Saints Blasted by Twitter for 'Epic' 4th-Quarter Collapse in Loss to Tom Brady, Bucs

The New Orleans Saints have not had the 2022 season they were hoping for, but they reached a new low with an embarrassing 17-16 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday Night Football.

The Saints (4-9) had taken a 13-point lead early in the fourth quarter and looked to be cruising to victory, which would have been crucial for the team's hopes to stay alive in the race for the NFC South. However, New Orleans allowed 14 points in the final three minutes to allow Tampa Bay to escape.

Tom Brady and the Buccaneers (6-6) wore down the Saints defense with 10- and 11-play drives to steal the victory. New Orleans wasted a clean performance from quarterback Andy Dalton, who threw for 229 yards and a touchdown on 20-of-28 passing and is now 0-13 in primetime games on the road.

NFL Twitter lit up the Saints for their "epic" collapse, with many calling for changes within the organization:

The Saints have been beset by injuries to multiple key players, but this loss was inexcusable. Had the defense not run out of gas, New Orleans would've been in a surprising position to fight for the division crown.

The Saints don't have many solutions available at the moment, but they will try to regroup during their bye in Week 14 before returning to action with another division matchup, against the Atlanta Falcons, on Dec. 18.