Why Drew Brees Can Take His Time Rehabbing

Teddy Bridgewater is undefeated as New Orleans' starter

In Week 5, the NFC South matchup between the 3-1 New Orleans Saints and the 2-2 Tampa Bay Buccaneers had a lot on the line. Both teams were coming off enormous wins and first place in the division was at stake. Would the Bucs be able to keep up their lethal offensive production after dropping 55 points on the Los Angeles Rams, or would the Saints defense bring them back down to earth? 

What Happened

The Saints won 31-24 and earned a statement win.

The Bucs were simply unable to get their defense off the field as the Saints had numerous long, methodical drives. To make matters worse, Tampa’s best cover corner Carlton Davis was ejected in the first half after committing a dangerous helmet-to-helmet hit. The rest of the Bucs secondary was constantly gashed by Michael Thomas as he had 11 catches for 182 yards and two touchdowns.

One of the big questions leading into this game was if the Bucs’ top- ranked run defense would be able to contain Alvin Kamara. In the first half, Tampa looked like they were up to the task,, but in the second half, Sean Payton made some excellent adjustments. Payton was able to get Kamara in space constantly creating mismatches for him and using a lot of misdirection and the Bucs defense couldn’t readjust. Kamara ended the game with 22 touches and 104 scrimmage yards.

It looked like the game was all but finished with the Saints leading 31-17 and under two minutes remaining in the game until a last-minute garbage time touchdown was scored by Chris Godwin. Bucs tried an onside kick as a last-gasp attempt to rectify the game, but were unable to recover. Teddy Bridgewater took one final kneel to run out the clock and the Saints moved in to sole first place of the division. 

Key Development

Teddy Bridgewater lit it up! It was a career day for Bridgewater who threw for 314 yards and four touchdowns. Having Michael Thomas and Alvin Kamara at his disposal, the Bucs were unable to limit New Orleans’ skill players and Bridgewater was able to connect with them consistently.  

Week 6

The 4-1 Saints will be looking to beat a second Florida team next week as they will head to Jacksonville to play the Jaguars. With Bridgewater undefeated at 3-0 since becoming a starter, New Orleans is still listed as a 1.5 point underdog (as of Tuesday night). The Saints will have a tough task trying to bottle up Leonard Fournette, but after holding the Cowboys to 45 rushing yards last week and 94 yards to the Bucs this week, they will feel confident that they can do it again.

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