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Saints absorb fourth straight loss in lopsided fashion to Buccaneers

A 27-point second quarter wasn't enough to hold off Tampa Bay

Check out the game action shots from the New Orleans Saints game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 6 of the 2024 NFL Season on Oct. 13, 2024 in the Caesars Superdome.

For one quarter Sunday in the Caesars Superdome, the New Orleans Saints were a perfect storm of complementary football: A punt return touchdown and two field goals on special teams, three interceptions on defense and a pair of touchdowns on offense to help erase a 17-0 deficit.

But the other three quarters of storm were nowhere near the same area code.

The Saints' 51-27 loss to NFC South Division rival Tampa Bay was their fourth straight after opening the season with two wins, and it was the most humbling by a landslide.

New Orleans entered the game minus five starters (quarterback Derek Carr, tight end Taysom Hill, linebacker Pete Werner, safety Will Harris and right guard Cesar Ruiz) and lost receiver Chris Olave and safety Tyrann Mathieu during the game, but the only consolation salvaged was it was one game, and another one quickly will be played Thursday.

OFFENSE: The reasonable expectation was that the offense wouldn't be totally efficient because rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler was making his first NFL start, the offensive line was starting its fourth center in as many games and the Buccaneers almost certainly would complicate matters with defensive schemes designed to confuse the unit. Much of that was true, as the Saints totaled 303 yards and Rattler was sacked five times and threw two interceptions. He completed 22 of 40 passes for 243 yards in his NFL baptism, and showed the mobility (four carries, 27 yards) that will help him and his team. But he completed 11 of 23 passes for 103 yards and both interceptions in the second half; losing Olave to a concussion on the Saints' first offensive possession was a huge blow to the unit.

DEFENSE: The Saints needed a stellar defensive effort to help alleviate some of the pressure on the offense, and three interceptions (by cornerback Paulson Adebo, safety Johnathan Abram and defensive end Cam Jordan) and a sack (by linebacker Willie Gay Jr.) ordinarily might have been enough to classify as such. On Sunday, it was a ripple. New Orleans allowed 594 yards – including 277 rushing yards – the Bucs were six of 10 on third down, and four for five in the red zone. Tampa Bay averaged a whopping 8.3 yards per play and the three interceptions were balanced by four touchdown passes and 325 passing yards. The Saints were hit for chunk play after chunk play – 36- and 34-yard runs and 55-, 39-, 36- and 22-yard passes – and the poor tackling that has plagued the team continued.

SPECIAL TEAMS: The bright spot unit Sunday gave the Saints a 54-yard punt return touchdown by receiver Rashid Shaheed, three punts downed inside the 20 by Matthew Hayball, a four-yard average on three punt returns by Tampa Bay and six kickoff returns for an average of 25.5 yards by the Bucs. Shaheed is one of the premier home run threats in the league and he continues to show it every week. And Blake Grupe remained perfect on field goal attempts; he made both Sunday and now is 10 for 10 this season.

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