’s a poor performance by a team that’s got a lot ahead of it.”
The 38-3 loss was the worst for both Arians and Brady in their careers. The exclamatory loss is a place for Tampa Bay to restart and begin immediately readying for a trip to Charlotte for a rematch with the Carolina Panthers this Sunday