The New Orleans Saints looked like a new team during the first two weeks of the 2024 season, dominating the Carolina Panthers and Dallas Cowboys by a combined score of 91-29. But 15 games later and a head coach being fired in the process, the Saints are missing out on the postseason once again – now for the fourth year in a row.
Sub-standard play continued Sunday as New Orleans (5-12) had one last chance to play spoiler and take down the NFC South-leading Buccaneers (10-7). After being up by 10 points at halftime, the Saints coughed up their lead and allowed the Buccaneers to walk off the field at Raymond James Stadium with a 27-19 win and a division title.
Scoring summary
Tampa Bay trailed most of the game and was down 16-6 at halftime. Quarterback Baker Mayfield found Jalen McMillan on a toe-tap touchdown in the fourth quarter to capture the Buccaneers’ first lead of the day.
Rewinding to how New Orleans went up in the first half, rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler led the team to scores on each of its first four possessions – three Blake Grupe field goals and one passing touchdown to Dante Pettis.
While Grupe would knock one more through the uprights in the second half, that was a wrap on the Saints’ scoring for the day.
Tampa Bay, on the other hand, complemented two first-half field goals from Chase McLaughlin with three second-half scores – a passing touchdown to Payne Durham, the McMillan score to take the lead, and then a Bucky Irving rushing touchdown to cap off the day and secure the victory.
What the coach said
What looked like a very promising season for New Orleans back in mid-September will instead go down as their worst since the franchise was displaced by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Interim head coach Darren Rizzi, who compiled a 5-3 record after Dennis Allen was fired on Nov. 4, was visibly displeased after Sunday’s game but did give his team credit for playing through a hill and valley-filled season.
“It’s a disappointing end to the season and the game,” said Rizzi, who previously served as the team’s special teams coordinator. “As I said to the guys in the locker room, it wasn’t about the effort or passion and it’s unfortunately the end of the season. But I applaud the guys because of their effort.”
Numbers never lie
Rattler, who failed to find a win in six games as a starter, was 26 of 43 passing for 240 yards with the lone touchdown pass to Pettis. Throughout the game, the former fifth-round pick out of South Carolina did spread the ball around, connecting with 10 different players.
New Orleans was 0-7 this season when starting quarterback Derek Carr was sidelined with an injury.
Tight end Juwan Johnson was the leading receiver for New Orleans on Sunday with six catches for 80 yards. Recently picked-up running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire carried the ball eight times for 26 yards in the absence of star running back Alvin Kamara.
Leading the way for Tampa Bay was Mayfield, who used both his arm and legs to help his team to their fourth straight NFC South title. Mayfield also connected with star wide receiver Mike Evans late in the fourth quarter to put Evans past the 1,000-yard receiving mark for the 11th straight season, tying the all-time mark set by Mississippian Jerry Rice.
Next up
As Tampa Bay will prepare for the playoffs, New Orleans will prepare for next season with the first step being to find a new head coach. The name most often floated around, as of now, is Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn who has a history with the Saints. Other head-coaching candidates set to be pursued this offseason include Mike Vrabel, Ben Johnson, Kliff Kingsbury, Brian Flores, and Joe Brady.
