NEW ORLEANS — In a game where they were without their starting quarterback for almost three full quarters, the Saints held off the defending Super Bowl Champion Tampa Bay Bucs for a 36-27 win in the Caesars Superdome.
Jameis Winston exited the game early in the second quarter after already having led a scoring drive. He injured the knee on a horse collar tackle by Devin White of Tampa, who was flagged on the tackle.
"I think it’s significant. He felt something. He’s on crutches right now. I don’t want to say anything until I talk to doctors. When he tried to get up and he went back down, you get concerned," said Sean Payton.
Before he left, Winston had hit on 6 of 10 passes for 56 yards and a beautiful touchdown pass to Tre'Quan Smith on a play where the Bucs brought the house and Winston took a hit, yet delivered a perfect pass to Smith.
With Winston unable to return Trevor Siemian stepped in and threw for 159 yards and one touchdown.
Siemian wasn't the only one to step up as the Saint's defense did its part by forcing three turnovers. The last turnover they forced came on P.J. Williams' interception that he returned 40 yards for a touchdown with 1:36 remaining to seal the game, thwarting Tom Brady's attempt at a game-winning drive.
“Some guys have trouble if they don’t get the work in the system… I think he can function and understand," said Payton of Siemian. "The hardest thing is to pay attention every week like you’re gonna be in that game when you’re the 2 and you might do that for 4 years before you get in, that’s pretty hard, but then you have to pay attention next week. He has some of those traits. That’s not for everyone. Some guys if they go in without any (practice) work, it’s going to be difficult, but he was cool at halftime. More thought was being given to adjusting to what was happening with Tampa than having Trevor in the game."
On Siemian's first full drive he led the team to field goal after a pair of Bucs roughing the passer penalties extended the drive.
With two minutes left in the first half C.J. Gardner-Johnson picked Tom Brady off and returned it 26 yards to the Tampa Bay 25-yard line.
Five plays later Siemian found fullback Alex Armah Jr. in the flat for a 1-yard touchdown.
"It's tough to see one of your leaders go down, but football doesn't stop. Trevor did a good job. Hopefully, he's (Jameis) okay," Alvin Kamara said.
The Saints led 16-7 at the half.
On the first play of the second half, Siemian found Kevin White on a deep ball for a 38-yard gain. Kamara would do much of the damage on the rest of the drive and later scored on a toss play on 4th and goal from the one to give the Saints a 23-7 lead.
Brady and the Tampa Bay offense quickly locked in and responded with a touchdown drive to cut the Saint's lead to 23-14.
The Saint's offense would go three and out on their next two drives.
Following the second three and out Brady threw a 41-yard strike to Mike Evans to cut the deficit to 23-21.
Brian Johnson made a field goal in the fourth quarter from 35 yards out to increase the Saint's lead to 26-21.
Trailing by five in the fourth quarter, Brady and the Bucs wouldn't go away. After miscommunication on the backend of the Saints defense Brady found Cyril Grayson wide open to give Tampa a 27-26 lead. The Bucs would attempt a two-point conversion but failed.
"To go against one of the greatest to ever play the quarterback position and to finish the game, you've gotta love it," said Cam Jordan.
Siemian led the offense back down the field one more time with a big chunk of the yardage coming on a reverse to Deonte Harris. Johnson ended the drive by kicking a field goal from 23 yards out to put the Saints back in front for good.
With 1:41 remaining, Brady started the drive that ended with the PJ Wiliams pick six, which provided the final margin.
“I want to say how gutted I was for Jameis. This win is for him. I just feel for the guy. I love him so much. You can’t help, he has this infectious personality. Watching him be hurt was tough,” said Siemian.