Takeaways from the Saints-Buccaneers game

By: Jake Rajala

The New Orleans Saints marched into Tampa to battle the Buccaneers. They were missing a lot of key pieces, but that didn’t hold back a valiant effort from Who Dat Nation. With that said, I’m going to untwine five things we learned from the Saints-Buccaneers contest.

Spencer Rattler

Spencer Rattler had his best half of football in the first half against the Bucs. He threw a crisp touchdown to Dante Pettis and he squeezed in an impossible throw to Juwan Johnson. He also threw a couple of darts to the end zone that MVS should have hauled in. It’s also worth mentioning that Rattler was playing without Alvin Kamara, Taysom Hill, Chris Olave, and Rashid Shaheed.

Vita Vea

Vita Vea didn’t only sack Rattler, but he made it impossible for the Saints to run it up the middle. Vea was penetrating all night. He didn’t have an interception like Michael Pierce, but he did have one of the best performances by a DL on Sunday.

Mike Evans

Mike Evans is always lethal, but this Sunday was special. He tied Jerry Rice for the most 1,000 yard seasons in a row. I don’t know why the Saints didn’t have the awareness to just put three defensive backs on Evans on the last play. Evans is one of the best WRs among all the playoff teams.

Klint Kubiak

The main reason that NO went up 16-6 was because of the creative play-calling by Klint Kubiak. Kubiak was calling the right plays on 4th down, pulling out tight end screens, calling flea flickers, and triple reverses. Kubiak was calling the right plays on the Saints last offensive drive, but that didn’t hold back Rattler from somewhat inaccurate throws.

Demario Davis

It may be worth not only talking about Demario Davis, but mentioning Cameron Jordan and Tyrann Mathieu. Davis, Jordan, and Mathieu may have played their days in a Saints uniform, or any uniform for that matter. Davis and Jordan both made impressive tackles for loss. The Honey Badger had a concussion, so he should be ready for off-season activities.