Saints deliver knockout blow to Bucs, earn sixth straight win
NEW ORLEANS — The New Orleans Saints’ sixth straight victory was so thorough and dominating that the only time the Tampa Bay Buccaneers really put up a fight was during a sideline skirmish in the third quarter.
Buccaneers receiver Mike Evans was flagged 15 yards for drilling Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore in the back after Tampa QB Jameis Winston and Lattimore exchanged shoves when Winston wasn’t even in the game.
Other than that, it was All Saints Day in this first week of November, with Lattimore and the Saints’ defense continuing their stellar season, holding Tampa Bay to 200 yards in a 30-10 rout.
According to ESPN Stats & Information, New Orleans is now just the third team in the Super Bowl era to go from 0-2 to 6-2. The others (1993 Cowboys and 2007 Giants) went on to win the Super Bowl.
It’s a little early to predict the Saints will make it 3-for-3, but this was probably their most complete victory yet, and they remained in control of the NFC South by climbing to 2-0 in the division.
Up next is a trip to Buffalo that should tell us even more about what the Saints are made of in a matchup of two of the league’s surprise teams of 2017.
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Dominant defense: One of the most unlikely stories of this NFL season continues to get better, as New Orleans’ defense had another stifling performance. Lattimore continued his lockdown play, which has him as a leading candidate for the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year, while matching up against both the sizable Evans and speedy receiver DeSean Jackson. Defensive ends Cameron Jordan (1.5 sacks) and Alex Okafor (0.5 sacks) were both excellent, among many others.
What I liked: A little bit of everything, but especially Kamara, who continued his stellar rookie season with 10 rushes for 68 yards, six catches for 84 yards and two touchdowns. His 33-yard TD catch on a screen pass in the second quarter was his highlight moment of the season to date. He appeared to be down around the 12-yard line, but braced himself with his hand, escaped the tackle and made another defender miss on his way into the end zone. He had four catches for 67 yards on that TD drive, which immediately followed his first career lost fumble on the previous drive.
Ingram also bounced back nicely from his two fourth-quarter fumbles last week. He had 16 carries for 77 yards. Kamara got the start, but the Saints proved that both backs will continue to play key roles.
What I didn’t like: The Saints had some ugly special-teams gaffes after that early TD. Receiver Willie Snead fumbled away a punt during a fair-catch attempt in the fourth quarter that set up Tampa Bay’s only touchdown. Ted Ginn Jr. muffed one earlier that he recovered. And kicker Wil Lutz missed one field goal attempt and had an extra point try blocked.
Fantasy fallout: Ginn continues to be a big part of New Orleans’ offense, especially as a home run threat. He and Drew Brees failed to connect on what would have been an easy 87-yard TD pass early in the game when Ginn broke wide open. It’s unclear if Brees made a bad throw or expected Ginn to run a different direction. Either way, it was a miss that Brees clearly regretted. Later in the game, they made up for it with a 36-yard TD connection. And Ginn finished with four catches for 59 yards.
Brees finished 22-of-27 for 263 yards.
Injury update: The Saints didn’t escape clean. LT Terron Armstead (chest) and S Kenny Vaccaro (groin) both left the game early. But Fox reported that Vaccaro’s absence was precautionary.
