Saints make key plays and stops in win at Bucs

Photo By: KARE 11

Da Boot Sports
12/7/2025
Article Courtesy of Crescent City Sports
By: Ken Trahan


      It was a rainy day in Tampa Bay, and the conditions deteriorated as the game progressed.Both teams started well offensively, scoring a touchdown on their first possessions.
   
   Then the rain came, and the scoring stopped, at least for a while.

   The Buccaneers were without first-team All-Pro left tackle Tristan Wirfs. Benjamin Chukwuma replaced him. Tampa Bay was also without Mike Evans on the outside.

   Of course, the Saints were without key players as well but had enough make plays which resulted in a winning effort.

   It was a pleasure to watch. A rainy day became a bright light in an otherwise dark season.

       Here are my Quick Takes from the 24-20 win by New Orleans at Tampa Bay:
**Inactives for the Saints were Khristian Boyd, Taliese Fuaga, Alvin Kamara, Zaire Mitchell-Paden, Justin Reid, John Ridgeway and Rejzohn Wright.
**Mason Tipton returned the opening kickoff 54 yards to the Tampa Bay 45-yard-line.
**On the first play from scrimmage, Tyler Shough went deep for Chris Olave and hit his outstretched hands, just a tick long, if at all. Olave appeared to have his jersey tugged, which kept Olave from catching it but there was no flag.
**Undaunted, Shough hit DeVaughn Vele for 16 yards to the 29-yard-line on the next play.
**Shough then connected with Juwan Johnson for 12 yards and a first down to the 14-yard-line.

**Shough then ran an RPO for 11 yards and a first-and-goal at the 3-yard-line.
**Devin Neal then scored on a 3-yard run to give the Saints a 7-0 lead with 12:24 to play in the first quarter. The drive covered 45 yards in six plays.
**It was just the second touchdown of the season in the first quarter for New Orleans.
**Chase Young committed a neutral zone infraction to give Tampa Bay a first down.
**The euphoria of a quick start faded quickly as Tampa Bay drove 67 yards in seven plays with Baker Mayfield hitting Bucky Irving with a 24-yard touchdown pass on a screen pass. Irving scored easily as the Saints were completely out of place on the play.
**It was the 20th straight home game with a touchdown pass for Mayfield.
**Shough was sacked by Vita Vea, who beat Luke Fortner for a seven-yard loss.
**Jonas Sanker came up with an interception on a tipped ball but Quincy Riley was flagged for pass interference on a pass to Sterling Shepard. It was the right call and it was costly.
**Carl Granderson came up with a huge play as Tampa went for it on fourth-and-one at the New Orleans 45-yard-line, tackling Irving for a 7-yard loss.
**Shough hit Foster Moreau for 16 yards to the Tampa Bay 35-yard-line.
**The Saints had 57 yards while the Bucs had 95 in the first quarter.
**Greg Gaines sacked Shough to stop a drive.
**That led to a Charlie Smyth 48-yard field goal attempt and he missed it wide left.
**Shephard committed a personal foul, 15-yard penalty for tripping to hurt the Saints on the next Tampa Bay possession.
**Granderson then hit Irving for a 5-yard loss.
**Shough then threw an interception to Zyon McCollum, who returned it to the New Orleans 40-yard-line. It was total miscommunication. Chris Olave was running a go-pattern, broke it off but Shough anticipated him continuing down the field. No one was there but McCollum.
**That led to a 41-yard field goal by Chase Mclaughlin to give the Buccaneers a 10-7 lead with 9:11 to play in the first half.
**Asim Richards committed a false start penalty then he gave up a sack to Chris Braswell to force a New Orleans punt.
**Demario Davis then got a fourth-and-one stop at the New Orleans 49-yard-line with 2:36 to play in the half.
**Dillon Radunz committed a false start.
**Then Olave committed an illegal shift penalty to negate a completion to him from Shough.
**On fourth-and-one from the Tampa Bay 41-yard-line, Devin Neal was hit for a four-yard loss.
**Granderson batted down a pass and read a screen pass perfectly, forcing Mayfield to throw the ball in the ground.
**Pete Werner deflected a Mayfield pass as well and the Saints got a stop on the final possession of the half.
**The Saints finished the half with just 74 yards to 153 for Tampa Bay.
**Left guard Bredeson went down with a knee injury, leaving the Buccaneers with two backups on the left side of their offensive line.
**On the opening possession of the second half, Alontae Taylor then picked off Mayfield on a ball thrown right to him, and he returned it to the Tampa Bay 47-yard-line. It appeared Cameron Johnson stopped on the route.
**The Saints would take total advantage of the turnover.
**Shough then ran an RPO, faked to Audric Estime, kept it, got a block by Vele on the edge and he raced 34 yards for a score to give the Saints a 14-10 lead with 11:27 to play in the third quarter.
**Jonas Sanker then committed a bad pass interference penalty on Johnson on a deep ball from Mayfield, a 29-yard penalty to the New Orleans 37-yard-line.
**That led to a 1-yard touchdown run by Sean Tucker as Tampa Bay regained the lead 17-14 with 7:37 to play in the third quarter. The drive covered 65 yards in seven plays, including six rushes for 34 yards.
**Neal broke a 20-yard run around the ride end and Richards was able to seal his man to clear the path.
**The Saints had a fourth-and-inches at the Tampa Bay 8-yard-line. Kellen Moore opted to go for it. Inexplicably, Shough lined up in shotgun. Inexplicably, he rolled right. He threw back across his body to Olave for the first down, a good throw, but Cesar Ruiz was six yards downfield and was flagged for being an ineligible receiver.
**Smyth came in and connected on a 30-yard field goal to cap an 11 play, 53-yard drive to tie the game 17-17 with 1:32 to play in the third quarter.
**Cam Jordan then knocked down a screen pass attempt and almost picked it off.
**The Bucs had 238 yards to 178 for the Saints after three quarters.
**It stopped raining, at least briefly, to start the fourth quarter.
**The Saints got another key stop on a fourth-and-two at the New Orleans 46-yard-line with 12:48 to play in the game.
**William Sherman replaced Richards at right tackle after Richards exited with a left ankle injury.
**Shough then evaded two tacklers to avoid a sack and raced 13 yards for a touchdown to put the Saints on top 24-17 with 8:26 to play in the game.
**It marked only the second time this season the Saints have scored three touchdowns in a game.
**The drive covered 53 yards in nine plays.
**Smyth then gave Tampa Bay the ball at the 40-yard-line with an awful kickoff well short of the landing zone.
**Irving then broke a 32-yard run as Chase Young went way up the field and there was a cavernous hole around left end, getting Tampa Bay to the 28-yard-line.
**Michael Davis committed what could have easily been a pass interference call but it was not called and McLaughin nailed a 37-yard field goal with 4:54 to play in the game. The drive covered 41 yards in nine plays.
**The Saints hurt themselves again on the ensuing kickoff as Danny Stutsman was flagged for holding, pinning the Saints back to their 18-yard-line with 4:48 to play in the game.
**Taysom Hill had a second drop on the next series to go along with his fumble.
**Shough came through with 11 and 14-yard completions to Vele for first downs.
**Inexplicably, Moore called a pass play on third-and-11 and it was incomplete for Neal. It was almost picked off and it stopped the clock with 1:54 to play in the game. That cost the Saints 30 or more seconds. It was a terrible decision.
**Sanker then dropped an interception that would have put the game away.
**The Saints got the stop it needed to clinch the win.

   Shough finished 13 of 20 for 144 yards with an interception which was not his fault. He rushed seven times for 54 yards and two scores.

   Neal rushed 19 times for 70 yards and a score. He caught a pass for 14 yards. The Saints rushed for 139 yards.

   New Orleans was gashed for 179 yards rushing by the Buccaneers but the Saints got the big stops they needed as Tampa Bay was just 2-for-7 on fourth down.

   The Saints entered the game averaging 7.3 points per game allowed in second half, best in the NFL. They allowed 10 points today but outscored Tampa Bay in the second half, when they are always better.

   This team is playing hard. They overcame too many penalties, 10 for 82 yards and a couple of shaky coaching decisions.

   Today, the hard work paid off. The Saints won their third game. Young players showed promise.

   Shough is looking more and more like the guy to keep and build around.

   Enjoy the win as we head into Saints Hall of Fame week!

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*John 14:6 - "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (Accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior)

​*John 3;16 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

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