The Tampa Bay Buccaneers swooped past the New Orleans Saints in a convincing fashion 26-9 on Sunday.
The star of the show was unquestionably Baker Mayfield, whose 3 touchdown passes inspired the Tampa Bay team’s victory and completely shut down the Saint’ starlet Derek Carr.
Round 1: Bucs pic.twitter.com/eoJpRR7RCi
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) October 1, 2023
Mayfield completed 25 of 32 for 246 yards including TDs to Cade Otten, Trey Palmer and Deven Thompkins, which was more than sufficient for Tampa Bay to claim victory and take over first place in the NFC South.
Carr struggled on his return after spraining his throwing shoulder at Green Bay over a week ago. The 32-year-old definitely looked rusty and lacklustre as he was completely outplayed by a much superior opponent.
Carr finished 23 of 37 for 127 yards and was sacked three times in a second straight loss for the Saints, who were hoping for a boost from Alvin Kamara’s return from a three-game suspension.
But it wasn’t to be as the 28-year-old could only manage 84 yards with scrimmage.