New Orleans Saints give Tom Brady a rough welcome to the NFC South, beat Buccaneers 34-23.

Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

There has been a lot of talk about who the best team in the NFC South. Brady vs Brees. This is the game that could be the talk of the country. Let’s see how the game ended up going, as the Saints try to fix the usual slow starting September:

1st Half

Tampa Bay wins the toss and defers. Of course, Taysom Hill makes the first catch of the season, it was a first down. Brees was perfect on the first drive, but as a Kamara catch loses a few yards it was too much to come back from and so the Saints had to punt. Bucs start on the 15. DPI on Malcolm Jenkins, gifts a first down. Brady follows that up with a 29 yard dime to Godwin. Bucs get gifted a questionable DPI call on Lattimore on 3rd down to set them up with on the 15. As we all guessed, Tom Brady gets the first rushing TD in the game, as Tampa Bay takes a 7-0 lead.

Deonte Harris gets a carry on this first play of the answering drive, going to be interesting to see how the Saints decide to use him this year. The next drive stalls after a quick first down, Brees still perfect on the day. Bucs start the next drive backed up to the 11. Malcolm Roach gets into backfield on second down causing a 3rd and 9. Bucs go 3 and out.

Saints get good field position and start on the 36. Jared Cook comes up clutch on 3rd down and caught a pass that was slightly tipped by Jamel Dean. Taysom Hill in at QB and does Taysom Hill things and gets a good 1st down run. We are seeing some fun formations this drive as Kamara gains 4 yards as a run as the Wildcat QB. The Saints get into the endzone a few plays later on a 12 yard reception for Kamara. The game is now tied 7-7.

The Bucs go one play after a miscommunication between Brady and Evans ends in an interception by Marcus Williams. A DPI leads to an Alvin Kamara 6 yard rushing TD, Saints quickly on top 14-7 with 10:09 left in the half.

Bucs start the next drive on the 25 yet again. Get a couple 1st down runs for Ronald Jones, through a pretty stingy Saints run defense. Gronk gets his first catch of the game and season for 2 yards. Mike Evans chokes Lattimore which causes Lattimore to retaliate and gets an unnecessary roughness call. Fournette gets an introduction to Cam Jordan after a 3 yard loss on first down. Hendrickson follows that up with a sack of Brady. The Saints defense caps off the drive on a blocked field goal by Margus Hunt.

Starting at midfield for the next drive, the Saints have a tough decision to make on 4th down after a bad spot leaves them on 4th and 2. Saints successfully drew the Vita Vea offsides and got the 1st down. Deonte Harris gets some shine again and gets a 17 yard gain blowing by defenders on a screen. After a great 1st down snag by Michael Thomas, the drive stalls and the Saints have to settle for a field goal.

Bucs have 44 seconds left in the half to try and get some points. Trey Hendrickson has consistently been in the backfield today. Bucs couldn’t get anything going. Another minor scuffle before half, tensions are high today.

We will be going into the half NO 17 - TB 7.

2nd Half

Bucs start the 2nd half with possession, and a holding call on Mike Evans. Fournette makes up for it however, with a first down catch. Sloppiness continues for Tampa however with a false start on Godwin. That play is followed up with a pick 6 by Janoris Jenkins, NO 24 - TB 7.

Tampa needs to get something going here. Plenty of time to go, but it’s starting to slip away. A DPI from Marcus Williams will help that. Another big play after that with a Ronald Jones run to the 9. An effortless TD catch by OJ Howard makes the game NO 24 - 14.

Saints struggled to get anything working on the next drive, and a big sack by JPP sealed the drive. Luckily, Morstead is a great punter and drilled the Bucs inside the 20. Another false start for the Bucs offense. After a single first down, Bradley Pinion punts it to Deonte Harris who gets a great return to the Bucs 45. Both offenses continue to stall, as the Saints go 3 and out.

Malcolm Jenkins gets to the backfield on 3rd and 1, but Brady gets it out in time to Chris Godwin to get the 1st down at nearly midfield. Brady goes deep to Miller, and P-Rob gets called for a DPI. 1st and 10 at the Saints 23. Saints defense stops them however, forcing them to settle for a FG. NO 24 - TB 17.

With Tampa getting within a score, the Saints offense that has truly struggled in this game really needs to get something going. However, they cannot. 3 and out for the Saints. Tampa Bay has a 3 and out of their own, following a big sack by Demario Davis.

We finally get some offense with a 46 yard pass from Brees to Cook. Saints set up in the redzone, for the first time in a while. A first down catch from Sanders sets up a TD catch for himself on the next play. NO 31 - TB 17.

Some kickoff magic from the Saints after a facemask. Kicking from the 50, Morstead goes for a pop up kick that is muffed by the Bucs and recovered by Bennie Fowler. Saints start the drive on the TB 18. Murray getting some run here, and setting the Saints up 1st and goal. A Wil Lutz field goal puts them up by 17. NO 34 - TB 17.

Bucs get the drive started at the 25. Mike Evans drops the first down catch, and still has been shut out on the day. 3 and out for Tampa. Saints will continue to try and drain clock. They do just that and go 3 and out.

Tampa Bay pretty much has to score here, and starting out with a 15 yard pass to OJ Howard is a good way to do that. Saints have consistently gotten to the backfield, and they continued that trend by forcing Brady out of the pocket. Great game by Trey Hendrickson today. Brady’s favorite weapon, Scotty Miller, sets them up in the redzone with a great catch. Mike Evans finds his way onto the stat sheet, with a 2 yard TD, but they could not convert the 2 points. NO 34 - TB 23.

After running the clock for a bit, Payton runs the double pass from Brees to Hill to Kamara for a 38 yard gain. Petty Payton at it again. Saints are set up 1st and goal with just over 2 minutes to play. Kamara steps out right at the goal line, turnover on downs. Tampa runs one play and the clock runs out.

And that’s how the Saints beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by a score of 34-23. 1-0 Baby!

Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

Here’s a Quarter by quarter breakdown of the events:

1st Quarter

• Bucs win the toss and defer.
• Brees completes his first 3 throws, but one of them went for a loss and they can’t recover.
• Bucs start on the 15.
• Godwin gets a dime from Brady for 29 yards, to set up good field position.
• Tampa gets into the redzone on a questionable DPI call on Lattimore.
• Tom Brady rushing TD
• TB 7 - NO 0
• Touch back on the Kickoff, Saints start on their own 25.
• Quick drive after only one 1st down.
• Bucs are backed up to the 11, and go 3 and out.
• Saints start next drive on the 36.

2nd Quarter

• Saints open up scoring in the quarter after a fun drive on a 12 yard pass from Brees to Kamara.
• NO 7 - TB 7
• Touchback from Wil Lutz, as Bucs start the next drive on the 25.
• Marcus Williams gets his first pick of the season and the Saints get to start the next drive at about the 35.
• DPI on a deep shot to Emmanuel Sanders and the Saints get to the 6.
• Kamara 6 yard TD run.
• NO 14 - TB 7
• Bucs start yet again on the 25.
• Mike Evans and Lattimore have a little scuffle, unnecessary roughness called on Lattimore, first down and good field position.
• Margus Hunt comes through and blocks the field goal attempt.
• Saints start the drive on the Bucs 45.
• Saints get great field position after a great 17 yard gain on a screen to Deonte Harris.
• Saints settle for a field goal.
• NO 17 - TB 7
• Tampa Bay has 44 seconds to score after a touch back on the kickoff.
• Couldn’t get anything going, and we will go into the half 17-7.

3rd Quarter

• Bucs start the half with possession.
• Tom Brady throws his 2nd interception as a Buc and it gets returned for a pick 6 by Janoris Jenkins.
• NO 24 - TB 7
• The next drive starts off with a huge gain to the NO 34 after a Marcus Williams DPI.
• OJ Howard catches a 9 yard TD pass from Brady, after a great run by Ronald Jones.
• NO 24- TB 14
• Saints start the drive on the 25 after a touchback and got past midfield, but couldn’t get any points.
• Bucs get stuck back at the 19 and couldn’t get anything going.
• Deonte Harris gets a great punt return and gets the Saints drive starting at the TB 45.
• Saints go 3 and out.
• Morstead forces a fair catch at the 10 yard line.
• Bucs able to drive down field, helped by a DPI on Patrick Robinson.
• Bucs, however, have to settle for a FG.
• NO 24 - TB 17
• Saints go 3 and out.

4th Quarter

• The Bucs have a 3 and out of their own.
• Saints start the next drive at the Bucs 39.
• Cook gets the Saints into the redzone after a 46 yard catch from Brees.
• Emmanuel Sanders catches his first TD as a Saint.
• NO 31 - TB 17.
• A pop-up kick from Morstead is muffed by TB and recovered by Bennie Fowler, Saints start on the 18.
• Wil Lutz gets another field goal.
• NO 34 - TB 17
• 3 and out for Tampa after a crucial drop by Mike Evans.
• Saints follow that with a 3 and out of their own.
• Scotty Miller gets the Bucs into great position after a DEEP catch from the Brady throw, setting them up in the redzone.
• 2 yard TD catch from Mike Evans. Failed 2 pt conversion.
• NO 34 - TB 23
• The Saints drive down field, and drain clock, not giving the Bucs a chance to come back in this one.

Final Score: NO 34 - TB 23