After falling behind big early in the second half, Tampa Bay tried to claw their way back to a Week 1 win against the Saints. But ultimately it was mental mistakes, ill-timed penalties and an out-of-sync offense that would allow New Orleans to send Tampa Bay back home on the heels of a 34-23 loss.

After an early stop on defense, quarterback Tom Brady led the Bucs down the field and secured a 7-0 lead with a quarterback sneak from the two-yard line, Brady’s first touchdown with Tampa Bay. The Bucs’ defense would respond with another stop but a miscommunication with Mike Evans would end Tampa Bay’s second drive on one of Brady’s two interceptions on the day – one of which resulted in a pick-six by defensive back Janoris Jenkins. A long defensive pass interference penalty on safety Jordan Whitehead would then put the Saints inside the red zone where Alvin Kamara would find the end zone on a 12-yard reception, his first of two touchdowns on the day, kicking off a 24-point run by New Orleans.

Despite nine costly penalties, three turnovers and just 310 total yards of offense, three consecutive second-half stops by the Bucs’ defense in the would allow Tampa Bay to close the gap to just one score in the third quarter. But the Saints would pull away with 10 fourth quarter points to give New Orleans’ the early edge in what may be a tight race for the NFC South.