Only six days after a disheartening loss to the Lions on Monday Night Football, the Bucs were back on the field looking to respond. This time, they were in New Orleans to take on the Saints in the first of two meetings between the two NFC South rivals this season.

Tampa Bay came in with the added motivation of building on its division lead, as the Panthers and Falcons both lost during the 1:00 p.m. window of games. Not only that, but the Bucs were looking for just the fifth 6-2 start in franchise history ahead of their Week 9 bye.

The first half was a frustrating one for Tampa Bay, as the offense continued to struggle after a poor showing in Detroit on Monday. Baker Mayfield struggled out of the gates, but the defense had his back. It should’ve been a 14-0 game in favor of the visitors at the half thanks to two defensive touchdowns. But the second was controversially taken off the board, and that would eventually lead to a field goal that got the Saints within 7-3 before halftime.

Out of halftime, the Bucs went down the field and scored to make it 14-3 and that would be more than enough for Todd Bowles’ defense, which racked up four takeaways and five sacks on the way to a dominant 23-3 win. Anthony Nelson was the star of the day, picking up two sacks, a forced fumble and a pick-six while starting in place of the injured Haason Reddick.

Here’s a recap of all the action from Sunday afternoon’s 20-point win at the Superdome in New Orleans:

Bucs 23, Saints 3

The Saints took the ball to open the game and after starting just shy of the 40, they quickly got near midfield with a third-down conversion from Spencer Rattler to Devaughn Vele. But just as Rattler scrambled into Bucs territory on the next play, Anthony Nelson came up with a forced fumble, punching the ball out and setting up Lavonte David for the recovery.

Bucs ILB Lavonte David and CB Zyon McCollum – Photo by: USA Today

Tampa Bay’s offense got going with a couple of nice runs by Rachaad White, but a Tristan Wirfs false start, an inaccurate throw from Baker Mayfield intended for Emeka Egbuka and a third-down sack ended the drive and forced a Riley Dixon punt.

New Orleans got the ball moving again on its next drive even with a sack by Nelson, but then a Logan Hall pressure turned into a SirVocea Dennis sack, which helped kill the drive. But after a punt, the Buccaneer offense was backed up inside its own 10-yard line to start its next possession.

Tampa Bay got out of the shadow if its end zone with a quick 9-yard pass from Mayfield to White before Sean Tucker entered the game for a banged-up White and ripped off a 9-yard run. The first quarter then came to an end with the game scoreless.

The Bucs continued to chip away and move down the field slowly, getting to the Saints’ 40-yard line before facing a 3rd & 8. Mayfield came through with a big conversion on that third down, finding Egbuka for a 24-yard gain into the red zone. Tucker then picked up 15 more yards to set up 1st & Goal from the 1.

But there was trouble from there. Tucker got stuffed for no gain on first down, but a defensive offside penalty gave the Bucs a redo. It didn’t matter, though. White was stuffed on three straight runs up the middle, then Tucker was shut down on a fourth-down run, turning the ball over on downs after a 17-play, 91-yard drive that took 10:19 off the clock.

Bucs RB Sean Tucker and QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today

With the Saints offense backed up in its own end zone, the Bucs defense had to be hoping to pick up Mayfield and the offense after that goal line sequence. A 9-yard pass from Rattler to Alvin Kamara seemed to shut that idea down, only Anthony Nelson came through again on the next play, using his massive wingspan to disrupt a Rattler throw, tip it to himself and return it for a 4-yard pick-six.

The Buccaneer defense kept the pressure on as the rest of the half unfolded, which was a necessity as Mayfield and the offense continued to sputter. Todd Bowles’ defense looked to get its second touchdown of the day late in the first half only to be completely robbed of it. Jamel Dean forced a Rashid Shaheed fumble, which was recovered by Antoine Winfield Jr. and returned for a touchdown. Only the officials went to a review and came back to say that a whistle was (inexplicably) blown after the recovery, meaning the play was dead.

The problem with that? There was absolutely no whistle to be heard on the replay shown on the FOX broadcast. Not only that, but no one stopped playing and there were officials running down the field as the play continued. Why they would do so if there was a whistle is a mystery that is almost guaranteed to be swept under the rug by the league.

As it stood, Tampa Bay’s offense took over near midfield with the score at 7-0 instead of 14-0. To make matters worse, Chase Young got to Mayfield for a sack-fumble. The Saints then turned that into a 48-yard Blake Grupe field goal before halftime, making it 7-3 at the break rather than 14-0.

Out of halftime, the Bucs offense went right down the field. Mayfield connected with Tez Johnson for 16 yards, White took a screen for 17 and then Johnson got another 12 to the Saints’ 25-yard line. From there, a 21-yard Cade Otton catch and run set Tampa Bay up with another 1st & Goal from the 1-yard line. And it was an adventure yet again.

Bucs TE Cade Otton – Photo by: USA Today

An ill-advised fade to Sterling Shepard went incomplete, Tucker was stuffed on a run up the middle and another ill-advised fade, this one intended for Egbuka, went incomplete to bring up 4th & Goal. Bowles opted to go for it despite an 0-for-8 stretch from the goal line throughout the game. And he was rewarded for that faith in his offense, as Tucker finally punched it in from a yard out. With the PAT, the Bucs went up 14-3.

Penalties shut down the next Saints drive, though the Bucs defense did its part, too. And the offense added to the visitors’ lead on its next possession. A third-down conversion from Mayfield to Otton was all it took to set up a 55-yard Chase McLaughlin field goal to make it 17-3 late in the third.

Rookie Tyler Shough took over for Rattler on the Saints’ next drive, and he was welcomed to the NFL by Antoine Winfield Jr., who stole a pass thrown behind Chris Olave, wrestling it away for an interception, the Tampa Bay defense’s fourth takeaway of the day.

Bucs K Chase McLaughlin – Photo by: USA Today

The Bucs turned that takeaway into points, with McLaughlin booting yet another field goal from 50-plus, connecting on a 52-yarder to make it a 20-3 game with 14:03 to go.

And the Tampa Bay defense didn’t let up. The Saints once again failed to get anything going despite turning things over to their 2025 second-round pick, turning the ball over on downs. That led to yet another short scoring drive, as McLaughlin came on to drill a 54-yard field goal to make it 23-3.

The Bucs cruised from there, putting the finishing touches on a dominant defensive performance and a 23-3 victory over the Saints. With that, Tampa Bay is 6-2 for the first time since 2021 and the fifth time in team history.

It wasn’t Baker Mayfield’s best day. The offensive line didn’t help, as Mayfield was under pressure quite a bit. Still, he was 15-of-24 for just 152 yards, plus he lost a fumble. Tez Johnson was Tampa Bay’s leading receiver with five catches on six targets for 43 yards, while Emeka Egbuka was limited to three catches on nine targets for 35 yards.

The offense as a whole wasn’t much to write home about, as it was held to 212 yards and a 3-of-13 mark on third downs. The goal line struggles were an especially big blemish on the unit’s day, too.

Bucs FS Antoine Winfield Jr. – Photo by: USA Today

The story of the day was the Buccaneer defense. Anthony Nelson, starting in place of the injured Haason Reddick, was dominant. He finished with two sacks, a forced fumble and a pick-six to lead the way. Meanwhile, SirVocea Dennis and Jacob Parrish added sacks while Jamel Dean chipped in with a forced fumble. Lavonte David had a fumble recovery, as did Antoine Winfield Jr., who wrongly had a touchdown taken away. But he wouldn’t be denied, as he came up with an interception later in the game.

The Saints picked up a whole lot of garbage time yards, but that didn’t take away from the fact that they scored only three points off a short field. And just for good measure, Logan Hall and Markees Watts teamed up for the Bucs’ fifth sack of the day on the final play of the game.

The Bucs (6-2) will now use their bye week to rest up and hopefully get healthier before turning their attention to the second half of the season. That will begin on Nov. 9 as they welcome the New England Patriots (6-2) to Raymond James Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.