The lowly New Orleans Saints, who were 8 1/2-point underdogs, on Sunday frustrated Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Bucs, who lost for the fourth time in five games in a sloppy 24-20 setback in a game mostly played through a driving storm.
The loss sent the four-time defending division champion Bucs (7-6) into a first-place tie with Carolina. The Bucs and Panthers face off twice in the final three games.
Tyler Shough ran for two touchdowns for the Saints (3-10) to tighten the division race. The rookie quarterback is 2-3 as a starter, with the other victory coming at Carolina.
“It doesn't matter whether the team was 12-0 or 0-12, it's the NFL. You have to show up and make plays or the other team is gonna beat you,” Bucs coach Todd Bowles said.
Shough has faced the two top teams in the NFC South and beat them both on the road.
“We can beat anybody. When we’re stalling out, we’re beating ourselves,” Shough said. “Knowing how close we have been in some of those losses, how you can flip it on its head and we produce those big plays, we’d get those wins.”
After Chris Godwin Jr. couldn’t hold onto Mayfield’s pass on fourth-and-2 from the Saints 47, New Orleans drove for the go-ahead score.
Shough spun away from Logan Hall and Vita Vea in the backfield and scrambled 13 yards for a touchdown and a 24-17 lead near the midpoint of the fourth quarter.
The Bucs had a chance to tie it but Emeka Egbuka dropped Mayfield’s pass in the end zone, and they settled for a 37-yard field goal by Chase McLaughlin that cut the deficit to 24-20 with under five minutes remaining.
The Bucs had another chance in the final two minutes but Mayfield ran out of his early-season magic.
First, Deion Jones dropped a potential interception that would’ve set Tampa Bay up near its own 40. Instead, the Bucs got the ball after a punt at their 20 with 1:48 remaining and no timeouts.
Mayfield threw two incomplete passes, ran for 6 yards and threw a 3-yard pass to Cade Otton on fourth-and-4.
“I don’t disagree that it feels disjointed,” Godwin said of Tampa Bay's offense. “I can’t put my finger on exactly why. I feel like if we could, it would probably be easier to fix it. You can’t just look at this and go, ‘Oh, it’s whatever.’ It’s not whatever, we have to correct it. If we want to make a run at this thing, we’ve got to get it together and get it together fast.”
Shough finished with 144 yards passing and 55 rushing with one pick.
“Our guys have a lot of adversity this year and they’ve grown through this journey,” Saints coach Kellen Moore said.
Mayfield had 122 yards passing on a 14-of-30 afternoon with one interception.
Shough’s 34-yard TD run on the opening drive of the second half was his career score on the ground. It gave New Orleans a 14-10 lead.
Helped by a 29-yard pass-interference penalty on Jonas Sanker that wiped out an incomplete pass to Tez Johnson on third-and-10, the Buccaneers reclaimed the lead a few plays later.
Rachaad White ran 11, 7 and 5 yards. Then Sean Tucker ran for 13 yards and scored from the 1 to make it 17-14.
The Saints answered with a 30-yard field goal by Charlie Smyth that tied it at 17-all. Shough completed a pass on fourth-and-1 to the Buccaneers 5, but a penalty for illegal man downfield forced the Saints to settle for a field goal.
A 54-yard kickoff return by Mason Tipton to open the game set the Saints up at the Buccaneers 45. Devin Neal capped a quick drive with a 3-yard TD run for a 7-0 lead.
The Saints had just one touchdown in the first quarter this season before that score.
Fourth-down woes
The Bucs went for a fourth-and-1 at the Saints 45 late in the first quarter but Carl Granderson stopped Bucky Irving for a 7-yard loss on a deep pitch.
Sean Tucker was stuffed on a fourth-and-1 at the Saints 49 late in the second quarter.
On the ensuing possession, New Orleans went for fourth-and-1 at the Buccaneers 42 and Neal was dropped for a 3-yard loss by Haason Reddick.
The Bucs finally converted on fourth-and-1 when Mayfield ran for 4 yards on the last drive of the first half, which ended with no points.
Welcome to the NFL
Undrafted rookie Benjamin Chukwama made his first NFL start for the Buccaneers, filling in for All-Pro left tackle Tristan Wirfs.
Injuries
Buccaneers: LG Ben Bredeson left in the second quarter with a knee injury. ... DB Tykee Smith exited late in the first half with a stinger. ... Reddick left with an ankle injury. ... Wirfs (oblique), WR Mike Evans (clavicle), RG Luke Haggard (shoulder) and CB Benjamin Morrison (hamstring) were inactive.
Saints: RB Alvin Kamara (knee, ankle), T Taliese Fuaga (ankle), S Justin Reid (knee) were inactive.
Up next
Buccaneers: Host Atlanta on Thursday night.
Saints: Host Carolina next Sunday.
