There's no way to sugarcoat the seven minutes of hellfire the Tampa Bay Buccaneers went through during the second quarter of Sunday's game in New Orleans.
After getting spotted a 17-point lead in almost no time at all, Tampa Bay needed just seven minutes to not only erase it but give up the lead. It was one of the most embarrassing collapses Bucs fans have had to live through, and it reinforced all of the anxiety everyone was feeling heading into the matchup.
When it was announced that Spencer Rattler would be starting in place of the injured Derek Carr, fans were quick to point out how bad the Bucs have been against rookie quarterbacks. There's some truth to that, although the bigger picture suggests Tampa Bay is around league-average. That's not what anyone was looking at, though, as the pain of just how bad the slipups have been colored everyone's perception.
The Bucs did absolutely nothing to combat that on Sunday.
Buccaneers had one of the worst meltdowns ever against the Saints in Week 6
Rattler looked electric in helping the Saints come back from a 17-0 hole that New Orleans had dug. He led the team down on a drive that ended in a field goal but kick started the worst seven minutes of Buccaneers football we've watched in a while.
On the next drive, the Bucs committed back-to-back pre-snap penalties that were followed by errant throws by Baker Mayfield. A Sterling Shepard personal foul penalty backed the Bucs up even closer to their own goal line before Jake Camarda pooched a punt that was easily returned for a touchdown.
HOLY SHID! 🔥
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) October 13, 2024
Rashid takes the punt return 54 yards for the SAINTS TOUCHDOWN 🙌#TBvsNO | 📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/4Fu7UYFDe9
But wait, there's more.
Tampa Bay's next drive ended with a Baker Mayfield interception that set up a field goal that brought the Saints within four points. Three plays into the next drive, Mayfield threw another interception that set New Orleans up to throw a touchdown on the very next play and take the lead.
Rookie to Rookie: Spencer Rattler connects with Bub Means for the 10-yard TD - #SAINTS TAKE THE LEAD!#TBvsNO | 📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/kQl2PGuSXL
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) October 13, 2024
Over the course of seven minutes the Bucs committed five penalties and gave up 20 unanswered points before anything good happened. Two of those penalties were against Sterling Shepard, and another was against Calijah Kancey that extended a scoring drive after the Bucs had stopped New Orleans on third-and-short.
It was an impressive collapse even by the Bucs' standards, which is saying a lot.
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