The Tampa Bay Buccaneers produced their lowest offensive output of the 2025 season on Sunday afternoon in New Orleans, finishing with just 212 net yards and 14 first downs. The Buccaneers also finished that game with their largest margin of victory of the season, as the Bucs left the bayou with a 23-3 win and a 6-2 record heading into their bye week.
The victory was obviously driven by a swarming defense that created a season-high four turnovers, and it didn't hurt that Chase McLaughlin bailed out a low-wattage offense with field goals of 55, 54 and 52 yards. The Bucs' ever-mounting injuries on offense are probably contributing to a two-game lull after the Bucs finished Week Six as the sixth-highest scoring team in the league, but the defense made sure that what Baker Mayfield and company produced on Sunday was enough for the win.
Anthony Nelson's pick-six in the second quarter highlighted a four-turnover game for that defense, which only allowed points after a Saints fumble recovery in Bucs territory late in the first half.
"It would be nice if we matched their energy and their play, but watching that, that's unbelievable," said Mayfield. "That's lights-out defense. The only reason they got points was because of the turnover right before the half, and they're damn-near in field goal range. They played a shutout ballgame in my eyes. Everybody flying around and making plays, and Nelly obviously had a hell of a game.
"Wins are great. They're very hard to come by in this league. I know that gets said all the time but this is a tough ballclub. We know that, we expect that when we play the Saints, especially here. But we've got to be better on offense, we've got to be able to score more points, especially down there in the low red [zone]. But, yeah, we'll take all the wins we can get."
The bottom line is in the standings, where the Bucs hit their bye week tied for the most wins in the NFC, and with a two-game lead in their own division. That's exactly what Mayfield started with when he was asked for his top takeaway after taking stock of the team's first eight weeks.
"6-2," said Mayfield. "We've just to be able to play one game at a time. We've had obviously a lot of people that have played and contributed to this team, and we're going to need everybody down the home stretch. Taking away the fact that we're leading the division right now, but it's not close to being over. The real football starts for us right after the bye week, but it couldn't have come at a better time to rest up."
