Scott Reynolds’ 2-Point Conversion post-game column offers up two big statements, asks two probing questions and makes two big predictions after each Bucs game. Tampa Bay snapped an 0-7 losing streak against New Orleans on Sunday by beating the Saints, 20-10. The game featured a bench-clearing brawl in the fourth quarter between Bucs wide receiver Mike Evans and Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore. That helped key Tampa Bay’s big fourth quarter that saw the Bucs score 17 points and get four takeaways on defense.

2 BIG STATEMENTS

STATEMENT 1: Evans’ Fight Helps K.O. Saints

Bucs wide receiver Mike Evans once intercepted a pass in the Pro Bowl playing cornerback. While he’s already going down as the best offensive player in Tampa Bay history, the physical Evans plays the game of football with a defender’s mentality. And he certainly came to the defense of teammates Tom Brady and Leonard Fournette with a hit on mouthy Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore that would make Devin White and Co. proud.

It’s no secret that Evans and Lattimore dislike each other. They have battled each other for the football for years on the gridiron. Occasionally, they’ll battle each other like they’re in a boxing ring or a wrestling ring. Sunday afternoon in New Orleans during Tampa Bay’s 20-10 win against the Saints was one such occasion.

Bucs WR Mike Evans and Saints S Marcus Maye – Photo by: USA Today

After both benches just about cleared, the teams were quickly separated by the officials. Both Evans and Lattimore were ejected and it seemed to spark the Bucs, who were deadlocked in a 3-3 tie in the fourth quarter.

“I don’t know if it was a turning point,” Bucs head coach Todd Bowles said. “We were into the ball game. It was 3-3 at that point and it could of went either way. We knew we had to make some plays. [Jamel] Dean came up big twice. Mike [Edwards] came up big. And we got a fumble at the end. So I guess that was the turning point.”

In fact, the Bucs outscored the Saints 17-7 after the fight, which came at the 12:49 mark of the fourth quarter. Tampa Bay didn’t turn the ball over once, but the Saints coughed it up four times in the fourth quarter.

“It seemed like we played a lot better after that,” Bucs tight end Cameron Brate said. “So obviously it kind of lit a spark under us. You don’t want it to come to that, but it ended up being a net-positive for us.”

The Bucs were without Chris Godwin and Julio Jones on Sunday. Both were out due to injuries. Then, the Bucs lost Evans and were down to Scotty Miller, who struggled with drops, Russell Gage, who was largely ineffective, and Breshad Perriman. But the thing about Perriman is that he takes on a role player’s mentality – until he’s forced to be the star. Then, he usually shows up.

That was the case at the end of the 2019 season when he had three straight 100-yard games when the Bucs were without Evans, Godwin and Miller due to injuries. On Sunday, Perriman hauled in three catches for 45 yards, including a 28-yard touchdown to give Tampa Bay a 10-3 lead. It was the first Bucs touchdown against the Saints in the last eight quarters between the two teams.

Bucs WR Breshad Perriman – Photo by: USA Today

That touchdown forced Jameis Winston to press in the fourth quarter. His pick-six to Edwards, along with another 47-yard field goal from Ryan Succop, gave the Bucs an insurmountable 20-3 lead.

The Bucs finally knocked out the Saints, snapping a 0-7 losing streak to New Orleans in the regular season. Tampa Bay’s defense was the real hero, carrying the day for a banged-up offense that lost backup left tackle Josh Wells to an injury in the second quarter. I wrote about this last week, and Bucs fans better get used to the defense playing better than the offense for a while.

Dean had two interceptions, Edwards had the pick-six and the defense recovered two fumbles. The Bucs also recorded six sacks on the day and already have 10 on the season. Tampa Bay is 2-0 and the defending NFC South champions have jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the division. All thanks to the knockout blow that Evans delivered to ignite the Bucs in the fourth quarter.

STATEMENT 2: Old Jameis Is Backkkkk!

The Bucs defense wrecked Dak Prescott’s season in a 19-3 win in Week 1, knocking him out for 4-6 weeks with a broken thumb on his throwing hand. Did Tampa Bay’s defense wreck Jameis Winston, too?

Bucs CB Jamel Dean – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Winston entered Sunday’s game against his former team throwing 16 touchdown passes and only three interceptions dating back to the 2021 season when he became the Saints’ starter. Winston had only thrown two interceptions in one game – a 26-7 loss at Carolina in Week 2 in 2021 – since leaving the Bucs.

But with the score tied at 3-3, Winston suffered a meltdown in the fourth quarter against Tampa Bay’s tough defense. Winston struggled to connect with Saints rookie receiver Chris Olave downfield throughout the game, and Jamel Dean leaped in front of Olave in the end zone to pick off Winston and start his downward spiral.

The Bucs drove 80 yards in nine plays to take a 10-3 lead. Then, Dean ended the next drive with another interception on an errant pass as the pressure began to mount on Winston. Winston was sacked by Vita Vea and Joe Tryon-Shoyinka on the previous play. That interception led to a field goal drive and the Bucs’ lead increased to 13-3 with 5:50 remaining.

Devin White’s sack came on the first play of the next Saints’ drive, and four plays later, Edwards picked off Winston and raced 68 yards for the game-clinching pick-six. Bucs fans – and perhaps some of Winston’s former teammates in Tampa Bay – had been waiting for that moment for quite some time.

With Edwards’ pick-six, Winston has now thrown a pick-six against all four NFC South teams. That’s quite a stat.

Saints QB Jameis Winston – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

But this is the guy whose Bucs career amazingly started with a pick-six on his first NFL pass in 2015 against Tennessee and ended with a pick-six on his final pass in Tampa Bay against Atlanta in 2019. After the game, Bucs inside linebacker Devin White, who sacked Winston in the fourth quarter, threw some shade against his former teammate.

Now Winston, who played with four broken vertebrae in his back, suffered his first three-interception game with the Saints. And he was sacked a career-high six times.

The old turnover-prone Jameis returned just in time to help the Bucs – finally! – beat the Saints. Is he here to stay and wreck the Saints’ season with more turnovers? Or can Winston shrug off Sunday where he was a too hospitable of a host to his guests in the Caesars Superdome and get back to winning football games by avoiding turnovers?

It will be fascinating to watch how Winston and the Saints attempt to rebound against the 0-2 Panthers next week in Carolina.

2 PROBING QUESTIONS

QUESTION 1: What’s Wrong With The Bucs Offense?

Injuries have taken their toll on Tampa Bay’s offense. The Bucs were without half of their Fantastic Four receiving corps with Chris Godwin (hamstring) and Julio Jones (knee) out with injuries. Left tackle Donovan Smith (elbow) was also out with an injury, too.

That, and the fact that there are plenty of new faces on offense, makes finding consistency and chemistry out of the gate quite a challenge. Quarterback Tom Brady noted that when he rattled off the names of all the newcomers on offense during last Thursday’s press conference.

Left guard Luke Goedeke and center Robert Hainsey made their second career NFL starts on Sunday. Neither is anywhere near the level of Pro Bowlers Ali Marpet and Ryan Jensen at this stage of their careers. New right guard Shaq Mason is a veteran, but he just played in his second game with the Bucs.

Tampa Bay was down to its third-string left tackle in Brandon Walton in the second quarter once Josh Wells suffered a leg injury. The Bucs have a pair of rookie tight ends in Cade Otton and Ko Kieft. Russell Gage has only played in two games with Brady. Now Jones has only played in one.

Bucs OC Byron Leftwich – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Marpet, tight end Rob Gronkowski and wide receiver Antonio Brown are all gone, and Jensen is out for most of the season. It’s going to take time for the Bucs offense to get healthy and gel. The offense is leaning on the running game in the interim, which takes away some of the unit’s explosiveness. Yet, it has helped Tampa Bay get off to a 2-0 start, so it’s tough to complain.

The biggest thing the Bucs need to do is execute better on third downs. The Bucs are just 10-of-31 (32.3%) on third downs through two games. That’s led to Tampa Bay scoring just 32 points on offense to start the 2022 campaign. The Bucs offense has only scored two touchdowns and relied on Ryan Succop for six field goals in eight quarters of play.

Offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich needs to do a better job of calling plays on third downs to help his unit out while it figures out its identity. And Brady’s receivers have to do a better job catching the football, too. There were too many drops in New Orleans on Sunday.

“We’ve got to get healthy, number one,” Bucs head coach Todd Bowles said. “And we’ve got to clean up a few things. And we’ve got some new guys over there. I think they are coming. They are doing a good job managing the ball game.

“Our object is to win. Our points are going to come. I’m not worried about that. The chemistry will come. We’ve got to win in the process, these first four or five games. While we figure out who we are, we need to win them.”

QUESTION 2: Who Were The Unsung Heroes In Tampa Bay’s Week 2 Win?

Cornerback Jamel Dean came up big with a pair of momentum-changing picks that led to 13 points by Tampa Bay’s offense in the fourth quarter. Safety Mike Edwards had a pick-six in the fourth quarter to put the game away. Outside linebacker Shaq Barrett had two sacks and a forced fumble. Inside linebacker Devin White had a game-high 11 tackles, a sack and a forced fumble.

We knew that these Bucs stars shined brightly in Tampa Bay’s 20-10 win at New Orleans. But there were several unsung heroes in the Bucs’ big win, too.

Bucs S Logan Ryan – Photo by: USA Today

Safety Logan Ryan’s forced fumble on Mark Ingram was huge at the end of the third quarter. With the score tied 3-3, Ryan punched the ball out of Ingram’s hands at the Tampa Bay 11 and Carl Nassib fell on the loose ball for the Bucs’ first of five takeaways on the day. With the flurry of INTs in the fourth quarter by the secondary, Ryan’s key fumble gets overlooked.

Kicker Ryan Succop also came through with some clutch kicks on Sunday. Points are always at a premium playing against New Orleans and its tough defense. It was an uphill climb for the Bucs to finally get a field goal on the board in the third quarter to tie the game at 3-3. Had Succop missed from 47 yards, it could have had a delating effect on the Bucs.

But Succop made the kick and also connected on his extra point to give the Bucs a 10-3 lead midway through the fourth quarter. Then, the 36-year old nailed another 47-yarder to increase Tampa Bay’s lead to 13-3. Again, had he missed, that could have given the Saints some momentum since it would have still been a one-score game.

There is a reason why the Bucs chose the veteran over second-year kicker Jose Borregales, who has a bigger leg, in training camp. Experience counts – and Succop delivered in New Orleans.

And finally, unheralded lineman Brandon Walton deserves recognition for stepping in at left tackle in an emergency after Josh Wells went out with a leg injury. Walton, who is a better guard than he is a tackle, played some incredible football against the likes of Marcus Davenport and Carl Granderson. Those two combined for five tackles and one QB pressure.

If Donovan Smith still can’t play and Wells is out next week, the Bucs may have to turn to Walton to start against the Packers. Given how well he played in his first extended playing time in the NFL, that may not be a bad thing. Walton actually played better than Wells did, especially in pass protection.

2 BOLD PREDICTIONS

PREDICTION 1: Davis Gets His First INT vs. Packers

Bucs CB Carlton Davis III and Saints WR Chris Olave – Photo by: USA Today

The Bucs have a combined four interceptions in the first two weeks of the 2022 season. Safety/nickel cornerback Antoine Winfield Jr. recorded the first one at Dallas in Week 1. Cornerback Jamel Dean had two in Week 2 at New Orleans, and safety Mike Edwards had a pick-six.

Now it’s time for cornerback Carlton Davis III to get into the action. Davis, who recovered a fumble in the fourth quarter against the Saints, will likely split time covering Aaron Rodgers’ top receivers, Sammy Watkins and Allen Lazard. He’ll have his opportunity to join the Bucs’ INT club this week with his first pick of the year. And his first career pick of Rodgers.

PREDICTION 2: Bucs Continue To Defend The Bay

Tampa Bay won a franchise-best 13 games last season and also set a new team record with its most home wins. The Bucs went 7-1 at Raymond James Stadium in the 2021 regular season, with the only loss coming to the Saints, 9-0, in Week 15. The Bucs actually won nine games at Ray-Jay, including the 31-15 playoff win against the Eagles before losing at home the next week against the Rams in the NFC Divisional Playoffs.

Tampa Bay starts the season 1-0 at home with a win against Green Bay on Sunday. The last time the Bucs hosted Aaron Rodgers, they beat the Packers 38-10 in Week 6 of the 2020 season. Jamel Dean had a pick-six, and the Bucs defense picked off Rodgers twice and recorded five sacks.