The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, coming off their worst performance of the season, will search for a bounce-back performance on the road against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.
The Buccaneers had the best record in the NFC, 5-1, before they went into Detroit and lost to the Lions 24-9 on Monday night. Now they return to action with a day’s less preparation time than the Saints will have.
“On a short week, if you lose, you want to get out there quicker rather than later to get it out of your system,” Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield said.
The Buccaneers, who also lost 31-25 at home against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sept. 28, are one of six NFC teams with 5-2 records, all just behind the Green Bay Packers (4-1-1).
Mayfield also is coming off his worst game of the season. He completed 28 of 50 passes for 228 yards with one touchdown and one interception against Detroit’s injury-depleted secondary.
“I look at it schematically,” Mayfield said of his process for bouncing back. “What did they do to disrupt what we were trying to get done and then where did we go wrong when we had things dialed up. For me it’s execution, efficiency, finding more completions, trust in our guys.”
Mayfield and coach Todd Bowles both said the Buccaneers need to be more balanced after the team ran only 12 times for 41 yards against the Lions. Tampa Bay trailed just 14-9 in the third quarter, but after falling behind by two scores, 27 of the Buccaneers’ 28 fourth-quarter calls were pass plays.
“We know that’s not a good formula for success,” Bowles said. “We can’t run the ball 11, 12 times, throw it 50-plus times. We’ve got to be more balanced than that.”
New Orleans (1-6) didn’t have much of a ground game in its 26-14 road loss to the Chicago Bears last Sunday, finishing with 44 yards on 17 carries.
Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler also is coming off his worst outing of the year. He threw three interceptions and lost a fumble while passing for 233 yards and two touchdowns.
Ball security had been one of the few bright spots for Rattler and the Saints during an otherwise dismal start to the season. However, in Chicago, Rattler singlehandedly matched the team’s turnover total from the first five games of the season.
“I’ve got to go back to playing a clean game,” Rattler said, “… but you don’t want to play timid.”
This will be the Saints’ first of six games against NFC South rivals.
“Division games are always fun,” New Orleans coach Kellen Moore said. “It’s a little different because you meet twice every season and you know each other very well. (The Buccaneers have) had success lately and we’ve had success in the past.”
Tampa Bay has won five of the past six meetings after New Orleans won seven straight regular-season matchups.
Both teams are dealing with significant absences due to injury sustained last week. The Buccaneers lost star wide receiver Mike Evans to a concussion as well as a broken collarbone that will sideline him for weeks. The Saints lost starting center Erik McCoy to a season-ending biceps injury.
Eight of the 11 Buccaneers that did not practice Wednesday are starters — wide receivers Chris Godwin Jr. (fibula) and Emeka Egbuka (hamstring), running back Bucky Irving (foot/shoulder), guard Luke Haggard (shoulder), defensive lineman Greg Gaines (toe), linebackers Lavonte David (knee/rib) and Haason Reddick (ankle/knee) and safety Antoine Winfield Jr. (toe).
Three Saints starters missed the Wednesday practice — wide receiver Chris Olave (ankle), defensive end Chase Young (illness) and cornerback Alontae Taylor (personal).
