Shough (13 of 20 for 144 yards, with an interception, and seven carries for 55 yards) was picked off on a deep pass attempt on first-and-5 from New Orleans’ 21-yard line with 11:20 left in the first half. Tampa Bay’s 19-yard return set up the possession to begin at New Orleans’ 40, and after gaining 17 yards in four plays, the Bucs settled for a 41-yard field goal and 10-7 lead they carried into halftime.
After Taylor’s interception ended Tampa Bay’s opening drive of the second half and Shough’s 34-yard run gave New Orleans a 14-10 lead, the Bucs responded with a seven-play, 65-yard drive to retake the advantage, 17-14 with 7:40 left in the third.
The Saints tied it on Charlie Smyth’s field goal with 1:36 left in the third quarter, and fourth-down stop No. 4 for the Saints (a Kool-Aid McKinstry pass breakup) gave New Orleans possession at its own 47 with 12:48 left.
Eight plays later, including conversions on third-and-10 and third-and-8, and the Saints were first-and-10 at the Tampa Bay 13. Shough dropped back to pass, evaded heavy pressure in the pocket and escaped through an opening on the left side, then outran the defense to the pylon for a 24-17 lead with 8:26 left.
“We were getting Taysom (Hill) on a linebacker for maybe a pylon-wheel shot and it kind of got all muddied up at the end, so I was just trying to get out of there and make a play,” Shough said. “Just saw green grass and went for it. It was a good job of driving the whole way down the field and getting down there. Stuff like that happens and you’ve got to go for it.”
The defense made it stand, allowing a red zone field goal before producing its final fourth-down stop — a Demario Davis tackle following a three-yard completion on fourth-and-4 – with 1:21 left. The Saints limited the Bucs to 301 yards and Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield completed 14 of 30 passes for 122 yards and a touchdown, with an interception.
“We’ve only won a couple of games this season, there’s a lot of adversity you face,” Saints coach Kellen Moore said. “And so, for our guys to come out and have the energy and the physicality they played with, I thought it was a credit to our guys.
“They’re a special group, a group that keeps playing and all three phases contributed to this game. It was a really challenging game for both teams, it was big for our guys to come away with the win.”