Tom Brady Discusses Struggles in Buccaneers' Blowout Loss to Saints

Expected to be a game-of-the-season contender, Sunday night's Saints-Buccaneers matchup was instead a nightmare for Tampa Bay.

Tom Brady threw a season-high three interceptions as the Saints dismantled the Bucs on both sides of the ball on their way to a 38-3 victory. The loss marked the first time Brady had ever lost both regular-season games against a divisional opponent in a season.

"It's about playing better and execution," Brady told reporters after the game. "We all have to do our job a lot better. When you play good teams, there's little margin of error. They've been a great team for a long time. They've got a lot of good players. If we're going to beat them, we're going to have to play a lot better than we played tonight."

Brady entered Week 9 having played brilliantly in the first half of the 2020 season, throwing 20 touchdowns against just four interceptions and putting the Bucs in the Super Bowl contender conversation. However, Tampa's implosion was a start-to-finish blowout, with two of Brady's three picks being true head-scratching moments.

He added:

"Speaking for tonight, one was tipped on a screen pass. You hate to have those happen, but the guy made a good play. Then, on fourth down, I kind of threw it up in the air. The other one, I definitely saw something and kind of predetermined what I thought was going to happen and made a bad play.

"So, I certainly have to play a lot better. Turning the ball over against good teams never helps. We just didn't play the way we were capable of playing. Everyone's got to do a lot better, and it starts with me. Get back to work tomorrow morning and try to make it a better week."

While just one game, the performance speaks poorly on the Bucs' chances to do damage in the postseason and hurts their shot at winning the NFC South. The Saints hold a one-game lead in the loss column and the season tiebreaker, essentially giving them a two-game lead over the final eight weeks of the season.

Tampa (6-3) is still a strong bet to make the playoffs, as the Bucs would currently be the No. 5 seed in the new seven-team playoff format.