The Saints took down the Bucs to move into a tie atop the NFC South in the NFL’s most competitive division, but also one that has no team with a winning record.
With the Bucs and Saints now tied at 8-8 the Falcons sit just one game back at 7-9. The Bucs travel to the Panthers in week 18 and can win the NFC South with a win, while the Saints and Falcons meet.
Saints keep division crown in play
“Until we run out of time, I’m going to keep believing and keep working,” Saints QB Derek Carr said. “We can’t feel satisfied because we got a win. We came in with the expectation to win. We had to win and we did. It feels good, but we’ve got to play another team that we haven’t beat this year. I’m looking forward to that matchup.”
Saints Head coach Dennis Allen was understandably delighted with his teams win. “I’ve never questioned the mindset of our team, I’ve never questioned the toughness of our team, I’ve never questioned the compete of our team,” Allen said.
“This game we play is hard. It’s not easy. There’s some times you’ve got to fight back after a tough loss. But I told the team last night we’ve got to handle hard well. And I thought the players did that.”
“Very disappointing, to be honest with you,” Bucs running back Rachaad White said. “This is sickening. We didn’t come out to play. They got on us out of the jump. We came out dry. No juice, no energy, and they hit us in the mouth.”
Bucs head coach Todd Bowles was very displeased with his teams performance, “It doesn’t matter who we played today. Good team, bad team, a college team, high school team, we wouldn’t have won,” he said.
 |  | |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Downs | 20 | 13 |
| Passing 1st downs | 13 | 10 |
| Rushing 1st downs | 6 | 1 |
| 1st downs from penalties | 1 | 2 |
| 3rd down efficiency | 8-18 | 2-8 |
| 4th down efficiency | 0-0 | 1-1 |
| Total Plays | 70 | 50 |
| Total Yards | 310 | 349 |
| Total Drives | 12 | 12 |
| Yards per Play | 4.4 | 7.0 |
| Passing | 202 | 292 |
| Comp-Att | 25-34 | 22-33 |
| Yards per pass | 5.8 | 8.3 |
| Interceptions thrown | 0 | 2 |
| Sacks-Yards Lost | 1-6 | 2-17 |
| Rushing | 108 | 57 |
| Rushing Attempts | 35 | 15 |
| Yards per rush | 3.1 | 3.8 |
| Red Zone (Made-Att) | 1-3 | 0-0 |
| Penalties | 5-31 | 5-38 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 4 |
| Fumbles lost | 0 | 2 |
| Interceptions thrown | 0 | 2 |
| Defensive / Special Teams TDs | 0 | 0 |
| Possession | 36:38 | 23:22 |
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