If you are a fan of divisional matchups, you have waited since Week 1 for the Bucs to square off with an NFC South rival. Tampa Bay marched into the Caesars Superdome to play the Saints on Sunday afternoon. It would be the first time they have battled against each other this season, in a game where every player on each side wanted to show up and ball out against an opponent they dislike.

After losing on Monday night in Detroit, the Bucs bounced back big before the bye week, coming away with a dominant defensive win, beating the Saints 23-3. As the away team travels home as the victors and celebrates with some much-needed rest, here is what was most impressive during Week 8’s contest.

The Bucs’ Defense

Before diving into the players who made Sunday’s win possible, I want to provide a general statement that the Bucs’ defense in its totality was impressive. Head coach Todd Bowles devised just the right gameplan to limit the Saints to just three points.

Bucs HC Todd Bowles – Photo by: USA Today

The defensive line asserted itself upfront, with one player in the front seven completely taking over (see below) and outside linebacker Yaya Diaby having another consistent game applying pressure. The inside linebackers limited big gains up the middle, and the secondary held up and made a couple of key plays themselves. Collectively, the unit had four takeaways, forced a turnover on downs twice, and had five sacks.

All the way around, they checked all the boxes by coming out, executing, and playing a complete four quarters of football.

OLB Anthony Nelson

Outside linebacker Anthony Nelson is always one to make a big play, even when playing limited snaps.

Bucs OLB Anthony Nelson and DTs Vita Vea, Logan Hall and Elijah Roberts – Photo by: USA Today

How he (and the rest of the room) would fill the void left by Haason Reddick was something that Pewter Report covered before the game, with Bailey Adams providing a deep dive into Nelson’s propensity for making splash plays.

Talk about hitting the nail on the head.

Nelson began his Sunday takeover when Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler scrambled up the middle as the offense was moving the ball into scoring range on the game-opening drive. Inside linebacker SirVocea Dennis was working to wrap Rattler up, but then, out of nowhere, “Nelly” came through and used his right hand to punch the ball out of Rattler’s hand in pursuit.

Inside linebacker Lavonte David recovered it, making it a key forced fumble to prevent New Orleans from opening the game with a lead. Nelson came through and went on to add a sack on the following drive.

Did you think that was it though?

Far, far from it.

In a 0-0 stalemate midway through the second quarter, Rattler tried to throw a pass over the 6-foot-7 Nelson. It would be a poor decision as he tipped the ball to himself and made a statement with a pick-six to make it a 7-0 game.

Overall, Nelson finished the game with four total tackles, a pick-six, a forced fumble, and 1.5 sacks. Put it all together, and he did something no NFL player has done since September 2023 — in the first half alone. He made the most of his chance at more snaps and obviously should receive more playing time post-bye week.

S Antoine Winfield Jr. And The Bucs’ Secondary

For the sake of turning this into a 2,000-word dissertation, my more concise thoughts are that the entire Bucs’ secondary played well in limiting Spencer Rattler (and later Tyler Shough). Cornerback Jamel Dean came through by making another scene, forcing a fumble that safety Antoine Winfield Jr. recovered in the second quarter.

A whistle (apparently someone heard) prevented him from running it back for a touchdown, and then Winfield was denied another fumble recovery in third quarter. Still, “Tweeze” was determined to record multiple takeaways. With Shough being inserted into the game for his first extended NFL action, the All-Pro do-it-all defensive back capitalized by coming away with his first interception since 2023.

That was not all, though.

Safety Tykee Smith came into the game as the team’s leading tackler and notably gave great effort from the moment when he popped wide receiver Rashid Shaheed on the first offensive play of the game. Smith also contested a Shough pass to tight end Juwan Johnson in the fourth quarter. He forced an incompletion, which also led to a turnover on downs. Cornerback Zyon McCollum played tight coverage, including when he broke up a pass near the end zone intended for Shaheed at the end of the first half. Even nickelback Jacob Parrish got involved and made five tackles and adding his second sack of the year.

Nelson stole the show, but he had plenty of co-stars, particularly the defensive backs.

K Chase McLaughlin

Chase McLaughlin is as good as they come beyond 50 yards.

Bucs K Chase McLaughlin – Photo by: USA Today

While many kickers hit from that range with more regularity these days, McLaughlin is automatic from long distance. With just over four minutes left in the third quarter, he trotted onto the field for a 55-yard attempt. Fittingly, he knocked it through to extend the lead 17-3 and came out to put 52-yard and 54-yard field goals through in the fourth quarter. That makes him a perfect eight-for-eight on field goals from 50-plus yards this season, and it also makes him 23-for-26 (88.46%) on such kicks during his Tampa Bay tenure.

Elite.

ILB SirVocea Dennis

SirVocea Dennis has not appeared in this post-game column for a while. In fact, Dennis has not been an impressive player at all this season, with his year mostly seen as a disappointment for his struggles in pass coverage. Well, “Voss” was someone who has rebounded in recent weeks, continuing his recent run of better production with a nice showing at the season’s halfway point.

Heading into this game, outside linebackers coach Larry Foote has seen Dennis come around as of late.

“He is doing well,” Foote said this past Thursday. “I think he had his first sack [of the season against the Lions], he was ‘geeked up.’ I thought the last two weeks have been his best games. We know the weapons those guys [have], you are going to make some plays, but you have to stay confident. I thought his last two weeks [he has] been playing well for us.”

After a two-game stretch with 19 total tackles, two tackles for loss, and a sack, No. 8 added seven tackles and another sack to his totals in the first quarter. Even more impressive, Dennis held opposing running backs in check. Alvin Kamara was held to just two catches for 24 yards, while rookie sixth-rounder Devin Neal had three catches for 11 yards. Regardless of how you feel about SirVocea Dennis, he is starting to look more like the starting linebacker the Bucs trusted with an important role on defense.

RB Sean Tucker

One wondered what kind of game Sean Tucker would have this week.

Tucker rolled in with Deja vu on his side, having broken out with a huge game in New Orleans last season. But after he and Rachaad White were stuffed at the goal line in the first half, it was a struggle getting the run game established despite the heavy emphasis on it coming in. Just as it looked like that stubbornness would come back to bite them again in the second half, Tucker came through.

On fourth-and-one from the Saints 1-yard line, Tucker barreled into the end zone on Tampa Bay’s eighth play from that spot in the game.

It was not quite the performance Tucker last had in the venue, but he did look like the better running back in this one and finished the game with 12 carries for 42 yards and the score.