Buccaneers defense dominates Saints in 23-3 victory

John Romano, Tampa Bay Times on Oct 26, 2025

Published in Football

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On the offensive side of the ball, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have developed a noticeable limp.

Thankfully, on the other side, the defense has begun to strut.

While the offense is looking beat up and out of sync, the Bucs defense showed up huge in a 23-3 win over the New Orleans Saints in the Superdome on Sunday.

It was the first time since Oct. 24, 2021, against the Chicago Bears that the Bucs have forced four turnovers, gotten four sacks and kept the opponent out of the end zone in the same game. Backup edge rusher Anthony Nelson and safety Antoine Winfield Jr. both had interceptions as the Bucs held the Saints to 275 yards of total offense.

In 17 games last season, the Bucs produced a franchise-low seven interceptions. Through eight games in 2025, they’ve already matched that total.

All of that defensive prowess was necessary because Tampa Bay’s offense was held to a season-low 212 yards.

Play of the day

It wasn’t spectacular, nor game-changing. But it was necessary from a pride standpoint. After seven failed attempts to score from the New Orleans’ 1 across two drives, the Bucs finally punched it in with a Sean Tucker run up the middle.

Game ball

Can we arrange to have Haason Reddick give the game ball to Anthony Nelson? With Reddick sidelined by ankle and knee injuries, Nelson stepped up at edge rusher and had the game of his life. Actually, the half of his life. It started with a forced fumble on the first New Orleans drive, followed with a sack on the next drive and finally a one-handed interception that he returned three yards for a touchdown on the next drive. It was the first TD and the first interception of Nelson’s career and it arrived in his 100th NFL game.

Keep an eye on

We’ve been preoccupied with the injuries at receiver and running back, but the offensive line is becoming a problem. With Cody Mauch out for the season and Luke Goedeke out indefinitely, the Bucs have issues on the right side of the line. It’s not easy to integrate an offensive guard into the lineup at midseason, but that may be the most beneficial move the Bucs can make at the upcoming trade deadline.

NFC South update

Ah, now that’s the NFC South we know and ridicule. The Atlanta Falcons, who somehow beat the Buffalo Bills two weeks ago, got blown out at home 34-10 by a reeling Miami Dolphins team. Yes, the Falcons were without quarterback Michael Penix Jr., but backup Kirk Cousins has a $40 million cap hit. In other words, that’s no reason to get crushed by Miami. And the Carolina Panthers, on a three-game winning streak, came back to earth in a 40-9 loss to the Bills.

Up next

Bless you, NFL. This is the perfect time for a bye week in Tampa Bay. Chris Godwin and Bucky Irvin get an extra week to rehab and Mayfield gets a chance to let his body recover. And while the hardest part of the schedule is past them, the Bucs do not have a cake walk in the next three weeks. They come back against the New England Patriots (6-2) on Nov. 9, followed by road games against the Bills (5-2) and Los Angeles Rams (5-2).

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