Ira Kaufman’s 10 Takeaways From Bucs-Saints
December 7th, 2025
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BY IRA KAUFMAN
Trudging off the field into the locker room, Mike Evans rubbed his eyes in apparent disbelief regarding what had just transpired.
Buc Nation nodded in agreement.
A team with little to play for besides pride had just beaten Tampa Bay, a club with everything to play for. Prohibitive favorites against New Orleans entering Sunday’s divisional matchup, the Bucs suffered a jarring 24-20 setback.
While the surging Panthers enjoyed a bye week, the Bucs appeared idle for most of a rainy afternoon. What made it even more discouraging was that the 3-10 Saints didn’t play particularly well in pulling off an upset that left Tampa Bay and Carolina tied atop the NFC South at 7-6.
The Bucs and Panthers will meet twice in the final four weeks and there’s no credible reason to think Tampa Bay is capable of registering a sweep.
First up is a prime-time home game against the reeling Falcons Thursday, the same day Amazon drops a captivating 10-part documentary on 50 years of Buccaneer football.
Despite outplaying the Saints on the stat sheet, the Bucs came up short, literally and figuratively. Their last shot came with 87 seconds remaining when Cade Otton was tackled a foot shy on fourth-and-4 from the Tampa Bay 26.
Fourth down bedeviled the home team all day as the Bucs converted only 2-of-7. They were even worse (3-of-13) on third down as Baker Mayfield threw for only 122 yards.
Rookie Tyler Shough didn’t do much through the air for the Saints, but he scored on scrambles of 34 and 13 yards to hand Tampa Bay its fifth loss in seven games.
New Orleans overcame 10 penalties and a missed field goal in handing the Bucs their first divisional loss. That could come into play in the upcoming death struggle between Tampa Bay and Carolina for a postseason berth.
Drops played a pivotal role as a wide-open Emeka Egbuka couldn’t hold onto a potential game-tying TD pass with less than six minutes remaining. The Bucs settled for Chase McLaughlin’s second FG before Tampa Bay’s defense came up with a stop at midfield.
Two incompletions and a short Mayfield run set up the deciding pass to Otton, who inexplicably failed to clear the sticks before grabbing Mayfield’s flip over the middle.
The Saints, who entered the matchup averaging 15.2 points per game, exulted while the dejection along the Buc sidelines was matched by the sparse crowd of Tampa Bay supporters who braved a steady downpour.
What does it all mean? No matter what happens in the next week, if the Bucs are swept by Carolina, the Panthers will end Tampa Bay’s 4-year run atop the division. That’s a grim fact of life, a scenario that is quite possible considering how poorly the Bucs have played for more than a month.
Even with a makeshift offensive line, there are no excuses for Tampa Bay’s erratic play on both sides of the ball.
The Bucs got what they deserved Sunday — an upset loss that reverberated all the way to Charlotte. Here’s how the Saints embarrassed the Bucs, perhaps costing themselves the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 draft:
* Things went awry from the start for the home team as Mason Tipton, a second-year WR from Yale of all places, opened the game with a 54-yard kickoff return that set up rookie Devin Neal’s 3-yard scoring run. The game was only 2:36 old and Tampa Bay was already playing from behind. Kickoff coverage has been an issue for the Bucs much of the season and Todd Bowles is still scrambling to find the right personnel. For the season, Tipton is averaging 32.6 yards on 11 kickoff returns, including a 75-yarder.
* If not for a 32-yard burst in the fourth quarter, Bucky Irving would have averaged 1.6 yards on 14 carries. He did score midway through the opening quarter on a 24-yard reception that was nicely designed and executed. Rachaad White and Sean Tucker were considerably more effective on the ground and Mayfield added 42 yards on six scrambles as the Bucs ran for 179 yards.
Lots of targets.
* For the most part, Josh Grizzard’s passing offense was dink-and-dunk. Chris Godwin, Otton, Egbuka and Sterling Shepard combined for only 94 yards on their 11 catches. Grizzard’s reluctance to throw downfield remains a puzzling strategy for an offense averaging only 16 points in the past three games.
* Benjamin Chukwuma saw his first NFL action staring in place of left tackle Tristan Wirfs, and Dan Feeney opened at right guard for injured Cody Mauch. When Ben Bredeson went down with a knee injury late in the second quarter, Michael Jordan came on at left guard. Despite all the upheaval, Mayfield wasn’t sacked in 30 throws and hit only twice.
* Tampa Bay’s fourth-and-1 woes began late in the first quarter when Irving was dropped for a 7-yard loss on a pitchout that had no chance. The Saints stuffed Tucker on fourth-and-1 from midfield late in the second quarter before Tampa Bay’s defense turned the fourth-and-1 tables by denying Neal later in the half.
* One of Tampa Bay’s three sacks came courtesy of Chris Braswell, credited with his first takedown of the season. Chris Izien led all players with eight stops.
* Shoddy tackling contributed to Shough’s 13-yard scoring run that snapped a 17-17 tie with 8:26 remaining. Vita Vea and Logan Hall each had an opportunity to drop Shough for a sizeable loss but came up empty.
* Despite completing his first eight throws, Mayfield finished only 14-for-30 for a 55.1 QB rating. He was intercepted by Alontae Taylor on the opening drive of the second half, leading to Shough’s 34-yard scamper that put New Orleans ahead 14-10. In the past four games, Mayfield has thrown four TD passes and four picks while completing only 54 percent of his throws.
* The Bucs and Panthers are now tied at 2-1 in division play, each falling to the Saints. So much for a tiebreaker advantage if Tampa Bay and Carolina split and end up with the same overall record.
* There’s no getting around it — the Bucs haven’t looked the same since entering the bye week at 6-2. They haven’t played crisp, disciplined football since burying the Saints 23-3 on the road. Perhaps the potential return of Evans will spark a listless attack Thursday evening against the 4-9 Falcons, who are trying to save Raheem Morris’ job.
A family-owned Tampa icon since 1960, one mile north of the stadium on Dale Mabry Highway.
December 7th, 2025 at 6:34 pm
Don’t be surprised when the Falcons light us up Thursday.
Prime time ya know…..
Todd must go.
December 7th, 2025 at 6:37 pm
Coach it better
Play it better
Merry Christmas!
December 7th, 2025 at 6:39 pm
A sweep? It would be a miracle if we don’t get blown out twice!
This is FAR from a playoff team. It’s time for Bowles to take Grizz and Goooooo!
December 7th, 2025 at 6:40 pm
Surprised?
Everyone is ‘expecting’ it!
December 7th, 2025 at 6:41 pm
cousins vs bowles who’s confident it wont happen again?
December 7th, 2025 at 6:41 pm
Bucs luckily – barely beat Cards…..Rams blowing them out of the water. The Bucs do NOT belong this year.
December 7th, 2025 at 6:44 pm
I think what make this so much worse is how they played at the beginning of the year even with injuries. They really looked like a good team and now look like a team that should have a top 5 draft pick. Painful!
December 7th, 2025 at 6:44 pm
It would’ve been a great catch by Egbuka for the 4th qtr tying TD, but he was wide open and Mayfield’s throw was terrible.
Then when Mayfield threw to Otton at the pylon, he overthrew him and didn’t give him a chance to make a play.
Only 20 points against a team giving up 25/game and the QB hesitant and inaccurate- Tom Moore needs to get on Mayfield’s butt.
December 7th, 2025 at 6:45 pm
Who at this point thinks Atlanta is not going to roll in here and win by 10+ points?
Rah will get his revenge. And in doing so, he will actually be helping clarify that it is time to end the Arians Era.
A sad end. A team of quitters.
December 7th, 2025 at 6:47 pm
Ira hope you finally figured out why it is out of line to assume we are playoff bound, Baker knew and Baker was clear that it is one game at a time. You and the Joes got your hats handed to you. Never assume this team is playoff material until we are in. Bucs
December 7th, 2025 at 6:50 pm
Ira is a complete idiot along with the Joes.
They have covered for Bowles and Bud Licht for years now.
Nothing they say has any relevance at this point.
Their only concern is keeping the free buffet line going.
Go into politics boys, you’re great at masking reality for the preferred narrative.
December 7th, 2025 at 6:51 pm
It would be no surprise if the Bucs lose to the Falcons. Everyone knows the Bucs are prone to fixing other teams problems. It’s a shame. And although I have been a big Baker fan, I’m starting to come back the other way. idk. His throws are high and behind the receivers. Reminds me of vintage Jameis. And our receivers are not helping. Drops….drop….drop. Egbuka has come down from that pedestal we put him on. Godwin looks better, but is still making uncharacteristic mistakes. I can’t even talk about the defense.
December 7th, 2025 at 6:52 pm
We won early in the season due to multiple come back wins by the offense….you can’t expect that every week all season. Bowles defense is one dimensional….we blitz and when a rookie QB on the road can figure it out, it’s not that effective. Good DCs make life miserable for rookie and backup QBs, against Bowles they have career days. This isn’t a recent development, we’ve witnessed this dating back to the sorry Bears when Brady was QB. The common denominator is Bowles and the only time his defense works is when the offense consistently scores 28 pts per game. If we get in a dog fight where the defense must generate plays in key moments, we’re doomed.
December 7th, 2025 at 6:53 pm
Dink and dunk on a day like today with the weapons we have made perfect sense and should have gone on all game long.
December 7th, 2025 at 6:57 pm
Don’t be surprised when we get boat raced by the dirty birds…this team is DOA for multiple weeks in a row, take a look at the Ram/Cardinals game this evening
December 7th, 2025 at 6:59 pm
How is Evans gonna make a difference? He doesn’t rush the passer and Baker will overthrow him anyway
December 7th, 2025 at 7:01 pm
Faker needs to be DFA’d.
He sucks a$$ in big games.’
Just got boat races by a rookie.
Licht is hung like an infant.
Bowels has the IQ of a paper napkin.
December 7th, 2025 at 7:03 pm
Ira, I love ya, but stop being a shill for Bowels.
December 7th, 2025 at 7:05 pm
What Bobby M. said
December 7th, 2025 at 7:05 pm
raheem the dream could just be what the dr ordered for the flailing bucs
December 7th, 2025 at 7:06 pm
I left the stadium today thinking we should have kept Coem as HC and let Bowles and his antiquated scheme go
December 7th, 2025 at 7:08 pm
Dont worry Raheem, Toilet Bowles will save your job. Morris will look like the second coming of Belichek Thursday night. Licht stopped listening to ac/dc and now listens to yacht rock. What a pathetic bunch at One Buc place.
December 7th, 2025 at 7:10 pm
Yep, Atlanta is going to crush the bucs souls Thursday, Kirk Cousins will throw for 500 yards and 5 TDs
December 7th, 2025 at 7:12 pm
You either get better, or you get worse. Under Bowles the Bucs have gotten worse. No way around it. Coaching it better, playing it better has fallen on deaf ears. Fans, and apparently players aren’t buying it. What will the Glazers do?