Drew Brees, Saints Defeat Buccaneers as Tom Brady Struggles in TB Debut

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers made the most noise this offseason, but the NFC South still belongs to the New Orleans Saints.

Drew Brees led New Orleans to a 34-23 victory over the Buccaneers on Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Superdome, notching a critical division victory in Week 1. Tampa Bay added Tom Brady, but Alvin Kamara and the Saints defense made sure the three-time defending NFC South champions started the season on the right foot with impressive performances.

The Buccaneers came up short despite two touchdown throws from their new quarterback, meaning they are already playing catch-up even with the six-time Super Bowl champion under center.

Notable Player Stats

• Drew Brees, QB, NO: 18-of-30 for 160 yards, 2 TDs and 0 INTs
• Alvin Kamara, RB, NO: 12 carries for 16 yards and 1 TD, 5 catches for 51 yards and 1 TD
• Jared Cook, TE, NO: 5 catches for 80 yards
• Emmanuel Sanders, WR, NO: 3 catches for 15 yards and 1 TD
• Tom Brady, QB, TB: 23-of-36 for 239 yards, 2 TDs and 2 INTs
• Mike Evans, WR, TB: 1 catch for 2 yards and 1 TD
• O.J. Howard, TE, TB: 4 catches for 36 yards and 1 TD
• Chris Godwin, WR, TB: six catches for 79 yards

Bucs, Brady Fall Short in High-Profile QB Showdown

The Week 1 battle between Brady and Brees has stood out since the 2020 schedules were released.

After all, Brees is No. 1 and Brady is No. 2 on the NFL's all-time list of completions, passing yards and passing touchdowns. While they may be somewhat past their primes, the two legendary future Hall of Famers remain marquee attractions and are in the same division for the first time in their illustrious careers.

It looked as if Brady was going to send quite the message to his new NFC South rivals out of the gates.

He directed a nine-play, 85-yard touchdown drive on Tampa Bay's opening possession that included a deep connection with Chris Godwin and multiple pass interference penalties before No. 12 ran it in himself.

Then the mistakes started piling up.

Tampa Bay's offensive line struggled to create clean pockets against the pass rush, Marcus Williams intercepted Brady, New Orleans blocked a Ryan Succop field goal and Brees drew an offside penalty on a fourth down that led to a Saints field goal. None of those were as bad as the pick-six Brady threw to Janoris Jenkins as the home team went up 24-7 in the third quarter.

The Buccaneers closed within seven in part because of a Brady touchdown pass to O.J. Howard, but mistakes reared their ugly head again when Mike Edwards attempted to field a kickoff headed straight to Jaydon Mickens and fumbled.

It was a fitting way to end any realistic comeback chances.

Balanced Effort Gives Saints Wins

Sunday's victory didn't come because Brees threw for 400 yards or Michael Thomas consistently cooked the secondary. In fact, it wasn't even because Kamara diced up the defense on the ground.

Kamara found the end zone twice—with the first one coming on a screen pass with plenty of open field in front of him—but he struggled to establish much consistency yardage-wise with the run. It was a testament to Tampa Bay's defense that it swarmed and closed the rushing lanes all while Carlton Davis kept Thomas relatively quiet on the outside.

Davis' showing was impressive considering Thomas set the single-season receptions record last year.

Still, the Saints had more than enough to win with the defense and special teams creating turnovers and even scoring in the case of Jenkins. That defense helped them keep the lead when the offense punted three straight times to start the second half.

Brees finally made a play downfield when he connected with Jared Cook for 46 yards in the fourth quarter, which set up Emmanuel Sanders' first touchdown reception with his new team.

Sanders was also quiet outside that score, which should do nothing but worry the rest of the NFC. After all, New Orleans won rather convincingly against a potential contender without head-turning performances from Brees, Thomas, Sanders or even Kamara.

There is only room to get even better.

What's Next?

The Buccaneers remain in the division in Week 2 and host the Carolina Panthers, while the Saints are at the Las Vegas Raiders for Monday Night Football.