Baker Mayfield, Buccaneers Lose 23-13 to Saints, Fail to Secure NFL Playoff Position
On Sunday, the surging Tampa Bay Buccaneers played host to their division rival, the New Orleans Saints. The Buccaneers, having won four in a row, were in control of their own destiny. With a win, the Buccaneers would secure their position atop the NFC South Division, providing them with the opportunity not just to make the playoffs, but to host their first game of the postseason at Raymond James Stadium in just a couple of weeks.
The stakes are always high — and weird things tend to happen — whenever these two teams meet. With Tampa Bay in the driver's seat, would the Bucs seize the opportunity to earn their third consecutive NFC South Division title for the first time in franchise history? Or would the Saints spoil the party, and bring their A-game to Tampa?
Here's how the game unfolded.
The Bucs won the coin toss and deferred. On the Saints' opening possession, they dominated the Buccaneers on the ground, piling up 30 yards in what looked like a walk in the park for Alvin Kamara. Tampa Bay had their chances though. At one point, the Saints converted a 3rd-and-8 in plus territory, with Chris Olave easily gaining space against Zyon McCollum on the sideline, who was playing way too far off the receiver. McCollum had a tough opening series – filling in for Carlton Davis – as he also whiffed on what should have been an easy tackle for loss against Kamara, but ended up being a big gain when McCollum couldn’t wrap him up behind the line of scrimmage.
On third down from inside the Bucs’ 10-yard line, Derek Carr hit Juwan Johnson for a touchdown to cap off an impressive 14-play, 8-minute drive for the New Orleans Saints offense to open the game.
Saints 7, Buccaneers 0
The Buccaneers first offensive series ended about as quickly as it began when they were stopped on a 3rd-and-short play from their own 34-yard line when Cade Otton couldn’t hold a block lined up against Cameron Jordan, which led to Rachaad White being tackled for a loss in the backfield. The Bucs were forced to punt.
The Saints were held on the following possession and settled for a punt.
When the Bucs got the ball back, the offense finally found some success when Mayfield hit Mike Evans in the middle of the field for a 33-yard gain on third down, bringing the Buccaneers into New Orleans’ territory for the first time in the game, just as the first quarter came to a close. Aside from that catch by Evans, the Buccaneers managed to get a couple of first downs and march the ball into Saints territory, but only because of several penalties committed by the Saints.
The drive came to a screeching halt when Baker Mayfield lofted a ball downfield to Trey Palmer, but came up short, which allowed Saints’ cornerback, Alontae Taylor, to make a play on the ball in the air and come down with the interception, which gave the Saints possession from their own 2-yard line.
Dec 31, 2023; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) drops back against the New Orleans Saints during the first half at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-USA TODAY Sports
Backed right up to their own end zone, facing third-and-long, Derek Carr lofted a pass to Juwan Johnson in the middle of the field for a gain of 32-yards. They wouldn’t find any more relief beyond that though, as the Buccaneers’ defense managed to hold strong, and the Saints were forced to punt it away.
Tampa Bay's offense was stuck in the mud for the entire first half and just couldn’t escape it.
They were forced to punt following an ugly 3-and-out, and the Saints' defense absolutely dominated the Bucs throughout the majority of the first half. With just 5-minutes remaining in the first half, the Bucs had accounted for just nine rushing yards on seven carries, with star receivers, Chris Godwin and Mike Evans, combining for just one target. The Bucs had just three first downs, with two of them resulting from penalties against the Saints.
When the Saints got the ball back, Carr made a big third down conversion to Foster Moreau, where Carr hit his tight end in between three Tampa Bay defenders in the middle of the field, advancing the Saints to the Bucs’ 32-yard line. Facing another third down shortly thereafter, Carr connected with Juwan Johnson to move the sticks yet again, adding to what was already a really impressive first-half performance by the Saints’ tight end.
On the very next play, Derek Carr hit Taysom Hill near the front corner of the end zone, where Hill stumbled into the end zone to finish off the 22-yard touchdown for New Orleans.
Saints 14, Buccaneers 0
A quick 3-and-out by the Buccaneers capped off what was a truly pathetic effort by Tampa Bay’s offense. Not only did they give the ball back to New Orleans with 1:34 seconds to play – with great field position due to a second-shanked punt by Jake Camarda – but they managed to generate just 45-yards of total offense up until that point.
Pathetic may not be a strong enough word to describe just how much of a struggle it was for the Buccaneers’ offense in the first half.
On the final Saints possession of the half, with great field position, they managed to finish their drive off with a 45-yard field goal by kicker, Blake Grupe. A few plays earlier, Saints' star running back, Alvin Kamara, hobbled off to the sideline before heading into the locker room early, following a strong hit by Jamel Dean to knock him out of bounds.
The Buccaneers had time for one play before halftime, and after Mayfield took a knee to run out the clock, the Buccaneers ran into the tunnel beneath a smattering of boos from the disappointed crowd at Raymond James Stadium.
Saints 17, Buccaneers 0
The Buccaneers' offense picked up right where they left off to start the second half, unable to move the chains on third down, ultimately resulting in another punt by Jake Camarda.
Alvin Kamara was not on the field for the Saints to open the second half.
Thankfully for Tampa Bay, their defense was able to get a quick stop against David Carr and company in order to regain possession without too much time running off the clock.
On their next drive, when the Bucs handed the ball off on 2nd-and-10 from deep in their own territory, trailing by 17 points in the second half, more boos could be heard from the home crowd at Raymond James Stadium.
Understandably.
On third down, Mayfield connected with Trey Palmer for a first down. And then an outside run by Chase Edmunds moved the chains once again for the Buccaneers just two plays later. Finally some momentum. Then, Rachaad White — who had left the field for a couple of plays with an apparent ankle injury before returning — took a handoff 20+ yards deep into New Orleans territory before he fumbled the ball near the sideline.
Dec 24, 2023; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Rachaad White (1) bobbles a pass against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the third quarter at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports
Saints' linebacker, Demario Davis, recovered the fumble and returned it 21 yards the other way. It was a demoralizing moment for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who for the first time all game, appeared to finally be making some progress on offense.
It didn't take long for the Saints to march the ball all the way down to the red zone on the opposite side of the field. After an athletic tackle by Vita Vea on Saints running back, Jamaal Williams, the Bucs forced the Saints to settle for a chip shot field goal.
Saints 20, Buccaneers 0
The Buccaneers' ensuing possession failed yet again and resulted in a punt. Which was matched with another punt by the Saints on the following drive.
With less than a full quarter to play and the Buccaneers back on offense, the dreadful performance was not yet completed. When Mayfield dropped back to pass on first down, his pass was tipped at the line of scrimmage, and intercepted by Saints' defensive back, Johnathan Abraham.
It was the Bucs' third turnover of the game and a real 'wind taken out of their sails' type of moment.
After the Saints were again unable to capitalize, the Bucs finally managed to put something together. Baker Mayfield led an 8-play, 91-yard drive, highlighted by a number of dump-down passes to running backs Rachaad White and Chase Edmunds, before eventually hitting Trey Palmer on a post route for a 22-yard touchdown.
Saints 20, Buccaneers 7
Unfortunately, the Buccaneers scoring their first points with just seven minutes remaining in the game didn't exactly provide a realistic shot at a comeback. The damage had already been done.
That said, if any hope of a comeback did exist, it would depend on the Bucs' defense getting a quick stop or turnover in order to provide the opportunity. But when the Saints managed to march the ball down the field, and finished it off with another field goal with less than four minutes remaining, it became clear that Tampa Bay's offense had dug too deep of a hole to climb out of.
Saints 23, Buccaneers 7
On the first play from scrimmage on the ensuing possession, Baker Mayfield launched a ball deep down the field, which Trey Palmer — track speed on full display — somehow managed to catch up to, and secure with his fingertips. Unfortunately with the momentum from his speed, Palmer stumbled to the ground after catching the ball, and it popped out when he hit the ground. Having not been touched by a Saints' defender, it was correctly ruled a fumble, after the ball had already been recovered by New Orleans.
It was an impressive 62-yard catch-and-run from Mayfield to Palmer that unfortunately resulted in the Bucs' fourth turnover of the game.
The Saints, playing extremely conservative, were fine to settle for a 3-and-out on the next possession and punt the ball away.
Then, after dumping the ball off to Chase Edmunds for a short gain, Mayfield hit Chris Godwin for a 47-yard touchdown. The Bucs opted to go for two, and after buying some time, Mayfield scrambled to his left and delivered a pass to Godwin at the back of the end zone, just before getting crushed by Saints' safety, Tyrann Mathieu.
Although Mathieu was flagged for the hit, Godwin was also flagged after review, for stepping out of bounds before catching the conversion. Mayfield, clearly hurting from the previous play, had his pass picked off in the end zone by Paulson Adebo on the second 2-PT conversion attempt.
Final: Saints 23, Buccaneers 13
That was all she wrote.
Final Thoughts
On a day when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had all the momentum, and more than enough motivation, they came out and laid an egg.
Todd Bowles' defense was able to provide more than enough stops for the offense to capitalize, but Baker Mayfield and Dave Canales simply couldn't get anything to work on that side of the ball.
The New Orleans Saints deserve credit for coming into Tampa and absolutely dominating the Bucs on the road, in a game both teams needed to have. That being said, the version of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that we saw today — which is one we have seen at various points of this season — isn't one that inspires confidence, or quite frankly, deserves to be playing in the postseason.
The Buccaneers will travel to Carolina next Sunday in hopes of securing their spot in the postseason.
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