The New Orleans Saints played their most complete game this season in a dominating 38-3 win over the division rival Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla., on NBC's "Sunday Night Football."
The win puts New Orleans (6-2) a half-game ahead of Tampa Bay (6-3) in the NFC South race, completing the sweep of their divisional opponent in the 2020 campaign. It's the first time Tampa quarterback Tom Brady has ever been swept in a division series.
"I thought we did a lot of things well," Saints Coach Sean Payton said during his postgame press conference. "It was a good team win."
Saints quarterback Drew Brees improved his career record against fellow future Hall of Famer Brady to 5-2, while passing him in a seesaw battle for most career touchdown passes in NFL history (Brees has 564 to Brady's 561).
Behind excellent offensive line play Sunday night, Brees completed 26-of-32 passes for 222 yards and four scores to four receivers. Star wideout Michael Thomas returned to action for the first time since Week 1, hauling in five receptions for 51 yards. Rookie tight end Adam Trautman became the 72nd player on the receiving end of a Brees touchdown pass.
"It's about creating tempo, creating rhythm, playing complimentary football, spreading the ball around, and I think today was just a great example of all that," Brees said during his postgame press conference.
Swiss army knife Taysom Hill had a game he won't soon forget. Hill completed two passes for 48 yards, carried the ball seven times for 54 yards, while snagging one catch for 21 yards helping set up a score.
Running back Alvin Kamara carried the ball nine times for 40 yards and one touchdown.
"It's been a long time coming, just trying to play a complete game on offense, and I think that's the most complete game we've played." Kamara said during his postgame press conference. "You see what it looks like, it's poetry in motion when we get going like that."
Defensively, the Saints intercepted Brady three times. New Orleans has accounted for five of Brady's seven interceptions. Trey Hendrickson, the Saints leader in sacks, got to Brady twice. Tampa Bay's leading rusher, running back Ronald Jones, rushed for nine yards on three carries, as the Saints extend their streak to 51 games, including postseason, without giving up 100 yards rushing to an individual player. The streak now matches the 1972-76 Dallas Cowboys as the longest such streak in NFL history.
New Orleans won the time of possession 38:38 to Tampa Bay's 19:22, while tallying 27 first downs to the Bucs' 13 first downs.
The Saints return home to host the San Francisco 49ers at 3:25 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 15 on Fox as New Orleans will try to win its sixth consecutive game. The Buccaneers travel to Charlotte for a matchup with the Carolina Panthers next Sunday.
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