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In a rainy downpour and lousy field conditions, the New Orleans Saints pull off one of the bigger upsets of the NFL season with a 24-20 road defeat of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It was a gritty performance by the Saints, as they improved their record to 3-10 with the win in their highest offensive point output of the year. In the process, they also had their second highest rushing production of the season and came up with huge plays on both sides of the football.
New Orleans scored a touchdown on their opening possession for just the second time this season. After both sides reached the end zone on their opening drives, the defenses took command for the rest of the first half. Trailing 10-7 at halftime, the Saints intercepted Baker Mayfield on the opening possession of the third quarter. They converted that into a touchdown, marking the first time in 13 games they scored touchdowns on their opening drive of both halves. This NFC South slugfest was a physical affair, especially in the second half, with the Saints getting the best of their division rivals more often than not. Here were the top performances from the biggest win of the New Orleans season.
POISE. That's what earns Tyler Shough this game ball. Overall, it was arguably his worst performance of any of his five starts statistically. Shough threw for just 144 yards, his lowest of any of his starts, while tossing a costly interception. He was sacked 3 times in the first half, all a result of poor pocket awareness or passing up easy check-down opportunities.
In the second half, Shough was the embodiment of his team's toughness and big plays in key situations. He sprinted around left end for a 34-yard touchdown run on a quarterback keeper on the first drive of the third quarter for first scoring run of his short career and part of his 56 rushing yards. Shough took care of the ball immaculately throughout the second half, but also rifled passes for critical third down conversions to keep the chains moving. The rookie converted five third downs in the second half with perfectly placed throws. After one, he followed that up with a magical escape from Buccaneers pressure to run for a 13-yard touchdown that provided the winning margin. Not a pretty performance, but one that took Tyler Shough one step further in showing that he just might be this team's answer at quarterback.
Another rookie every bit as responsible as Shough for this win was Neal, the Round 6 choice from Kansas. Making his second start in place of an injured Alvin Kamara, Neal rushed for a game-high 70 yards on 19 carries. It was the third highest rushing total for any New Orleans player this year and part of 139 rushing yards by the Saints, the second highest for the team this season. Most of that yardage for Neal was after first contact, as he powered his way to the second level several times. He'd also score his first career touchdown on a 3-yard run to open the game.
Perhaps Neal's best play of the game came as a receiver. On a crucial third and eight, Shough escaped pressure to find Neal on a short throw. Neal then broke tackles to pick up 14 yards, where Shough scored the game-winning touchdown on the next play. He isn't flashy, but Devin Neal provided exactly the spark that the Saints offense needed.
After seven games of being MIA, Carl Granderson had a huge 4th down stop among 2 tackles for loss, batted down a Mayfield throw, and blew up two screen passes in the first half. Demario Davis had a thunderous 4th down stop and a few other vital tackles at the line of scrimmage. Bryan Bresee and Nathan Shepherd each had several big run stops and pressures. Cam Jordan had a tipped pass and had some nice backfield penetration in the second half. All are worth highlighting, but the biggest game ball goes to the entire New Orleans defense.
Baker Mayfield completed his first eight passes of the game. After that, the Saints held him to only 6 of 22 for 38 yards and an interception. The Buccaneers rushed for 179 yards, but aside from a 32-yard run from Bucky Irving held Tampa Bay backs to just 3.3 per carry. Saints-killers Chris Godwin and Sean Tucker had a few moments, but for the most part were contained with the rest of the Tampa Bay weapons.
This game was won on third and fourth down performances. The Saints held the Buccaneers to only 3 of 13 on third down and 2 of 7 on fourth down. Those five 4th down stops were the difference in this game. Four of those were with four yards or less to go, with three coming as a direct result of resounding victories by the Saints at the line of scrimmage. It highlighted physicality that New Orleans had to sustain to gain their biggest win in quite some time.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Saints game balls vs. Buccaneers: Tyler Shough, Devin Neal stand out
Continue reading...
New Orleans scored a touchdown on their opening possession for just the second time this season. After both sides reached the end zone on their opening drives, the defenses took command for the rest of the first half. Trailing 10-7 at halftime, the Saints intercepted Baker Mayfield on the opening possession of the third quarter. They converted that into a touchdown, marking the first time in 13 games they scored touchdowns on their opening drive of both halves. This NFC South slugfest was a physical affair, especially in the second half, with the Saints getting the best of their division rivals more often than not. Here were the top performances from the biggest win of the New Orleans season.
Tyler Shough
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POISE. That's what earns Tyler Shough this game ball. Overall, it was arguably his worst performance of any of his five starts statistically. Shough threw for just 144 yards, his lowest of any of his starts, while tossing a costly interception. He was sacked 3 times in the first half, all a result of poor pocket awareness or passing up easy check-down opportunities.
In the second half, Shough was the embodiment of his team's toughness and big plays in key situations. He sprinted around left end for a 34-yard touchdown run on a quarterback keeper on the first drive of the third quarter for first scoring run of his short career and part of his 56 rushing yards. Shough took care of the ball immaculately throughout the second half, but also rifled passes for critical third down conversions to keep the chains moving. The rookie converted five third downs in the second half with perfectly placed throws. After one, he followed that up with a magical escape from Buccaneers pressure to run for a 13-yard touchdown that provided the winning margin. Not a pretty performance, but one that took Tyler Shough one step further in showing that he just might be this team's answer at quarterback.
Devin Neal
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Another rookie every bit as responsible as Shough for this win was Neal, the Round 6 choice from Kansas. Making his second start in place of an injured Alvin Kamara, Neal rushed for a game-high 70 yards on 19 carries. It was the third highest rushing total for any New Orleans player this year and part of 139 rushing yards by the Saints, the second highest for the team this season. Most of that yardage for Neal was after first contact, as he powered his way to the second level several times. He'd also score his first career touchdown on a 3-yard run to open the game.
Perhaps Neal's best play of the game came as a receiver. On a crucial third and eight, Shough escaped pressure to find Neal on a short throw. Neal then broke tackles to pick up 14 yards, where Shough scored the game-winning touchdown on the next play. He isn't flashy, but Devin Neal provided exactly the spark that the Saints offense needed.
Saints Defense
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After seven games of being MIA, Carl Granderson had a huge 4th down stop among 2 tackles for loss, batted down a Mayfield throw, and blew up two screen passes in the first half. Demario Davis had a thunderous 4th down stop and a few other vital tackles at the line of scrimmage. Bryan Bresee and Nathan Shepherd each had several big run stops and pressures. Cam Jordan had a tipped pass and had some nice backfield penetration in the second half. All are worth highlighting, but the biggest game ball goes to the entire New Orleans defense.
Baker Mayfield completed his first eight passes of the game. After that, the Saints held him to only 6 of 22 for 38 yards and an interception. The Buccaneers rushed for 179 yards, but aside from a 32-yard run from Bucky Irving held Tampa Bay backs to just 3.3 per carry. Saints-killers Chris Godwin and Sean Tucker had a few moments, but for the most part were contained with the rest of the Tampa Bay weapons.
This game was won on third and fourth down performances. The Saints held the Buccaneers to only 3 of 13 on third down and 2 of 7 on fourth down. Those five 4th down stops were the difference in this game. Four of those were with four yards or less to go, with three coming as a direct result of resounding victories by the Saints at the line of scrimmage. It highlighted physicality that New Orleans had to sustain to gain their biggest win in quite some time.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Saints game balls vs. Buccaneers: Tyler Shough, Devin Neal stand out
Continue reading...
