On November 8, 2020, the New Orleans Saints (5-2) faced off against the first-place Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-2) in Tampa, Florida. The game had huge stakes, as the Saints looked to take over first place in the NFC South. The Bucs, on the other hand, were looking to avenge their Week 1 loss to New Orleans, their hated rival. The matchup between the two squads was played under the bright lights and national television audience of Sunday Night Football on NBC. Ultimately, the game did not live up to the hype. The Saints punched the Bucs in the nose, jumping out to a 31-0 halftime lead. The Saints ended up cruising to a 38-3 demolishing of the Bucs. The 35 point defeat was the biggest loss of Tom Brady’s illustrious career. From the Saints standpoint, they managed to improve to 6-2. The Bucs fell to 6-3, giving the Saints a half-game lead for first place in the NFC South. The additional bonus for the Saints is that, by sweeping the Bucs, they hold the tiebreaker in the event that the two teams finish with identical records atop the division standings. Here are some observations as far as the Saints offensive and defensive units.
Offense
The Saints offense clicked on all cylinders in this game. Quarterback Drew Brees completed 81 percent of his passes on the night and threw 4 touchdown passes. Brees got the Saints going early, as he threw a touchdown to receiver Tre’quan Smith on the opening drive of the game. He threw another touchdown to tight end Adam Trautman on the final play of the first quarter. In spite of the return from injury of superstar receiver Michael Thomas (who caught 125 and 149 passes respectively in 2018 and 2019), Brees spread the ball all over the roster, connecting with 12 different receivers on the night. Another star for the Saints in this game was backup QB Taysom Hill, who doubles as a runner and receiver in the Saints offense. Hill completed a 19-yard pass to tight end Jared Cook, on a 3rd and 3 that helped set up Brees’ first touchdown. He was the Saints leading rusher in this game, carrying the ball 7 times for 54 yards. He even caught a 21-yard pass in this game for good measure. In whole, the Saints picked up 27 first downs offensively.
Defense
The Saints defense played tremendous football. The Saints held Tampa to just one first down over their first five drives of the game. New Orleans intercepted Brady three times in this game. The Saints defensive line was the engine behind their success defensively as they sacked Brady three times in this game. However, the sack numbers do not do justice to the constant harassment Brady faced in this game. Brady took 9 hits on his 41 dropbacks over the course of this game. New Orleans’ defensive line played an integral part in two of Brady’s three interceptions. In the second quarter, defensive end Marcus Davenport deflected a pass which defensive tackle David Onyemata came down with for New Orleans’ first interception. In the third quarter, Davenport got pressure on Brady’s left, forcing him off his initial receiver. Defensive end Cam Jordan applied pressure on Brady’s right as well, forcing Brady to throw a duck of a pass across the field that was intercepted by three-time Pro Bowl safety Malcolm Jenkins. In all, the New Orleans held the Bucs to 194 yards of offense.
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