His frustrations simmered over into the fourth quarter and, after a third-down incomplete 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 intervened, sparking a skirmish that eventually led to the ejections of Lattimore and Evans.
These 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 put Tampa Bay up 10-3.
After a 47-yard Ryan Succop field goal to extend the lead with 5:50 left in the game, the Bucs sealed it when Mike Edwards picked off Saints QB Jameis Winston and returned it 68 yards for a touchdown.
“It’s an emotional game,” Brady told reporters afterwards. “A little bit of execution helps all the way around. I thought the defense played well again and the offensive line fought hard.
“It’s a really tough team, really well coached — a team we really struggle with, so it feels good to win.”
It had been a closely fought game, dominated by both teams’ respective defenses as New Orleans held Brady to 14/24 passing with 142 yards and shut Tampa Bay out until a field goal from Ryan Succop tied the scores at 3-3 late in the third quarter.
But, after the fight and Perriman’s touchdown, momentum swung towards the Bucs.
“We lost a good player and they lost a good player. It was a physical ballgame,” 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 some plays.”
New Orleans secured a touchdown of its own through a Winston pass 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 seven-game losing streak.
The Bucs remain atop the NFC South with a 2-0 record and will host Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.
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