Saints: 3 quick takeaways from Week 8 win vs Buccaneers

The New Orleans Saints hosted the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Halloween and what a game it was! After it seemed all too likely that we’d see Tom Brady lead yet another “game-winning drive”, P.J. Williams picked him off and took the pass to the house, putting NOLA up 36-37 with a minute and a half to go.

At that point, the game wasn’t over, but the defense knew what they had to do and their job became a little bit easier after that INT. They took care of business against Brady and the Bucs and moved to 5-2 while dropping Tampa to 6-2.

What a win for the black and gold. Let’s take a look at the quick takeaways from this one.

Jameis Winston injured

The biggest takeaway from the game is that starting quarterback Jameis Winston had to leave the game early on due to injury. Devin White pulled him down with a horse-collar tackle and Winston exited the game and didn’t return, which was a shame. You know this game meant a lot to Winston considering who it was against so it sucks that he couldn’t see it through.

Trevor Siemian stepped into the quarterback role and did okay, tossing for 159 yards and a touchdown and doing enough to get his squad the W. He was gelling with the likes of Garrett Griffin and Alex Armah, which was an odd sight, but it made sense considering that’s who he takes reps with at practice.

Deonte Harris is the best receiver on the offense

After the wide receivers failed to do much of anything last week in Seattle, it was great having Deonte Harris back in the fold for this huge matchup. He showed up big time too, totaling three catches for 35 yards and rushing for 22 yards on a trick play in the fourth quarter.

This tweet from Maddy Hudak was one of my favorites from the game because she’s right! Harris wouldn’t even sniff the WR1/2 spot on most teams but in New Orleans, the opportunity is there for him to shine in the role. He’s delivered too, so I have no problem with the Saints’ quarterbacks targeting Harris because good things tend to happen when they do.

Saints are still in the NFC South race

People handed the NFC South to the Bucs ahead of the season and hey, it made sense. They just won a Super Bowl and Drew Brees had departed the Big Easy for the leisurely life of retirement.

Not so fast though, my friend! The Saints are now just one win behind the Bucs and hold the first tiebreaker against them. That could be huge down the stretch.

I know Tampa is the Super Bowl favorite in the NFC but the Saints made a huge statement by knocking them off and doing so by nine points. What a freaking win.