The Tampa Bay Buccaneers fell to the New Orleans Saints 34-23 on Sunday afternoon.
After forcing New Orleans to punt on the first drive of the game, Tampa Bay struck first when Tom Brady ran in a 6-yard touchdown on his first offensive series as a Buccaneer that gave Tampa Bay an early 7-0 lead. In the second quarter the Saints began to push back - after Drew Brees hit Alvin Kamara for a 12 yard touchdown, Tom Brady was intercepted on the next drive to set the Saints up. They took advantage, with Alvin Kamara scoring again on a 6-yard run to give New Orleans a 14-7 lead. A late field goal from Wil Lutz would send this game to halftime with the Saints leading 17-7.
Janoris Jenkins started the second half well for New Orleans as he picked off Tom Brady and returned it for a touchdown with 13:13 to go in the third quarter. The Buccaneers answered with a touchdown pass to OJ Howard to pull within 24-14, and added a late field goal to make it 24-17 going into the fourth quarter.
In the fourth quarter Drew Brees had another touchdown pass, this time to Emmanuel Sanders, to make it 31-17. Will Lutz was able to hit a 21-yard field goal that gave New Orleans a 34-17 lead. Though Mike Evans grabbed a touchdown late to pull within 34-23, that would be as close as the Buccaneers would get.
Tom Brady went 23-for-36 with 239 yards passing, two touchdowns and two interceptions, being outplayed by Drew Brees who went 18-for-30 with 160 yards and two touchdowns. Ronald Jones led the running game with 66 years rushing, while the receiving game was led by Chris Godwin who grabbed six catches for 79 yards. Scotty Miller and a nice game as well with five catches for 73 yards, while MIke Evans who was playing with a hamstring injury he suffered during the week, had only one touchdown catch for two yards.
The Buccaneers now look ahead to another division showdown, this time against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday at 1 PM.