Brady Shutout for the First Time Since 2006; Buccaneers Lose to Saints 9-0
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will have to wait another week in their attempt to clinch the NFC South and a spot in the 2021 playoffs.
Tampa Bay lost to their divisional rival, the New Orleans Saints, in embarrassing fashion on Sunday night by a score of 9-0. A slew of injuries certainly didn't help, but even at full strength, quarterback Tom Brady and the Buccaneers' offense were inept from start to finish and never managed to find the endzone or even connect on a field goal.
As a result, New Orleans swept the Buccaneers in the regular season for the third year in a row. And they did it without their head coach, as Sean Payton watched the Saints pull off the upset at home after testing positive for COVID-19 on Friday.
On the first drive of the game, the Saints' offense stalled when quarterback Taysom Hill and his offense fell out of sync before a 3rd and 11 snap, which led to burning a timeout and a pass out of bounds under pressure to follow. Following a punt, Brady's first pass was seemingly intercepted by Marshon Lattimore, although the play was overturned as the ball had hit the ground upon review.
The Bucs immediately transitioned to a ball-control offense, short pass after short pass moving Tampa Bay down to its own 41-yard line before failing to convert on 3rd and 5 and punting the ball away.
Hill made one of the better passes of his career on the Saints' second drive, connecting with Marquez Callaway for a gain of 40 on an outside shoulder throw. However, the Saints would manage to gain just three yards on their next set which led to the first score of the night, a 39-yard Brett Maher field goal.
Brady and the Bucs' offense responded with a three-and-out, thanks to a sack by Cameron Jordan on 3rd and 5.
Hill began to play efficiently on the next drive, completing some passes under pressure and taking what the Buccaneers' defense gave him. Another deep shot to Callaway, traveling 33 yards, set New Orleans up in the red zone, but ultimately had to settle for a second field goal.
The Buccaneers' offense stalled once again to follow, rushing once and opting for quick passing plays. Rob Gronkowski dropped a sure-fire first down reception on a slant route, and receiver Chris Godwin exited the game with a knee injury after a 3rd and 9 reception for five yards. Tampa Bay was forced to punt yet again, while Godwin was checked out by team trainers.
Tampa Bay's defense found its form on the next drive. Beginning at their own 10-yard line, New Orleans proceeded to go three-and-out, with the series being capped off on a 2nd and 9 Lavonte David sack, the 26th of his career, and an incomplete pass to Alvin Kamara behind the line of scrimmage. Punt, Bucs ball at their own 43 thanks to an 11-yard return by Jaelon Darden.
With solid field position, the Buccaneers crossed into Saints territory for the first time almost halfway through the second quarter. Leonard Fournette became more involved in the gameplan at that point, rushing for 11 yards and adding five yards on a third-down reception before taking a big hit. Nothing came of the Bucs' most productive drive of the night by that point, though, as Brady was sacked by Jordan again on 3rd down and Ryan Succop missed a 45-yard field goal, his fourth miss of the season on 21 tries.
Receiver Mike Evans went to the locker room with a hamstring injury after taking a big hit of his own, from Lattimore, on a 3rd down reception. He was immediately considered doubtful to return while Godwin received a questionable designation in the same update from Buccaneers' communications.
Tampa Bay got the ball back after a quick, five-play New Orleans drive, looking to finally put points on the board without its top two wide receivers and with 3:37 left in the first half. The Bucs crawled their way from their own 18 to the Saints' 39 before another third-down sack, this time by Marcus Davenport, ending the drive with yet another Bradley Pinion punt, which was pinned at New Orleans' 1-yard line.
By halftime, the Bucs had mustered just 124 yards on 34 plays, averaging just 3.6 yards per snap. New Orleans didn't fare a ton better at 159 yards on 30 plays (5.3 yards per play) but did just enough to create a one-possession lead 30 minutes into the game.
Both Godwin and Evans were ruled out at halftime. Fittingly, the Bucs opened the second half with a five-play drive and a punt. Par for the course, the Saints responded with a three-and-out. Rookie Joe Tryon-Shoyinka helped force a 3rd and 8 incompletion by Hill with interior pressure off of a stunt rush, his second third-down pressure that resulted in a punt on the night.
The next series? Fournette finished an eight-yard rush by being tackled in helicopter fashion, Ronald Jones II gained nothing on a rush to follow, and Saints linebacker Demario Davis tipped a pass from Brady to Gronkowski on 3rd and 2. Pinion took the field for his sixth punt of the night at that point.
Fournette went to the locker room following the drive as he was injured on his first-down run. He was immediately ruled out with a hamstring injury, leaving the Bucs without three of their top offensive contributors.
If the game, or this recap, hasn't put you to sleep yet, it still very well could: The Saints countered with another three-and-out, as Tryon-Shoyinka finally turned third-down pressure into a sack, rolling to the left side as Hill attempted to break away from pressure.
It appeared as though the Bucs' offense found some life to start the next drive as Brady opened the series with a 16-yard completion to Cameron Brate. But not so fast: The Bucs only gained nine yards on the next set of downs and Brady missed Gronkowski on a 4th and 1 pass, turning the ball over at New Orleans' 36-yard line.
Tyon-Shoyinka, the most consistent player on either side of the ball for Tampa Bay on the night, nearly posted another sack on the next drive but Hill escaped and connected with Mark Ingram for a three-yard gain. The next play, a pass from Hill to Adam Trautman, fell incomplete thanks to a Pierre Desir pass breakup. The 12th punt of the night occurred as a result.
Again, it seemed like the Bucs generated momentum offensively as Jones rushed for 42 yards across the first two plays of Tampa Bay's next drive. A ten-yard pickup by Gronkowski on third down put the Bucs in field goal position, but then, Brady and Gronkowski couldn't connect on a deep sideline shot down the field and Jordan forced a fumble on a Brady scramble on the next play. Lattimore recovered the ball and the Saints took the ball away at their own 14.
New Orleans put together just 14 yards offensively in the third quarter, but the Buccaneers' offense couldn't take advantage whatsoever, remaining shutout 45 minutes into the contest. Tampa Bay's defensive dominance continued into the fourth quarter as New Orleans went three-and-out yet again, leaving anyone watching the game wondering when the Bucs' offense would do its part.
It certainly didn't on the next drive, as the Buccaneers went three-and-out once again. Tampa Bay's boo birds were audible on national television as such.
The Saints woke up offensively with their first first-down conversion of the half on a 17-yard pass to Callaway as Hill rolled right on play-action. Three plays later, Ingram caught a pass for five yards and another first down - although the referees missed a delay of game penalty. Things slowed down once again, though, and New Orleans had to take its third field goal of the night.
Brady followed up with two incompletions to Gronkowski in a row and his fourth third-down sack of the night. Pinion then punted for the eighth time.
Surprise, surprise, New Orleans went three-and-out yet again, and a punt set the Bucs up at their own 3-yard line. What looked like a three-and-out for Tampa Bay was saved by defensive pass interference by Malcolm Jenkins on a 4th and 4 try, and another DPI was declined two plays later on an 18-yard catch by Tyler Johnson.
But, on the following 3rd and 10, Brady was intercepted by Chauncey Gardner-Johnson as he rolled to the right. At this point, the game was basically over, with only 3:40 left in regulation.
The Saints went three-and-out yet again, but thanks to a roughing the kicker penalty on Grant Stuard when Blake Gillikin attempted to punt, the Saints were fitted 15 yards and the opportunity to run out the clock.
And that they basically did, punting the ball back to Tampa Bay with 53 seconds left. Brady and Co. got four plays off and compiled 41 yards before the clock read 0:00.
Brady's team was shutout for the first time since 2006 - not including a 16-0 loss to the Buffalo Bills in 2016 when he was suspended as a member of the New England Patriots - when the Pats lost to the Miami Dolphins by a score of 21-0.
The Bucs will travel to North Carolina to take on the Panthers in Week 16, on Sunday at 1 P.M. ET.
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