Brady leads record-setting comeback as Buccaneers take down Saints

TAMPA, Fla. -- Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers stormed backmost to instrumentality the pb with 3 seconds remaining and decision the New Orleans Saints 17-16 connected "Monday Night Football."

The Bucs overcame the 16-3 shortage to people 2 touchdowns successful the last 3:03 and swept the play bid against their NFC South rival.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

In a implicit relation reversal from past week -- erstwhile the Cleveland Browns trailed astir each crippled and came backmost to decision the Buccaneers successful overtime -- the Bucs (6-6) overcame a disastrous shortage to people 2 precocious touchdowns to decision the Saints.

Quarterback Tom Brady connected with rookie choky extremity Cade Otton for a 1-yard touchdown to chopped the Saints' pb to 16-10, and past connected the adjacent possession completed 2 passes to Julio Jones, Chris Godwin and Scotty Miller to spell with a 10-yard tally from Leonard Fournette.

A holding telephone connected near tackle Donovan Smith wiped retired a Godwin touchdown successful the backmost of the extremity zone, but Brady connected with moving backmost Rachaad White for the 6-yard crippled winner. It was Brady's 44th vocation fourth-quarter comeback, breaking Peyton Manning's record.

QB breakdown: Without All-Pro close tackle Tristan Wirfs, Brady struggled with not lone the heavy shot but besides the surface game. He besides failed to relationship for linebacker Demario Davis dropping into coverage, and helium was picked disconnected connected a walk intended for Russell Gage that acceptable up a 38-yard tract extremity conscionable earlier halftime. While it was conscionable Brady's 3rd interception each season, it was his 2nd clip failing to relationship for a linebacker successful coverage. Of course, nary of that mattered erstwhile Brady yet led the 2 scoring drives to clinch the victory.

Troubling trend: The reddish portion continues to beryllium an contented -- if they tin adjacent get down there. And the franchise's starring receiver, Mike Evans, who was targeted 9 times and mustered conscionable 2 catches past week, didn't adjacent spot his fig called until 1:26 to spell successful the archetypal fractional contempt cornerback Marshon Lattimore being inactive. Brady and Evans did hook up astatine the opening of the 2nd fractional for a 22-yard play, but it was futile aft White fumbled the ball.

Key number: The Bucs' extremity each week connected defence is to clasp their hostile to 17 points oregon fewer. That people was connected the wealth Monday, but the offense's inability to enactment points connected the committee astatine times has made for unrealistic expectations. However, Brady was capable to prevention the crippled this clip for a defence that was without respective cardinal players successful its secondary: Antoine Winfield Jr., Sean Murphy-Bunting and Mike Edwards.

Eye-popping NFL Next Gen Stats stat: Brady has had a turnover successful each six regular-season games against the Saints since joining Tampa Bay successful 2020 and present has 12 full against them. He has nary much than 3 against immoderate different team.

Next game: astatine San Francisco 49ers (4:25 p.m. ET, Sunday)

New Orleans Saints

The Saints saw their play gaffe distant successful the span of 3 minutes.

The Saints (4-9) were successful power for astir of the nighttime successful a pivotal matchup against the Buccaneers that could person enactment them successful contention for the NFC South division. But a costly 44-yard walk interference punishment connected cornerback Paulson Adebo enactment the Bucs astatine the Saints 1-yard line.

The Bucs scored and the Saints discourtesy failed to respond, fundamentally paving the mode for the precocious comeback. Quarterback Andy Dalton was sacked for a nonaccomplishment of 10 yards connected second-and-7 with 2:54 left, and past a walk to Taysom Hill for a would-be archetypal down was dropped connected third-and-17.

The Bucs past drove methodically down the tract to score, dashing the Saints' hopes for a winning grounds successful manager Dennis Allen's archetypal play successful the relation -- and besides immoderate imagination of gaining crushed successful the part successful the last month. The Saints person taken a fig of pugnacious losses this play and person often lamented losing games by virtuousness of their ain mistakes, whether those beryllium cardinal penalties oregon turnovers.

That'll surely beryllium the lawsuit with this one, arsenic it apt dealt the last stroke successful their effort to salvage the season.

"That 1 was pugnacious due to the fact that we truly had an accidental to triumph this game, and we didn't finish, we didn't get it done," Allen said. "It stings. It sucks."

QB breakdown: While Dalton played good for astir of the game, his drawstring of prime-time roadworthy losses volition proceed aft the Saints failed to respond offensively toward the extremity of the game. Dalton completed 20 of 28 passes for 225 yards and a touchdown, but helium took a sack connected the team's last violative thrust and wasn't helped by his pass-catchers, with Hill dropping a heavy propulsion that would person been a archetypal down. Dalton didn't marque immoderate large mistakes, but the Saints kicked excessively galore tract goals alternatively of getting into the extremity portion and couldn't travel up large erstwhile it counted.

Rashid Shaheed's breakout performance: The undrafted rookie wide receiver from Weber State has progressively been getting much chances successful the discourtesy acknowledgment to his blazing velocity and instrumentality potential. Shaheed did much than conscionable flash Monday, helium proved connected a nationalist signifier that helium should beryllium a play portion of the offense. Not lone did Shaheed instrumentality a punt for 41 yards, but helium was electrifying astir each clip helium caught the ball, finishing with a career-high 4 receptions for 71 yards. He has been 1 of the agleam spots for the struggling Saints.

Promising trend: The Saints person been 1 of the worst teams successful the league successful turnover differential each season, heading into Monday with lone 2 interceptions from the defense. It took Brady to alteration that. Brady had lone 2 interceptions each play coming into this game, but helium has been a premier people for picks against this defence since helium joined Tampa Bay successful 2020. New Orleans picked him disconnected once, expanding his full to 9 interceptions against the Saints arsenic a Buccaneer, and besides forced a fumble. While it could beryllium a motion their luck is changing successful that department, it besides feels similar excessively little, excessively precocious to prevention their season.

Eye-popping NFL Next Gen Stats stat: Hill's 30-yard receiving touchdown was the archetypal TD helium has scored successful 10 vocation games against the Buccaneers. He has not faced immoderate different squad much than 3 times without a touchdown.

Next game: vs. Atlanta Falcons (1 p.m. ET, Dec. 18)