The game did not start out in the Buccaneers favor, as Drew Brees and the Saints offense, led by a 35-yard catch by running back Alvin Kamara, gave New Orleans an early 7-0 lead. It looked like it could be a long day for the Buccaneers after that drive, and it was, but for reasons we weren’t expecting.

On the following Buccaneers drive, with Todd Monken calling the plays, quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick completed a few easy passes before completing a long 58-yard bomb to wide receiver DeSean Jackson for a touchdown. That not only tie things on the scoreboard, but got our full attention.

On the following drive, the Saints drove the ball 78 yards in 11 plays. Brees completed a handful of short and intermediate passes against the Bucs off coverage which resulted in three points and a re-taking of the lead.

But when the Bucs offense took the field again, they were even better than before, as Fitzpatrick led a 6-play, 75-yard drive which included big passes to Chris Godwin and Mike Evans, which got the Bucs to the goal line and Ryan Fitzpatrick scrambled it in on an RPO.

If that wild start wasn’t enough, the Saints then answered the Buccaneers with a quick 4-play, 74-yard drive of their own with a 35-yard pass to Michael Thomas and a 28-yard touchdown pass to Ted Ginn. That brought the score to 17-14 in favor of the Saints.

The Bucs slowed things down a tad on their next drive with a longer 8-play 60-yard drive. That drive ended in a field goal and tied things back up at 17-17.

After the 17-17 tie, the Bucs defense actually held firm and forced the Saints to punt for the first time in the game. But when the Bucs got back on offense, the Saints defense didn’t have the same luck. A 10-play, 78-yard drive by Tampa Bay gave the Bucs the 24-17 lead. And to top it off, the Bucs forced a fumble on the Saints next play and picked it up for a score. The score then went to 31-17.

The Saints did get one back on their next drive, as Brees and company took the ball down the field methodically and the half would end 31-24 in favor of Tampa Bay.

The Bucs came out in the second half and continued to be aggressive, despite being up on the scoreboard. They drove the ball down the field 57 yards in nine plays for a field goal to increase the lead to a total of 34-24.

For the next three straight possessions, we would see punts. That was the first punt of the game for Tampa Bay. After the saints’ second punt, however, the Bucs offense got hot again, and a 50-yard bomb to Mike Evans ended in six points and a 41-24 lead.

On the following Saints possession, they were, again, driving down the field easily, but a forced fumble by Kwon Alexander gave the Bucs the ball. With the ball back in their hands, Fitzpatrick hit DeSean Jackson for another long touchdown of 36 yards. The score the became 48-24, tying the franchise record for points in a single game.

The Saints continued to move the ball well on their next drive, getting all the way down to the one yard line, which allowed Alvin Kamara to run in an easy score. After a successful two-point conversion, the score was then 48-32.

After the Saints scored, they had life. The Bucs went on a good, long drive which kept the clock running and got the Bucs into field goal range yet again. However, Catanzaro’s first miss of the day meant the score stayed 48-32 as the Saints took over.

With momentum fully on their side, quarterback Drew Brees orchestrated an incredibly quick 5-play, 66-yard drive that ended in not only a touchdown pass but also a 2-point conversion. It was then a one-score game against at 48-40.

On the Bucs next drive, things looked bleak after a holding call to start the drive, but a wild scramble on 3rd-and-11 by Ryan Fitzpatrick gave the Buccaneers the first down and sealed the victory, 48-40.

Bucs quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick ended the game with 417 passing yards, four passing touchdowns, 38 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown, too. Mike Evans led the team in receiving with 147 yards on seven catches with a touchdown, and DeSean Jackson had 146 receiving yards on five catches with two touchdowns.