6 winners (and 3 losers) from Buccaneers blowout win over Saints

It always feels good to beat the New Orleans Saints, but Sunday's blowout felt even better.

Tampa Bay throttled the Saints, scoring 51 points while establishing itself as the superior team. Things were far from perfect, as the Bucs blew a 17-point lead in the second quarter and played perhaps the worst seven minutes we've seen in a long time.

Still, the team's ability to overcome this when we've seen them fold in similar situations was phenomenal. The fact that it happened against the Saints makes it even sweeter.

Winners and losers from Buccaneers 51-27 win over Saints

Winner: Sean Tucker, RB

It was a breakout game for Sean Tucker, full stop.

He captured plenty of attention last offseason when he came to Bucs camp as an undrafted free agent and ended up making the final roster as the team's RB3. We got to see that promise delivered upon on Sunday, as Tucker finished the game with two touchdowns and almost 200 total yards.

Tucker saw an elevated role due to Rachaad White being out and made the absolute most of it. He had a catch-and-run touchdown in the second quarter that helped shake the Bucs loose from a hellish free fall, and capped the blowout off with a touchdown run.

His big game didn't create a controversy in the running back room, rather it sent a warning shot to the rest of the league that Tampa Bay's explosive offense has a stable of horses ready to run.

Winner: Bucky Irving, RB

Not to be outdone by Tucker, the absence of White allowed Bucky Irving to step into the starting role for the first time in his pro career. He didn't disappoint, finishing the afternoon with over 100 total yards and a touchdown.

Irving's biggest play came in the second half and kickstarted what would end up being a total blowout the rest of the way. It's also perhaps the most electric run we've seen out of a Buccaneers running back since Leonard Fournette's touchdown in the NFC Championship Game.

That belongs in a museum.

For now, it will have to serve as yet another reminder of how much of a steal the Bucs got by getting Irving on the third day of the draft. He's already logged over 300 yards on the ground and is averaging a whopping 5.8 yards per carry.

His performance on Sunday was just a taste of things to come.

Loser: Jake Camarda, P

It's been a stunningly frustrating season for Jake Camarda. He was punting so poorly the first three weeks of the season that he was benched ahead of Week 4's game against the Eagles and not activated again until this Sunday.

He didn't do himself any favors in his return to action. Camarda's first punt of the day came inside of the Bucs endzone and failed to have the booming quality we've seen him possess in recent years. To make matters worse, it came amidst the Bucs' midgame collapse as Rashid Shaheed returned it for a touchdown.

That's not all on Camarda, but the kick only traveling 47 yards when the Bucs needed his power to flip the field is a problem. His average is the lowest it's ever been with his yards per punt hovering around 45.6.

What makes things so frustrating is how good we know Camarda can be, and how important his leg has been to the Bucs in the past. He hasn't been that guy so far this year, and something needs to change.

Winner: Liam Coen, Offensive Coordinator

Baker Mayfield is on pace to throw for over 4,200 yards and 42 touchdowns this season, while the Buccaneers best running back is averaging nearly six yards per carry. For the second straight week, Tampa Bay scored an opening drive touchdown after having not done so in over two years.

All of that is a testament to the job Liam Coen has done completely reviving the Buccaneers' offense.

Last year Dave Canales greased the wheels, and he deserves credit for getting Baker back on track, but Coen has turned the dial to 11 and is threatening to snap it off entirely.

The Buccaneers scored more than 50 points on Sunday, something the team has only done twice in franchise history. Tampa Bay also owns the highest-scoring offense in the NFL, tied with the Washington Commanders, while Baker Mayfield leads the NFL in passing touchdowns. Chris Godwin is on pace for over 1,400 yards and 14 touchdowns while Mike Evans, who only caught two passes on Sunday, leads the NFL in receiving scores.

Coen has the Bucs offense absolutely sizzling, and it feels like this is only scratching the surface of what the unit is capable of.

Loser: Jalen McMillan, WR

This is less about McMillan's role as a receiver and more about how bizarre his special teams play was.

For some reason, McMillan couldn't stop calling for fair catches inside of the Buccaneers own 10 yard line all afternoon. None of the punts he fielded that deep seemed like they were going to get stopped by the Saints, and even if they had it wouldn't have been any different than McMillan choosing to pin his own team deep.

Part of what set the Bucs back was how long of a field they had in front of them. Eventually the offense simply overcame this obstacle, but it was mind boggling that McMillan was routinely putting them in that spot. It will be a short-lived era, as Trey Palmer was out and will resume kick return duties when he's back, which can't come soon enough after the endless rookie mistakes McMillan seemed to make.

Loser: Sterling Shepard, WR

It took a week for Sterling Shepard to undo the feel-good aspect of his story with the Bucs. Shepard was elevated from the practice squad for the game against the Eagles, and was signed to the active roster before last Thursday night's game.

On Sunday he commited two boneheaded penalties that helped get the Saints right back into the game and directly contributed to the 20-point swing.

Shepard was flagged for a personal foul penalty that backed the Bucs up and forced Jake Camarda to punt out of his own endzone. That kick was returned for a touchdown, something that might not have happened if Camarda had more field to work with.

He was also flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct the following drive, which wiped out a nice run by Bucky Irving. Tampa Bay was forced to throw on the next play, which resulted in a forced throw from Baker Mayfield that was intercepted. New Orleans scored on the following drive.

Shepard ended up getting tagged for three penalties on the afternoon, which ended up doing a lot more damage than what his 54 total yards did to help.

Winner: Chris Godwin, WR

So much gets made about Mike Evans, and rightfully so, that it's easy to forget about Chris Godwin.

He's done nothing but remind everyone just how good he can be over the first six weeks of the season. After getting misused all season by Dave Canales, Godwin is on pace for a career year in every single category. Through the first six games he's already logged 511 yards and five touchdowns, which has him on track for over 1,400 yards and 14 scores.

That's a good way to get paid in a contract year. Godwin is set to be a free agent at the end of the season, but that's assuming the Bucs let him get away. He's firmly established himself as a key piece of the offense, something we knew he could be but hadn't seen in a while.

All of that has changed under Liam Coen, as Godwin looks like his vintage self and is a massive reason why the Bucs offense is off to such a hot start.

Winner: Antoine Winfield Jr., Safety

On the first drive of his first game back, Antoine Winfield Jr. reminded everyone why he's the highest-paid defensive back in football. As Tykee Smith and Zyon McCollum converged on Chris Olave and forced a fumble, Winfield scooped it up and scored.

It goes down as the first defensive touchdown of his career, which is insane to think he's still collecting career firsts.

Rather than have that score be a difference between a win or loss, which is usually how we describe Winfield's highlight reel plays, it simply served as fuel in Tampa Bay's tank. It was great to see him back, and it's clear the defense is infinitely better when he's on the field.

Winner: Todd Bowles

It was a tale of two halves for Todd Bowles, but the way the Buccaneers finished the game should carry far more weight than the trouble the team was in before that.

Bowles shouldn't be let off the hook for the horrible mental mistakes the team made in the first half. Tampa Bay committed five penalties during its seven minute meltdown, with most being the sort of things that should have been coached out by now.

Tampa Bay looked undisciplined and deeply unserious, but the way the team adjusted is a testament to whatever Bowles did at halftime. For all his faults, he was able to corral the team and inspire a second-half performance for the ages.

Not only did the Bucs end up with 51 points, but the Saints didn't score another point the rest of the game after lighting Tampa Bay up for 27 in the second quarters. Bowles' defense locked down, the mental mistakes cleared up, and the team found a way to reverse course in a way we haven't seem them do before.

Bowles is often criticised, and rightfully so, but he also deserves his flowers when things like that second half on Sunday happen.

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