Tampa, Fl. — The Saints got back in the win column Sunday with a convincing 34-17 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, looking like a completely different team than the one that lost to the Falcons last week.
The Saints not only got the scoring going early, taking a 20-0 lead by the second quarter, but their defense was all over Bucs quarterback Jameis Winston to the tune of 4 interceptions and 2 sacks. Demario Davis had a pick in the first quarter, which led to the first Saints touchdown, Vonn Bell had the second pick to close-out the first half, and then Marcus Williams returned an interception 55 yards for a touchdown in the 4th and P.J. Williams got the 4th and final interception about 2 minutes later. Winston has now thrown an NFL-leading 18 interceptions on the season.
Offensively for the Saints, Michael Thomas turned-in his 6th 100-yard receiving game, finishing with 114 yards on 8 catches and a touchdown. Alvin Kamara torched the Bucs defense with 122 yards from scrimmage– 13 carries for 75 yards and 10 catches for 47 yards. At the helm, Drew Brees orchestrated 228 passing yards on 28 of 35 passes and 3 touchdowns. After getting sacked 6 times against the Falcons last week, he wasn’t sacked at all in this game and didn’t throw any interceptions. The Saints had no turnovers in the game.
Next-up for the Saints (8-2) is another divisional showdown next Sunday as they host the Carolina Panthers.