NEW ORLEANS (AP) — To Baker Mayfield, the way the Tampa Bay Buccaneers weathered a wild second quarter in which they lost a 17-point lead was symbolic of their mindset ever since they traveled to New Orleans on Tuesday to escape the path of Hurricane Milton.
Mayfield overcame three turnovers with 325 yards and four touchdowns passing, and the Buccaneers defeated the New Orleans Saints 51-27 on Sunday in what they hoped would be a morale boost to their many fans who endured Milton’s widespread damage earlier in the week.
“The last few weeks have been tough for the Tampa area and all of South Florida," Mayfield said. "Today was a team embracing everything that everybody was going through, ups and downs and handling it the best way you can, fighting through it and trying to make it work.
“That’s life,” Mayfield added. "Obviously a natural disaster is not easy to deal with, but you find a way to overcome.”
For the Saints, the result blemished rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler's first NFL start, and extended New Orleans' losing streak to four after it opened the season with two lopsided victories.
But with first-string quarterback Derek Carr's timeline to return from an oblique injury uncertain, Saints coach Dennis Allen said his intention was to start Rattler again Thursday night, when the Saints try to end their skid against Denver.
“There were some encouraging things, some things that he’s going to learn from,” Allen said, noting that New Orleans' difficulty running the ball and defensive lapses in the second half made Rattler's job harder as the game wore on. “I don’t think we did enough around him to help him.”
Trailing 27-24 at halftime, the Bucs (4-2) pulled ahead for good on Chris Godwin's second touchdown of the game — a 55-yarder on a short catch and long run during which three Saints missed tackle attempts.
“Our tackling was atrocious," Allen said. “When you don’t tackle, you give up explosive plays ... and it just kind of snowballed on us.”
Safety Zyon McCollum's diving interception of Rattler's underthrown pass initiated a fourth-quarter drive that ended with Mayfield's 8-yard scoring pass to tight end Cade Otton on third-and-goal as Tampa Bay continued to pull away.
The Buccaneers racked up all kinds of gaudy stats and highlights in the Superdome, which was mostly empty before the game ended. Just a smattering of happy fans in Bucs colors remained when Sean Tucker scored for the second time for the final margin.
The Bucs “were playing with heavy hearts, just seeing what was happening in Tampa Bay,” Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles said, confirming that the team planned to return to its normal headquarters in Tampa after the game.
“Our hearts pour out to the city. It’s a tough city,” Bowles said. "We don’t know what we’re going back to, but in our small part, we wanted to win one for the city. We are going to try to help any way we can when we get back, so after going through a week like this and coming out on top, it made the guys feel special.”
The Bucs rushed for 277 yards as a team, led by Tucker's 136 yards and one TD rushing. Bucky Irving added 81 yards and short touchdown. Tucker also turned a short catch into a 36-yard touchdown.
Tampa Bay became just the fifth team in NFL history to have at least 300 yards passing and 275 yards rushing in a game. The Bucs' 594 total offensive yards were the second-most ever yielded by the Saints.
Rattler, who was intercepted twice, finished 22 of 40 for 243 yards and a TD pass to fellow rookie Bub Means. Alvin Kamara scored his seventh TD this season on a 4-yard run and Rashid Shaheed returned a punt 54 yards for a touchdown.
Mayfield capped the game's opening possession with a 4-yard TD pass to Godwin.
Rattler's first series ended when receiver Chris Olave was stripped by Tykee Smith moments after making a catch. Olave also absorbed an unflagged helmet-to-helmet hit from McCollum, and safety Antoine Winfield Jr. scooped up the loose ball and returned it 58 yards to make it 14-0.
Chase McLaughlin's 26-yard field goal made it 17-0 late in the first quarter before the Saints scored 20 straight points in 5:06 with the help of interceptions in Bucs territory by Saints defensive backs Paulson Adebo and Johnathan Abram, which set up a field goal and Rattler's 10-yard scoring toss to Means.
Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan's interception of Mayfield's batted pass preserved the Saints' lead through halftime, but that turned out to be a brief respite for reeling New Orleans.
Injuries
Buccaneers: Cornerback Jamel Dean left in the first quarter with a hamstring injury.
Saints: Olave's injury further depleted an offense already missing Carr, tight end Taysom Hill (ribs), center Erik McCoy (groin), Cesar Ruiz (knee), guard Lucas Patrick (chest). ... Starting safety Tyrann Mathieu left the game with a forearm injury in the first half.
Up next
Buccaneers: Host Baltimore in a Monday night game on Oct. 21.
Saints: Thursday night's home game features the Broncos' Sean Payton coaching his first game in the Superdome since his brief retirement from the Saints after the 2021 season.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Brett Martel, The Associated Press
