Jamel Dean Sparks Huge Fourth Quarter as Bucs End Saints' Streak

Jamel Dean Sparks Huge Fourth Quarter as Bucs End Saints' Streak

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers needed one big play in the fourth quarter to end not only one afternoon of struggles in the Superdome but nearly four years of frustration in the head-to-head series with the New Orleans Saints. Jamel Dean delivered two of them.

Dean's two interceptions in the game's last 12 minutes set up 10 quick points that turned a 3-3 dogfight into a 13-3 lead with five minutes to play. Safety Mike Edwards added the explanation point with a 68-yard pick-six as the Bucs pulled away for a 20-10 victory.

That very satisfying fourth quarter, which also featured Tom Brady's stunning 28-yard touchdown pass to Breshad Perriman on the drive after Dean's first pick, snapped a series of frustrating afternoons and evenings that included seven straight wins by the Saints in the regular season. That frustration, and the emotions of the series for both teams, was clearly evident early in the fourth quarter when an enormous scrum broke out in the middle of the field while the Bucs were getting into punt formation. A shove of Leonard Fournette by Marshon Lattimore led to a retaliatory shove by Mike Evans that resulted in both Lattimore and Evans being ejected from the game.

"It was a lot of pushing and shoving and flags flying, and the next thing you know everyone was storming the field," said Buccaneers Head Coach Todd Bowles. "We lost a good player, they lost a good player. It was a physical ballgame."

That was a tough blow for an already stagnant Tampa Bay offense, which was playing without wide receivers Chris Godwin and Julio Jones. However, Dean's leaping interception in the end zone two plays later when former Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston tried to go for the kill shot two plays after that fight completely turned the tide. Two defensive penalties helped keep the ensuing drive alive and Brady finished it off with the third-down scoring pass to Perriman in the back corner of the end zone. Dean picked off another deep pass attempt two plays later, leading to Ryan Succop's second field goal of the day.

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• "I don't know if it was a turning point – we were into the ballgame, it was 3-3 at that point and it could have went either way," said Bowles. "We had to make some plays. Dean came up big twice, Mike came up big and we got a fumble at the end. So I guess that was the turning point but we were into the game and the time was getting down to the fourth quarter anyway so we were trying to make a play."

  The Buccaneers improved to 2-0 in 2022 and took over first place in the NFC South over the 1-1 Saints. The win was Tampa Bay's first in the Superdome in the regular season since a 48-40 shootout on the opening weekend of 2018, though the Buccaneers also won in the same venue during the 2020 postseason on their way to a Super Bowl LV championship.

  The Buccaneers won their opener in Dallas handily by a 16-point margin, but their one glitch on offense was a failure to finish on a string of promising scoring drives. Sunday's game in New Orleans started in a similar way, with their first possession ending on a botched snap at the Saints' 25 and the second on a failed fourth-and-one run at the eight. After that, the offense struggled to convert third downs and sustain drives until the fourth quarter. Overall, the Buccaneers finished with 260 net yards of offense to 308 for the Saints.

  Tampa Bay's defense didn't allow its first touchdown of the season until late in the first quarter when it was a three-score game and the Bucs were interested in running out the clock. Jameis Winston hit Michael Thomas on a seven-yard touchdown pass shortly after Carlton Davis was called for a 42-yard pass interference penalty. The Saints got another quick stop on defense to get the ball back but WR Chris Olave fumbled after making a deep catch and Davis recovered.

  "We shouldn't have given up that [touchdown]," said Bowles. "It was three and three-quarters worth of good work and we lapsed at the end. We have to learn how to finish out ballgames."

  That was Tampa Bay's fifth takeaway of the game, all in the fourth quarter, while the offense never turned it over again after that first-drive fumble. In the previous four Bucs-Saints regular-season games since the arrival of Tom Brady, the Bucs had lost the turnover battle by a combined 11-2 margin. Brady finished the game with 190 passing yards on 18 of 34 passing, with one touchdown and no interceptions. The Bucs were determined to run the ball, particularly on first downs to slow down the Saints' pass rush and ended up with 73 yards on 29 carries. Brady did indeed find time to throw within this approach, taking just one two-yard sack and three overall hits. His touchdown pass to Perriman was noteworthy in that the team was down three of its top receivers at that point.

  "That's why he kept him at the end of cut day," said Bowles. "He can do everything and he turns up big at the right time. He can block for us, he plays special teams and he knows all the receiver spots and he's got experience. He proved his worth today."