In Week 5, the Buccaneers continued their trend of alternating wins and losses every week by losing 31-24 to the Saints in New Orleans. Tampa Bay dropped to 2-3 ahead of its Week 6 trip to London by playing an all-around disappointing game.
The Bucs took advantage of an early turnover to go up 7-3, but eventually fell behind before halftime and fell further behind after the break. They never quite got into a rhythm, needing a garbage time touchdown to make the score look a little better than it was. Overall, New Orleans outgained Tampa Bay 457-252 on its way to maintaining its hold on first place in the NFC South.