His frustrations simmered in the fourth quarter and, after an incomplete third pass with the score tied 3-3, he came to blows with New Orleans cornerback Marshon Lattimore. Buccaneers running back Leonard Fournette and wide receiver Mike Evans interfered, sparking a skirmish that ultimately led to Lattimore and Evans being ejected.
Those incidents seemed to galvanize the Bucs as Brady connected with wide receiver Breshad Perriman for a 28-yard touchdown in the team’s next series to give Tampa Bay a 10-3 lead.
After a 47-yard field goal from Ryan Succop to extend the lead with 5:50 left in the game, the Bucs sealed it when Mike Edwards took out Saints QB Jameis Winston and returned it 68 yards for a touchdown.
“It’s an emotional game,” Brady told reporters afterward. “A bit of execution helps all the way. I think the defense played well again and the offensive line fought hard.
“They’re a really tough team, very well trained – a team we really struggle with, so it feels good to win.”
It had been a tight game, dominated by both teams’ respective defenses as New Orleans held Brady to 14/24 passing with 142 yards and shut out Tampa Bay until a Ryan Succop field goal tied the scores. at 3-3 late in the third quarter.
But, after the fight and Perriman’s touchdown, the momentum shifted to the Bucs.
“We lost a good player and they lost a good player. It was a physical game,” Tampa Bay coach Todd Bowles said, according to ESPN. “I don’t know if it was a turning point… It could have gone either way. We knew we had to make a few plays.”
New Orleans got its own touchdown on a pass from Winston to Michael Thomas with 1:08 remaining, but it was too late as the Bucs held on to seal their first regular-season win over the Saints since September 2018. snapping the match seven losing streak.
The Bucs remain atop the NFC South with a 2-0 record and host Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.
