Things did not go the way the New Orleans Saints envisioned in the first half against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The defense made little to no impact on Tampa’s offense, with just three real positive plays of note – and all three were “should’ve, could’ve, would’ve” been types.
- Linebacker Alex Anzalone forced a fumble off of Bucs wide receiver Chris Godwin, but none of the four Saints defenders in the area recovered the loose ball
- Defensive end Cameron Jordan killed a screen pass with a leaping pass breakup, and it fell incomplete
- Defensive end Marcus Davenport burst through the line on a designed receiver screen and got a hand up to deflect the pass, but it bounced on the turf towards its intended receiver
The Saints never found a defensive stop.