The Tampa Bay Buccaneers used a big play in the fourth quarter to end not only an afternoon of trouble in the Superdome, but nearly four years of frustration in the head-to-head series with the New Orleans Saints. Jamel Dean delivered two of them.
Dean’s two interceptions in the final 12 minutes of the game made for a quick 10 points that wrapped up a 3-3 dogfight into a 13-3 lead with five minutes left. Safety Mike Edwards added the explaining point with a 68-yard pick-six as the Bucs cruised to a 20-10 win.
That highly satisfying fourth quarter, which also featured Tom Brady’s jaw-dropping 28-yard touchdown pass to Breshad Perriman on Dean’s post-first-pick drive, broke up a series of frustrating afternoons and nights and frustrating nights and frustrating nights. Santos victory in the regular season. That frustration and series emotions for both teams were evident early in the fourth quarter when a huge scrum broke out in the middle of the field as the Bucs got out of deformation formation. of retaliation from Mike Evans which resulted in both Lattimore and Evans being ejected from the game.
“It was a lot of shoving and shoving and flags waving, and the next thing you know, everyone was storming the field,” Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles said. “We lost a good player, they lost a good player. It was a physical game.”
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers needed a big fourth-quarter play to end not only an afternoon of trouble in the Superdome, but nearly four years of frustration in the head-to-head series with the New Orleans Saints. Jamel Dean delivered two of them.
Dean’s two interceptions in the final 12 minutes of the game created a quick 10 points that turned a 3-3 dogfight into a 13-3 lead with five minutes left. Safety Mike Edwards added the explaining point with a 68-yard pick-six as the Bucs cruised to a 20-10 win.
That highly satisfying fourth quarter, which also featured Tom Brady’s jaw-dropping 28-yard touchdown pass to Breshad Perriman on Dean’s post-first-pick drive, broke up a string of frustrating afternoons and nights that included seven straight victories by the Saints in the regular season. That frustration and series emotions for both teams were clearly evident early in the fourth quarter when a huge scrum broke out in the middle of the field as the Bucs got into punt formation. A shove of Leonard Fournette by Marshon Lattimore led to a retaliatory shove by Mike Evans which resulted in both Lattimore and Evans being ejected from the game.
“It was a lot of shoving and shoving and flags waving, and the next thing you know, everyone was storming the field,” Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles said. “We lost a good player, they lost a good player. It was a physical game.”
That was a huge blow to an already stagnant Tampa Bay offense, which was playing without wide receivers Chris Godwin and Julio Jones. However, Dean’s jump interception in the end zone two plays later when former Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston tried to throw the kill shot two plays after that fight completely turned the tide. Two defensive penalties helped keep the next drive alive and Brady finished it off with the third-down touchdown pass to Perriman in the back corner of the end zone. Dean intercepted another deep pass attempt two plays later, leading to Ryan Succop’s second field goal of the day.
