Bucs beats New Orleans Saints 30-20 in NFC Division Round

The Bucs got the ball first to start the game but failed to land a first down. Brady went over Rob Gronkowski at the bottom of the left sideline, but the ball was just fingertips from the tight end of the dive. On the punt that followed, returning man Deonte Harris bounced off a Jaydon Mickens hit as he caught the ball, then found the right sideline for a 54-yard return to the line. 21 yards from the Bucs.

White celebrated his return to action with a winless tackle from Kamara on the first play, but a short pass to Emmanuel Sanders sent a personal foul tacked in the end and got him first and goal for the seven. The Bucs’ defense forced the Saints to score a third and a goal and CB Carlton Davis had tight cover on Thomas, who couldn’t stay in bounds on shallow ground just across the line of scrimmage. The Saints were content with Wil Lutz’s 23-yard field goal and a 3-0 lead at 4.30am..

Tampa Bay’s second possession didn’t improve, as Brady was sacked by LB Demario Davis in the third and sixth, leading to a punt from the 19-yard line. Harris actually took it to the end zone for an apparent touchdown, but most of it was erased by a blocking penalty in the back. New Orleans ended up with a start of their own 30 after the penalty.

A dive pass break by CB Sean Murphy-Bunting and another quick tackle from White put the Saints in a quick third and 11, but Brees placed a 13-yard pass into a well-covered Tre’Quan Smith to keep the reader alive. OLB Jason Pierre-Paul was charged with tripping Kamara on a run in the middle and Kamara took his next run around the left end for 10 yards and a first down at 35 for the Bucs. After another first try, the Saints ended up in a third. -and-nine at Bucs 24, and OLB Jason Pierre-Paul managed to hit Brees’ third pass to force another basket. Lutz drilled him 42 yards for a 6-0 lead.

The Bucs started again at 25 and got an eight-yard rush by Jones after an incomplete first down to make it third and second. Jones was stopped within inches of the third down but the Bucs pulled it off on the fourth down and Brady was able to give just enough power for a first down on a QB sneaking through the middle. Fournette came back to deliver two straight good points and a first down, then Brady went through the middle to Evans, but Marshon Lattimore managed to beat in the last second. Two plays later, on third and five after a neutral zone infraction, Brady threw a quick tunnel screen at Godwin and it was good for a first down at the Saints ’35. The first quarter ended on a two-yard Jones run.

The first play of the second period was a sharp 16-yard strike for Brate on 17 for a first down. Fournette propelled the midfielder for six yards, then got three more on the second down. Brady attempted to pass it to Gronkowski over the goal line on the third down, but S Malcolm Jenkins made a great play to break it and Ryan Succop hit a 26-yard basket.

The Saints’ next workout started with Kamara feeding the gut for 11 yards. However, two shots later, Brees came under the pressure of a white blitz and Murphy-Bunting managed to clear Thomas and take the pass at 39 Saints. Murphy-Bunting cocked his way out of a Thomas tackle and was able to bring him back all the way to the three-yard line. The Bucs only needed a game to score from there, with Brady throwing a quick dart at Evans to give the visitors a 10-6 score..

The Bucs almost got a three and one out in the Saints’ next practice, but a third defensive sustaining call on Murphy-Bunting kept him alive. After a Brees squeezed through third and a third led to another first down at the Saints ’44, New Orleans rummaged through its bag of stuff to regain the lead on a big play. Winston lined up widely. right and Kamara took a shotgun snap and then handed it to Sanders, who then returned it to Winston. Meanwhile, Smith had opened up in the middle and Winston was hitting him easily for 56 yards..

Two runs from Jones made it third and second and Brady attempted to hit Brown deep on the straight sideline. S Marcus Williams appeared to intercept the pass as he went out of bounds, but an examination showed he had not lowered both feet. That brought the ball back to the Bucs ’34 and led to a punt that got him back to the Saints’ eight with six and a half minutes left in the half.

Two Sanders catches put the Saints into their 40th, but an excellent free field tackle from Murphy-Bunting on TE Josh Hill was third and 11 seconds later. Kamara rounded the right end on a short take to place fourth and second in 48. The Saints left the offense on the pitch and may have attempted to shoot an offside flag, but a thrill from Will Gholston drew a fake. starting penalty and the Saints had to punt. Mickens caught it at 18 Bucs.

A short run and a failure at the hands of Fournette put him third and eight as the two-minute warning arrived. After the break, Fournette grabbed the next one and pulled him up just to pass the sticks. Two plays later, another short pass to Fournette worked well as he walked 14 yards to 49 Saints. With 54 seconds left, the Bucs canceled a timeout, facing a third and two at 41 of the Saints. break, Brady handed Fournette off the shotgun and the game was good for seven yards and a first down. Brown caught a 10-yard pass on the straight sideline in the next play but didn’t go out of bounds and the Bucs used their second timeout with 27 seconds left. A false start from Stinnie pushed the ball back to the 29th, and a touchdown close to two plays later was not to be when the ball went out of reach of Godwin after a catch deep in the end zone. Brady found Brate for 10 yards in the third and 15 to make the basket easier and Succop tied the game with a 37-yard field goal as time expired in the first half.

The Saints got the ball to start the second half and quickly brought him close to the midfield with a succession of points and short passes, ending with a third and a Brady stealth at 48 of the Saints. Kamara then slammed into the right guard for a 17-yard gain against the Bucs’ 35. Kamara kind of turned what looked like a loss into a six-yard run by snapping several tackles and Brees found Ty Montgomery in the middle for a 13-yard completion and a first down at the “16 Bucs. Two plays later, Brees threw a perfect pass to Smith near the right pylon for the touchdown..

The Bucs’ response drive started with a run and a Fournette hold that shifted the chains, but the drive then stalled and the resulting punt was just taken at 16 from the Saints. The Bucs seemed to get a quick save thanks in part to a White loss tackle but Murphy-Bunting was flagged for pass interference on the third down. S Antione Winfield, Jr. nearly intercepted Brees’ next pass, then two plays later forced a fumble from TE Jared Cook. White recovered the loose ball and returned it 18 yards to the Saints 40.

Brady found a wide-open Brate for 19 yards in the next play and Jones followed with a tough 10-yard rush down the middle, all the way to Saints 11. Three games later, third and five., Brady found Fournette cutting through the middle and the fourth-year full-back pulled off a juggling catch as he crossed the goal line to tie the game again with two minutes left in the third quarter.

Once again, the Bucs appeared to stop only to see a call for illegal use of hands on a third completion – this one on Jamel Dean on the other side of the pitch – to keep the player alive. Fortunately, three games later the Bucs got some quick pressure with a four-man run and Brady’s rushed pitch was knocked down by CB Ross Cockrell.

After the Saints’ punt, the Bucs came away when they turned 21 with less than a minute to play in the third quarter. A six-yard rush from Jones ended the third quarter. Two plays in the fourth quarter, Jones broke free for what appeared to be a 44-yard run, but the play was erased by a wait call on T Tristan Wirfs. The Bucs still managed to keep the disc alive when rookie WR Tyler Johnson made a dazzling spinning catch on the sideline for 15 yards in the third and 11th. The Bucs faced another third down moments later, but WR Scotty Miller had a sharp run and had a nice slip catch between two defensemen for 29 yards at Saints 31. and a 12-yard run into the red zone. The player stalled there and Succop came in to give the Bucs a 23-20 lead on a 36 yard basket..

The Saints started again at 25 with just under 10 minutes in regulation and quickly fell into a third and six. Brees hit Sanders on a pitch under and Sanders was able to hover over a tackle from Winfield to get through the sticks. Two games later, however, White came up with the Bucs’ third takeaway, picking a pass intended for Kamara and sending her 28 yards down the left sideline to the Saints ’20.

In the second game of practice that followed, Brady hit Gronkowski on a deep indent and the big tight end stayed in bounds and made it all the way to the Saints’ four. Two pieces later, Brady kept the second goal and was able to dive just over the line behind G Ali Marpet. Succop hit the extra point for a 10-point lead with the Bucs with five minutes left.

The Bucs finished the Saints’ next haul with their fourth takeaway. After a first try, Brees tried to go down the straight sideline towards Cook, but David prevented the tight end from carrying him and Edwards carried him for the pick, simply keeping his toes within the limits of the Bucs’ 48. . The Bucs ran the ball twice with Fournette to drain some timeouts from the Saints, then a quick screen to Godwin was good for 13 yards and a key first. Fournette then threw the ball three more times, all over the left guard, the last picking up five yards on the third and third to effectively end the game. Three knees after the two-minute warning made it official.