TAMPA, Fla. — Take away the Bucs’ two best receivers and leading rusher from Tom Brady and what do you have?
Nothing.
Zero points and about as much chance of beating the Saints.
The Bucs (10-4) owned the NFL’s top scoring offense entering Sunday night, averaging 31.5 points per game. But they were bottled up by a Saints defense and lost 9-0 to the reigning NFC South champions.
The Bucs defense played well, only allowing three field goals by Saints kicker Brett Maher.
It was the Bucs’ seventh straight loss in the regular season to the Saints and the fourth in a row with Brady under center. They did win 30-20 at New Orleans in the NFC division playoff game last season.
It was the Bucs’ first shutout loss since the Saints won 41-0 at New Orleans in 2012 and their first at home since the Giants beat them 24-0 in 2009 when they finished 3-13.
Brady, who was shut out for only the third time in his career, found himself quickly without his best players.
The Bucs lost Chris Godwin early in the second quarter when he was hit on the right leg making a catch by Saints cornerback P.J. Williams.
Mike Evans followed a few minutes later with a hamstring injury. With Breshad Perriman on the reserve/COVID-19 list, that left Tampa Bay with three healthy receivers: Scotty Miller, Tyler Johnson and rookie Jaelon Darden.
To say the injured players took a big chunk of the offense with them to the training room is an understatement. Evans and Godwin had combined for 155 catches for 1,939 yards and 16 TDs.
Then running back Leonard Fournette left the game early in the second half with a hamstring injury.
The Bucs had a chance to win the NFC South for the first time in 14 years, join the Packers in the playoffs and maintain the No. 2 seed in the NFC. The Packers beat the Ravens 31-30.
Despite missing their top targets, the Bucs drove the ball to the Saints 24-yard line in the fourth quarter, thanks to long runs of 12 and 30 yards by Ronald Jones.
But Brady was a sacked by Cam Jordan — his second of the game — forcing a fumble that was recovered by Marcus Lattimore at the New Orleans 13. Brady finished 26-of-48 for 213 yards and one interception.
