Tampa Bay Buccaneers Prove Panic Was Premature with Big Week 2 Turnaround

See? Let’s all just calm down a little.

Despite opening the 2015 regular season with a 42-14 drubbing at home, reports of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ demise have been greatly exaggerated.

Few gave the Bucs a chance to go on the road and beat the New Orleans Saints, a team that had beaten Tampa Bay seven straight times. If Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota could throw four touchdown passes in the first half on the Tampa Bay defense, surely future Hall-Of-Famer Drew Brees could do the same with his eyes closed, right?

Not seaux fast, my friends.

The Bucs smacked Brees and the New Orleans offense in the mouth, roughing up the veteran quarterback early and often on their way to a huge 26-19 victory on Sunday. Tampa Bay’s defense brought down Brees four times, forced three turnovers and clearly had its longtime nemesis rattled, even on his home turf.

Even when Brees seemed to find his bearings, bringing the Saints within a score with a chance to mount a game-tying drive in the final minute, the Bucs defense came up big one last time, thwarting multiple shots to the end zone on the game’s final two plays.

Last week, Mariota was given a comfy man-cave of a pocket to operate from, as Tampa Bay’s pass rush was virtually nonexistent for most of the game. Brees wasn’t so fortunate, as defensive end Jacquies Smith led the charge with three sacks, forcing fumbles on two of them. Defensive tackle Gerald McCoy added a sack of his own, his second in as many weeks, while safety Chris Conte was responsible for two of the team’s three takeaways.

Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

Head coach Lovie Smith came under plenty of fire last week for the ghastly play of his defense, and rightly so, considering he had months to prepare for a team that also went 2-14 last season and was starting a rookie quarterback.

But if he deserved the blame for last week’s debacle, he should also receive much of the credit for his unit’s response this week against a Saints offense that has been a thorn in Tampa Bay’s side for years.

Bucs rookie quarterback Jameis Winston took his own chunk of the blame last week, starting his NFL regular-season career with a pick-six on his first pass attempt. He would later throw another costly interception, setting up a short field that led to yet another Titans touchdown just before the half. He played a decent enough second half, but the damage had already been done.

Contrasted with Mariota’s nearly flawless performance, many fans were already ranting about the possibility the Bucs had taken the wrong quarterback with the top overall pick in the 2015 draft.

In Week 2, Winston would be facing a tough road crowd and yet another experienced defensive coordinator in Rob Ryan, leaving many fans and analysts alike expecting a similar performance from the rookie quarterback.

Instead, the Bucs got the complete opposite from their new franchise signal-caller.

Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

Winston completed 14 of his 21 passes for just over 200 yards, finding the end zone once through the air and once on the ground while leaving a goose egg in the interception column. Aside from a late fumble on a sack, Winston managed the game without any huge mistakes and did exactly what he needed to do to give his team a huge road win against a division opponent.

Winston’s most impressive stretch came in the middle of the game, as he led a six-play, 64-yard touchdown drive just before the half, responding to the Saints’ first scoring drive of the game to retake the lead 10-7 with just 12 seconds remaining in the second quarter. Winston lofted a perfect pass to the back of the end zone to a leaping Vincent Jackson to put the Bucs ahead for good.

Tampa Bay got the ball to start the second half, and Winston marched the offense 80 yards, capping it off with a one-yard touchdown run to stretch the lead to two scores. Momentum had been snatched back from the home team, and it helped the Bucs build a lead that ended up being insurmountable.

While many fans were already slapping the "JaMarcus Russell" moniker on Winston after just one week, the former Heisman Trophy winner and national champion simply prepared for the next task at hand, executed the game plan and got the job done.

Looks like those who are trigger-happy with their "bust" labels will have to wait at least one more week before assigning Winston's career a final grade.

Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

There were other heroes on Sunday, as well. Running back Doug Martin continued his comeback tour, nearly topping 100 yards and showing a knack for creating yards after contact, while new kicker Kyle Brindza converted four of his five field-goal attempts, including a 55-yarder to open the scoring.

Tampa Bay still made plenty of mistakes, and there are still issues to correct as the team moves forward. Penalties are far too frequent, costing the team valuable yards on both sides of the ball, and the offensive line has a long way to go before it can be counted on.

But at least for Sunday, Bucs fans can breathe a sigh of relief that their team isn’t as bad as it looked in Week 1. The Bucs beat the Saints for the first time in eight tries, and they should have a healthy helping of confidence heading into a Week 3 matchup with a reeling Houston Texans team that currently sits at 0-2 after just missing the playoffs in 2014.

Tampa Bay fans, it’s time to return to your Pewter Pirate attire and leave the “doomsday prepper” act for another day.

Luke Easterling is a featured columnist covering the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and NFL Draft for Bleacher Report. He is also a senior NFL Draft analyst for Draft Breakdown. Follow him on Twitter @Luke Easterling.