The Buccaneers are missing several key offensive pieces due to injuries, so they leaned on their defense in New Orleans on Sunday.
Anthony Nelson returned an interception for a touchdown in the first half and the Bucs forced four total turnovers en route to a 23-3 win. The victory sends them into their bye week with a 6-2 record and they’ll be hoping to get players like wide receiver Chris Godwin and running back Bucky Irving back for the start of the second half of the season.
Nelson forced a Spencer Rattler fumble in the first quarter before picking him off on the New Orleans four-yard line and strolling into the end zone. The Bucs thought they had another defensive touchdown when safety Antoine Winfield Jr. returned a fumble for a touchdown, but an inadvertent whistle took the score off the board.
The 1-7 Saints pulled Rattler in favor of rookie Tyler Shough in the third quarter and Winfield picked him off for the final takeaway of the game. Shough was 17-of-30 for 128 yards and Saints head coach Kellen Moore will be fielding questions about which quarterback will get the start against the Rams in Los Angeles in Week 9.
Nelson added two sacks to the forced turnovers and the Bucs had five in total over the course of the win. Their offense chipped in with a Sean Tucker touchdown run and three field goals, but they spent most of the day doing just enough to make sure that the defense’s strong work would stand up.
Tucker’s touchdown came on a fourth down from the Saints’ 1-yard line after the Bucs had failed to score from that spot on the first three downs. They also got stopped without points on four plays from the 1 in the first half, but Nelson’s interception came right after that turnover on downs and the Bucs’ win was never in serious doubt from that point forward.
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