By Ross Jackson
Well this isn’t what anyone expected. The New Orleans Saints traveled to Florida to face off with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as 13.5-point underdogs. However, they hold the lead 16-6 at halftime.
Rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler has been having a great day again in the first half, much like last week. He has completed 21-of-28 passing attempts (75%) for 181 passing yards and a touchdown strike to wide receiver Dante Pettis.
That’s exactly what the team wanted to see in this game. Rattler’s strong start replicates the success he had to start the game last week against the Las Vegas Raiders. The task now will be continuing it for four quarters.
The Saints have been clearly willing to go after the Buccaneers’ injured secondary and it’s working so far. Unfortunately, two connections with wideout Marquez Valdes-Scantling in the endzone were just out of bounds, otherwise the offense would have three scores and an even lengthier lead.
On the defensive side, the Saints have shown some encouraging signs as well. They have done well to limit Bucs passer Baker Mayfield to just 67 passing yards and the scoring gap has kept Tampa from leaning in on their run game.
New Orleans put together four consecutive 10-plus play scoring drives. They had just four scoring drives over ten plays coming into this game since the Week 13 matchup with the Los Angeles Rams.
It’s a so-far-so-good situation for the Saints right now as the season finale in Tampa continues. The Buccaneers will receive the kickoff after the half and the Saints will look to string together more success and promising signs in the final 30 minutes.
