Saints win at Bucs highlighted how offenses lacking weapons struggle

The New Orleans Saints have had very few weapons to throw to this season. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers learned what that’s like mid-game Sunday night.

With Tom Brady losing his top receivers Chris Godwin, who tore an ACL, Mike Evans, who pulled a hamstring, and Leonard Fournette, who was sent spinning around like a top on a hit by P.J. Williams, you saw the NFL’s most potent offense turn into a pumpkin instantly.

Brady looked lost at times due to great pressure from the Saints pass rush but the lost receiving weapons made life much worse for the future Hall of Famer. He held the ball too long at times and just threw it up for grabs at times while under duress and not in sync with his backup receivers.

It showed that even the best quarterback needs weapons who are reliable, and the next man up does not work when you lose your quality receivers. It looked like what the Saints quarterbacks have been going through all season.

Brady tried to force the ball to his one reliable target, tight end Rob Gronkowski, seven times but it only led to a pair of completions against the locked-in Saints defense.

This game with the Saints continued struggles on offense and how pedestrian the banged-up Bucs looked should open eyes as to how badly New Orleans needs to address the wide receiver position in the off-season.

With Deonte Harris suspended, the team’s main target is Marquez Callaway who had over 100 yards receiving but was eventually locked down in the second half when the Saints offense had four three-and-outs in a row.

Saints-Bucs looked like old-school football from years back. I loved watching the physical hitting and a game where every point was so valuable.

Brady will be very sore this week in practice after his first shutout since 2006. If he top skill players do not return, he’ll learn what life has been like most weeks for Jameis Winston, Trevor Siemian and Taysom Hill this season.

New Orleans cannot fix their problems much the rest of the way but some injured players may return to help them keep their playoff streak alive. After that, they need to fix a serious problem.