3 Up, 3 Down From Bucs' Big Win Over Saints in Week 6

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers got back on track with a huge victory over the New Orleans Saints.

Oct 13, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Tykee Smith (23) celebrates an interception of a ball intended for New Orleans Saints wide receiver Rashid Shaheed (22) with cornerback Tyrek Funderburk (24) and linebacker Joe Tryon-Shoyinka (9) during the fourth quarter at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images / Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had a lot of adversity going into this game in the face of Hurricane Milton. And how did they respond to that adversity? By dropping a 50-burger, obviously.

Tampa Bay decimated the New Orleans Saints 51-27, pitching a shutout in the second half to move to 4-2 and 1-1 in the NFC South. There were a ton of great players, but with a 27-point gaff in the second quarter alone, there were some negatives to take away from the win, too.

Here's our 3 Up, 3 Down from Tampa Bay's big win against New Orleans:

3 Up

DB Tykee Smith

Tykee Smith forced a fumble early in the game that led to an Antoine Winfield Jr. scoop-and-score, and he almost had another one in the third quarter that was dubiously ruled an incompletion. Later, in the fourth, he picked off Spencer Rattler for another turnover. The defense had an overall rough outing (more on that later), but Smith particularly showed out at nickel and seems to be fitting right in in the NFL.

WR Chris Godwin

Godwin has been a force to be reckoned with this entire year, and he once again netted more than 10 receptions in a game. This time, he caught a ridiculous 11 passes for 125 yards, with one of those going for a touchdown in the first quarter and another for a great YAC score in the third quarter. Godwin remains an ever-reliable target in this offense and he'll look to wreak more havoc as Tampa Bay's most reliable wideout at the moment going forward.

RB Sean Tucker

The Bucs will be #PL44SED to see that Sean Tucker dominated on Sunday, and he'll be pleased to show out like that as well. Tucker had a breakout game in lieu of the injured Rachaad White, running for 136 yards on 14 attempts for a ridiculous 9.7 yards per carry and a touchdown on the ground. He also had a receiving touchdown and put up 56 yards through the air, too. What a game for the Bucs running back who had hardly seen the field before this.

READ MORE: Bucs Overcome Mistakes to Throttle the Saints in New Orleans 51-27

3 Down

WR Jalen McMillan

Wideout Jalen McMillan struggled in this game. He was targeted a single time, and the time he was, a Baker Mayfield pass hit him directly in the hands and bounced into the air for an interception. He was also on punt duty with wideout Trey Palmer out, and he got just 12 yards out of three punt returns. He's coming back from injury, so that's important to note, but he's had a bit of a rough start to his NFL career this year.

WR Sterling Shepard

Shepard, meanwhile, is a veteran, and he didn't look like one. He had two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties on the day, costing his team 30 yards, and he also had a big drop early in the game that forced a Buccaneers drive to stall. While McMillan hasn't played well, this wasn't an outing needed to replace him.

Overall Team Discipline

Yeah, yeah, I hate putting abstract concepts in these as much as the next guy, but there is something to be said about the penalties here. Tampa Bay had 12 penalties for 86 yards, most of them coming in the first half, and it's a huge reason that the Saints were able to put up 27 points in the second quarter. The Bucs did a great job responding, but the team tends to have meltdowns at a rate that isn't exactly infrequent, and it's something they'll need to fix if they want to be a true contender going forward.

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