National Football League

Antoine Winfield sparks Bucs defense in huge 26-9 road win over Saints

Published Oct. 1, 2023 7:23 p.m. ET

NEW ORLEANS — Just before halftime Sunday, the Bucs were clinging to a 7-3 lead when Baker Mayfield threw an interception in the red zone, giving the Saints a dose of momentum just before the half.

The initial ruling was shifted from a touchback to the Saints having the ball at the 1-yard line, meaning they'd have to run a play or two before the half could end. New Orleans handed the ball to fullback Adam Prentice, and as he went up the middle, Bucs safety Antoine Winfield punched the ball loose and recovered it at the Saints' 6-yard line with 29 seconds left.

The Bucs offense would convert on a Mayfield touchdown to rookie Trey Palmer for a 14-3 lead, keeping Tampa Bay in control of a tight game. On a huge day for the Bucs defense, it was the signature play in a 26-9 win that has Tampa Bay 3-1 and alone atop the NFC South standings going into its early bye week.

"That was super important," Winfield said after the win. "Fullback had the ball, I just saw him running with it and I ended up just punching. The ball came out. ... We got a takeaway right back."

The Bucs defense has been a huge part of their surprising 3-1 start, and turnovers have been what they do best. They entered Week 4 second in the NFL in turnover margin and tied for fourth in total takeaways, and they added three more in Sunday's win.

"He played great, did a heck of a job punching the ball out right there," coach Todd Bowles said. "We didn't play well on Monday night [in a loss to the Eagles] and wanted to come back and redeem ourselves. A lot of guys stepped up, a lot of injured guys played and played well. I thought it was a great team win for us."

Had the Saints simply gone to halftime down 7-3, it might have been a different game. Tampa Bay's offense mustered only one more field goal until there was four minutes left in the game, so it was a one-score game, but Winfield's takeaway created more of a cushion and took the home crowd out of the game for a bit.

"That was huge, a game-changing play, created momentum for us going into the half," cornerback Carlton Davis said. "We capitalized on that, but he just makes plays like that."

Bucs pass-rusher Shaq Barrett said he had already accepted the first half was over — a disappointing finish, a missed opportunity to build on their lead, and then his teammate came up with a pivotal play.

"That was big-time," Barrett said. "I was like, 'Damn, we could have gotten points right now, but we lost it, and Tweeze [Winfield] got it back. That was the biggest play, probably the biggest play of the game. I'm just happy he got it."

Winfield was all over the field Sunday, stepping up in a game in which the Bucs played without starting corner Jamel Dean, had the other starting corner, Davis, barely back after missing two games with a toe injury and then lost the other starting safety to a concussion on the opening drive. WInfield filled up the stat sheet: He had one of the Bucs' three sacks, the pivotal fumble recovery, a game-high nine tackles and two tackles for loss. No NFL player has had all of that in one game since Seattle's Bobby Wagner in 2018.

"I'm just here to help in any way," Winfield said. "I want to win games. That's my No. 1 goal, so any way I can help this team win, that's what I'm here for."

Winfield started the second half much like he finished the first. After the Bucs offense went three-and-out, the Saints got into Bucs territory, but on first down, Winfield dropped running back Alvin Kamara for a six-yard loss. Two plays later, when New Orleans took a rare deep shot for receiver Chris Olave in the end zone, it was Winfield who broke up the pass to force a punt.

The Saints had set the standard for low-scoring games lately. They had held 12 straight opponents to 20 points or fewer, scoring 21 or fewer in nine straight games, which set the stakes for a defensive lockdown kind of game. New Orleans opted to start quarterback Derek Carr even though he left last week's game with a sprained throwing shoulder, and the Bucs effectively shut down the Saints' passing game. Carr completed 23 of 37 passes for just 127 yards — in his 10-year career, in 146 games, that's the second-lowest yards per attempt he's ever had.

More than half those completions went on screens to Kamara, fresh off a three-game suspension, but the Bucs defense kept him in check as well. Kamara finished with 13 catches but managed just 33 yards on those. There have been 200 games in NFL history in which a player had at least 13 catches, and all the rest yielded at least 71 yards, so the Bucs defense helped him cut the all-time record low in half.

By the end of the game, New Orleans had just 197 yards of total offense. It's just the third time since 2010 that the Bucs have held an opponent to under 200 yards, and in the 64-game history of these two teams going head-to-head, that's a new low.

The Bucs have now beaten the Saints three times in a row for the first time in the series' history. Sunday's win comes days after New Orleans edge rusher Cameron Jordan said he didn't consider it a rivalry, asking, "Is there a rivalry with the Bucs I don't know about?"

Some of Tampa Bay's players saw the quote and took exception, remembering that it was the Bucs who handed the Saints their last playoff loss.

"I guess it's not much of a rivalry anymore, according to 94," tackle Tristan Wirfs said. "They're kind of gunning for us now. ... Buccaneers beating them 26-9, I'm OK with that. We know what kind of game it's going to be; it's always physical, it's always chippy. For them to downplay it? It's a division game. [There's] always going to be a lot behind it. It's bulletin-board material, but I'll take it."

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The victory lets the Bucs enjoy their bye week knowing they're atop the division standings, their only loss coming to the defending NFC-champion Eagles, one of only two NFL teams with a better record than Tampa Bay.

Winfield's success could send him to his second Pro Bowl this season, and it's well-timed, in that he's in the final year of his rookie contract, lining him up to be one of the league's highest-paid safeties and a priority for the Bucs and their free agents. One play before halftime helped set up a crucial win Sunday, but his teammates expect that from him.

"That's so big, and that's Antoine right there," corner Zyon McCollum said. "He does it every day in practice. We weren't surprised. It doesn't matter what situation this defense is put into, we're going to go out there and keep going."

Greg Auman is FOX Sports' NFC South reporter, covering the Buccaneers, Falcons, Panthers and Saints. He is in his 10th season covering the Bucs and the NFL full-time, having spent time at the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic. You can follow him on Twitter at @gregauman.