Saints recover from slow start to win at Bucs, clinch NFC South

For the first 11 games of the season, Drew Brees was unquestionably the best player in the NFL, the Most Valuable Player, despite approaching the age of 40, defying the odds.

When your best player incurs a substantive, dramatic drop in production, the results are typically not going to be good.

For the last two weeks, Brees has looked more like his age. Meanwhile, opponents have caught up with the Saints previously great offense, to some degree.

Still, Brees improved in the second half. So did the New Orleans Saints.

To win on the road, in your own division, is never easy. This was a good win, 28-14, for the repeat winners of the NFC South.

The @Saints are 2018 NFC South Champions! #GoSaints pic.twitter.com/lDmC1Jq7sX

— NFL (@NFL) December 9, 2018

We have heard the rumblings all season long.

Why do so many people talk so much about Taysom Hill?

Perhaps because he is a valuable commodity, the Swiss Army Knife in the arsenal of Sean Payton.

On Sunday at Raymond James Stadium, it was Hill who made his mark and truly turned a potential loss into a potential win.

First, Hill awakened a dormant Saints team by blocking a Bryan Anger punt when the Saints were trailing 14-3 in the third quarter. That set up a Saints touchdown.

Then, he drew a penalty on a double-team block by the Bucs on a kickoff, pinning the Bucs deep in their own territory.

Then, he entered the game at quarterback near the goal line and forced the Bucs to call timeout.

Hill’s impact on the game is multi-faceted. It was in this game. He changed everything.

Here are my Quick Takes from the Saints’ 28-14 win at Tampa Bay:

**It rained early but the rain stopped in time for the game to start and the conditions were just fine at Raymond James Stadium.

**Terron Armstead was inactive, as expected, but so was Dan Arnold, perhaps unexpectedly. Manti Te’o continues to be inactive and Brandon Marshall was once again inactive.

**Sean Payton held a state of the union address about the No. 1 seed in the NFC during the week, according to Sara Walsh of the Fox Network.

**The Saints won the toss and deferred for the second straight week. Once again, the strategy backfired against the top-ranked offense in the NFL in yards gained.

**The Buccaneers, who have shredded the Saints defense of late, did so again. They drove 75 yards in seven plays, taking just 2:41 to score with Jameis Winston connecting with Cameron Brate on an 11-yard touchdown pass to make it 7-0 with 12:19 to play in the opening quarter.

**On the touchdown, Vonn Bell interfered with Brate but it did not matter. The touchdown was set up by a 36-yard deep ball from Winston to Mike Evans over Marshon Lattimore. It looked a lot like the first meeting between the two stars and the two teams.

WOW, @MikeEvans13_!

📺: FOX #GoBucs pic.twitter.com/YoJDRGKDPV

— NFL (@NFL) December 9, 2018

**It was the fifth time Tampa Bay has scored on its first possession of the game this year.

**Alvin Kamara was back to receive the first Tampa Bay kickoff, the first time he has done so this year. He returned it to the 27-yard line.

**The Saints started a nice drive but Josh Hill dropped an easy pass to catch and then a holding call on Jermon Bushrod wiped out an 18-yard run by Mark Ingram and the Saints had to punt.
**New Orleans did nothing on its second possession and punted again.

**Peyton Barber tweaked his ankle early in the second quarter. He was able to return.

**Tampa Bay had another nice drive, reaching the New Orleans 20-yard line but Cameron Jordan and Marcus Davenport combined to sack Winston to halt the drive. Then, former Tulane star Cairo Santos missed a 46-yard field goal, hitting the right upright.

**The Saints finally got it going, driving 52 yards in nine plays but the drive stalled when Brees threw incomplete on third-and-three, throwing into double coverage for Michael Thomas and Wil Lutz kicked a 30-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 7-3 with 7:06 to play in the first half. The drive covered 52 yards in nine plays, taking 4:11 off the clock.

**Then Brees made a terrible decision and throw on a screen pass, throwing an interception to Adarius Taylor, who read it all the way. Mark Ingram had not even turned to look for the ball yet. It gave Tampa Bay the ball at the New Orleans 39-yard line with 2:22 to play in the half.

**Then, Demario Davis was flagged for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Barber, putting the ball at the New Orleans 24-yard line.

**The Bucs took six plays to go 39 yards with Winston hitting Brate on a one-yard touchdown pass to increase the lead to 14-3 with 26 seconds to play in the half.

**The Saints finished the half with three yards rushing and only 104 yards total. The three yards rushing were the fewest in the first half by a New Orleans team since a 31-7 win over Arizona on Sept. 23, 2013.

**After receiving the second half kickoff, it took just two plays for the Saints struggling offense to turn it over again. Both tackles got beat on a pass rush, Brees was strip-sacked by Carl Nassib and Jason Pierre-Paul recovered for the Bucs at the New Orleans 27-yard line.

**The Saints caught a huge break when Santos missed a 40-yard field goal wide right.

**Taysom Hill then came up with the big play the Saints needed, blocked a Bryan Anger punt and the Saints got the ball at the Tampa Bay 30-yard line.

Taysom Hill shows Tampa Bay why you should #NeverPunt!@TeamGleason | #NOvsTB pic.twitter.com/PJAz4nhbgf

— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) December 9, 2018

**Five plays later, Brees hit Zach Line on a one-yard touchdown pass to make it 14-9.

Brees finds Zach Line for the 1-yard touchdown! #NOvsTB pic.twitter.com/SCts1EzKSw

— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) December 9, 2018

**Sean Payton wisely opted to go for two but had to burn a timeout prior to the play with the play-clock winding down. Then, Alvin Kamara ran for the conversion and the Saints cut the deficit to 14-11 with 4:43 to play in the third quarter.

**Last November, Justin Hardee blocked an Anger punt which he returned for a touchdown so the Saints have something going in that department against the Bucs.

**After the second sack of the game by Jordan, his 12th of the season, the Saints got the ball back with great field position at their own 49-yard line.

**New Orleans drove 51 yards in 10 plays, finally getting their running game going. On fourth-and-goal just inside the one-yard line, Payton opted to go for it and after burning their second timeout, the Saints scored when Brees leaped over the top of the defense, stretching the ball across the goal line to give the Saints their first lead at 18-14 with 11:46 to play in the game.

Drew Brees stretches out for his signature QB sneak on 4th and goal for the #Saints touchdown!#NOvsTB pic.twitter.com/Yo4pcUVRoJ

— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) December 9, 2018

**Offensive lineman Michael Ola went down late in the fourth quarter.

**New Orleans then drove 53 yards in seven plays, taking 3:08 off the clock with Mark Ingram scoring on a 17-yard touchdown run to make it 25-14 with 7:26 to play in the game.

Mark Ingram barrels his way into the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown run!#NOvsTB pic.twitter.com/yB34gMf8RS

— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) December 9, 2018

**The touchdown by Ingram tied him for first in New Orleans Saints history with Deuce McAllister with 49 rushing touchdowns all-time.

**Sheldon Rankins then got his eighth sack of the season, forcing a punt.

**New Orleans then put the game away, driving 41 yards in 11 plays, taking 4:17 off the clock with Lutz finishing it with a 36-yard field goal to make it 28-14 with 1:12 to play in the game.

**Marshon Lattimore then picked off Winston, his second interception of the season, on a throw into the end zone with one second left.

**That gave the Saints their 19th takeaway in their last 10 games.

The Saints defense simply shut down the Bucs in the second half. Prior to the meaningless final drive by the Bucs, they had just 32 yards in the second half.
They were superb in the entire game as one Tampa Bay score was off the Brees turnover.

It was the third straight game that Jordan has recorded two or more sacks. Everyone talks about Aaron Donald and Khalil Mack. No one talks about Jordan. They should. He is a great player.

After rushing for three yards in the first half, the Saints rushed for 97 in the second half. It was so important to get the running game going again.

Brees finished 24-of-31 for 201 yards with a touchdown, an interception and lost fumble.

Michael Thomas finished with 11 catches for 98 yards. In two games this season against the Bucs, Thomas finished with 27 catches for 278 yards and a touchdown. He had 10 catches or more for the fifth time this season.

The Saints are NFC South champions for the second straight year and for the fifth time overall. Their offense awakened after six quarters of being non-existent.

Now, it is on to Carolina to take on a floundering Panthers team which lost again, this time at Cleveland Sunday and is now 6-7. Will Carolina mail it in? I doubt it. The Saints beat the Panthers three times last year. They would love to ruin things the Saints.

It will not be easy beating Carolina twice but the Saints will be favored to do so and it will not be easy beating Pittsburgh at home but the Saints will be favored to do so.

The Saints are back in business, though they could sure use Ted Ginn, Jr. back with a wide receiving corps that is regressing. Tre’Quan Smith was shutout and had a bad drop. Austin Carr was shutout. Keith Kirkwood and Tommylee Leewis are doing his best but is limited. That is the biggest concern.

New Orleans figures to get Armstead back as early as next week and that will provide a big boost. Now, the Saints must simply worry about taking care of business and hoping the Rams lose a game. It can happen.