The good, bad and ugly from Buccaneers’ 23-3 win over Saints
It was by no means pretty, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers got the job done with a 23-3 win over the Saints in New Orleans.
The win moved the Bucs to 6-2 as they head into a much-needed bye week. They remain atop the NFC South with a 2.5-game lead over the Falcons and a two-game lead over the Panthers. However, it was a sloppy game by the offense, and if not for a stellar performance by the defense, they could’ve potentially dropped this divisional game. The defense was the difference for the Bucs, as they made several big stops on the day and won the turnover battle 4-1.
The hope is Tampa Bay will get several of its star players on offense back, such as Bucky Irving, Chris Godwin and potentially Luke Goedeke. If the Bucs can come out of the bye healthy, it will certainly help as a tough stretch awaits them. They’ll have a home game against the Patriots, followed by two road trips to the Bills and Rams. For now, the Bucs will enjoy the win and a much-needed time off.
Here is the good, bad, and ugly from the Bucs' win over the Saints.
Good
OLB Anthony Nelson
There was much concern about Nelson moving into a starting role with Haason Reddick sidelined for the foreseeable future. He put those concerns to rest on Sunday. On the first drive of the game, Nelson knocked the ball out of a scrambling Spencer Rattler’s hands as SirVocea Dennis was bringing him down. Lavonte David was there for the recovery, ending a promising opening drive by the Saints.
Nelson notched his second sack of the season on the Saints' second drive, bringing Rattler down for a loss of one. However, he wasn't done in the first half. Mid-second quarter, Nelson batted a pass to himself and ran it in for the three-yard score, running Rattler over on his way into the endzone. Nelson needed to make his presence felt again and did so in the fourth quarter with a big sack on Rattler for a loss of ten yards.
S Antoine Winfield Jr.
Winfield was all over the place on Sunday and came up big with two takeaways against the Saints. He should’ve had a scoop and score, but a controversial ruling of an inadvert whistle ruled him down. A play before he came down with a critical late-game interception was another questionable call of a fumble and recovery by, you guessed it, Winfield Jr. On the next play, Winfield took the ball away from Chris Olave to come away with a huge interception to set the Bucs up at midfield late in the third quarter. Winfield Jr. picked up seven tackles on the day.
K Chase McLaughlin
Money McLaughlin was back in the Caesar's Dome on Sunday. The Bucs veteran kicker was perfect on all three of his attempts beyond 50 yards. In the second half, McLaughlin hit on kicks of 55, 52 and 54 yards to increase the Bucs' lead to 20 points with just under 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter.
Pass Rush
The Bucs' pass rush made Spencer Rattler's day a nightmare before he got benched. He was under constant pressure as head coach Todd Bowles dialed up the heat from all over the field. Players at every level of the defense recorded a sack on Sunday. Nelson notched one of his own, starting for an injured Reddick. SirVocea Dennis got to Rattler for a loss of ten yards, and Jacob Parrish came screaming in the back field to drop him for a big loss.
When Rattler was benched and rookie Tyler Shough came in, things weren't much better. Nelson racked up his second of the day, and Logan Hall and Markees Watts got to him to end the game as time expired off the clock. The Bucs are on a three-game hot streak, having recorded 15 sacks over their last three games. The pass rush has led to big turnovers via strip sacks, and the pressure has led to more interceptions.
Bad
LT Tristan Wirfs
Wirfs recorded two uncharacteristic false start penalties for the Bucs in the first half. His second one moved the Bucs from a 3rd & 2 into a third and long situation they weren't able to pick up and had to punt. Then, right before the half, Chase Young got to Baker Mayfield for the strip sack and recovery. Wirfs was beaten by Young on several plays throughout the game in what was a tough day for him in New Orleans.
Play Calling
It was another rough outing for the Bucs’ rookie offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard. There were some execution issues for sure, but there was an element of predictability in his play-calling on Sunday. The Bucs failed on eight downs to plunge in one yard for a touchdown and could not get it done. Five of those were consecutive runs. First down runs were spammed, and it felt like he was overcompensating for throwing the ball so much in their loss to Detroit.
The Buccaneers' pass protection struggled again this week, as did their ability to consistently create separation, so that needs to be factored in to the sequencing of his calls. However, he needed to find a way to overcome those issues and consistently push the ball down the field. The Bucs will hopefully get several key players back on offense following their bye next week, which should allow Grizzard to be more creative on offense.
Third Down Offense
The Buccaneers' offense picked up where they left off last week. After going 4-16 against the Lions on Monday, the Bucs' third-down offense once again struggled on Sunday against the Saints. The Bucs were a woeful 3-13 against New Orleans’ defense, struggling to find any sort of consistency moving the ball down the field.
Injuries are really affecting the offense’s ability to operate at a high level, as the pass protection is struggling to hold up, and receivers are not getting consistent separation. Hopefully, getting players back after the bye will upgrade the offense and their ability to pick up third downs.
Ugly
Bucs' Goal Line Offense
The Buccaneers had four straight tries to punch the ball in from the half-yard line in the second quarter and came up short four times. It was actually five times, as their first failed attempt from the one-yard line was bailed out with an offsides penalty on New Orleans. Rachaad White tried the following three plays to punch in the score from a half-yard out, but failed on all three attempts to move beyond the line of scrimmage. On fourth down, the Bucs brought in Sean Tucker to see if he could find a way into the end zone, but he too was held short, and the Bucs turned it over on downs.
The Bucs had a chance to redeem themselves in the third quarter with four attempts to punch it in from the one-yard line. After failed passing attempts on first and third down and a failed run on second down, Sean Tucker plunged ahead for the one-yard score to finally convert on a goal-to-go down and increase the Bucs' lead.
Stunning Titans coaching candidate could emerge from the shadows as a frontrunner
The Tennessee Titans remain in the preliminary stages of their head coaching search. The Nashville-based club decided to dismiss Brian Callahan after he amassed a pathetic 4-19 record in 23 outings. Mike McCoy was appointed as the interim leader and will remain in that role for the duration of the 2025 campaign.
General manager Mike Borgonzi and president Chad Brinker will oversee the search once the offseason arrives. Thus far, a number of rumored candidates have been floated by mainstream and local media. Mike McCarthy, Arthur Smith, Matt Nagy, Mike Kafka, and Robert Saleh could be among the shortlisted names.
The Athletic's Dianna Russini recently floated an unexpected name. Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian is allegedly considering a move to the NFL. Russini reported that Sarkisian would be interested in professional openings, going as far to mention the Titans by name.
Report: Texas Longhorns HC Steve Sarkisian could be interested in Titans' head coaching vacancy
Sarkisian has been in charge of Texas since 2021. With vast financial resources at his disposal, Sarkisian has returned the program to national prominence. After winning five and eight games respectively in his first two campaigns, the Longhorns have won double-digit games in consecutive seasons.
Sarkisian's Longhorns have failed to win a National Championship, however, falling short of the ultimate goal. This season, the No. 20 ranked program are 6-2 while turning in an underwhelming campaign thus far. The playoffs look like a long shot, with defeats to Florida and Ohio State, and uninspiring wins over Mississippi State and Kentucky.
Sarkisian possesses a brilliant offensive mind. Despite Arch Manning's shortcomings this year, some may believe he's an ideal candidate to help develop Titans quarterback Cam Ward. Sarkisian's NFL experience is limited to coordinator and position coach duties though, and his appointment would represent a massive risk for a Titans franchise fresh off a disastrous head coaching hire and firing.
Sarkisian may be interested in the Titans, but the feeling shouldn't be mutual.
