Hopes were high for Tampa Bay before this matchup, as the Saints had lost their previous matchup against the lowly Atlanta Falcons. Furthermore, New Orleans’ top-notch cornerback Marshon Lattimore was ruled out against the Buccaneers. However, the Bucs were not able to benefit from that and lost to their division rival 34-17.
Jameis Winston’s Turnover Issues Continue
Again, Winston turned the ball over multiple times, 4 to be exact. While the interceptions are not solely his fault, the high number of now 18 is definitely concerning.
Beyond the turnovers, Winston completed 30 of his 51 pass attempts. He passed for a total of 313 yards and had two touchdowns. Once again, the extremely high number of pass attempts is simply not a formula for winning football games.
Furthermore, Winston was under pressure all game, again. He was only sacked once, but hit 12 times. Tampa Bay desperately needs to find a way to bolster the offensive line.
Buccaneers Almost Completely Abandon Running Game
Tampa Bay only rushed the ball 8 times in the entire game. That includes two runs by Jameis Winston, who, by the way, was the team’s leading rusher with 23 yards. Consequently, the coaching staff only called 6 running plays in the entire game. The Buccaneers were never behind so far that it made complete sense to abandon the running game.
To put it in a nutshell, calling no more than 6 runs in the entire game is simply inexplicable. Naturally, a functional running game would finally take some pressure off of the shoulders of quarterback Jameis Winston.
Defense Struggles To Get To Drew Brees
Defensively, the Buccaneers did not fare very well, again. Drew Brees had plenty of time to complete an astonishing 28 of his 35 pass attempts for 228 yards and 3 touchdowns. Even the run defense was not able to contain Alvin Kamara, who averaged 5.8 yards on his 13 carries. Without a doubt, that opened up multiple possibilities for Brees, who took apart the Buccaneers secondary.
Moreover, Michael Thomas had a great game again, as he usually does against the Buccaneers. He finished the afternoon with 8 receptions for 114 yards and a touchdown.
Conclusion: Bucs Disappoint, Fall To 3-7
In a seemingly last chance to save the season, the Buccaneers did not find a way to beat their division rivals from New Orleans. That leaves only theoretical chances for the Bucs to still make the playoffs this season.
Up next is another divisional matchup in Atlanta against the Falcons, who have been red-hot as of late. Consequently, this should be another very tough game for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Sources: NFL.com
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