Saints Corral Bucs

Tom Brady still can’t beat the Saints as a Buc – in the regular season.

Brady lost on Sunday for the third time in three regular-season tries against New Orleans (he was victorious in a divisional playoff meeting last season), the outcome of a 36-27 defeat sealed by a pick-six in the final two minutes that Saints safety P.J. Williams returned 40 yards for a touchdown.

On a day when Brady threw four touchdown passes, it was his three turnovers that sank Tampa Bay and snapped a four-game winning streak. Brady lost a fumble and threw an interception in the second quarter that led to 10 New Orleans points. After the Bucs (6-2) rallied from a 23-7 deficit to take the lead in the fourth quarter, they seemed poised to use a last-minute drive to claim the W.

The Saints (5-2) won despite losing quarterback Jameis Winston to a knee injury early in the second quarter. With backup quarterback Taysom Hill inactive due to lingering issues from a concussion, New Orleans was down to journeyman Trevor Siemian.

Siemian didn’t exactly light up the Bucs defense. But he was good enough.

And after sweeping the Bucs last season, the Saints served notice that the defending Super Bowl champs still have some competition that could prevent them from running away to another NFC South crown.

It feels like, in the regular season at least, that the New Orleans Saints have Tom Brady’s number.

The legendary quarterback has now lost his last three regular season games against New Orleans since his move to Florida after the Saints beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 36-27 on Sunday.

Brady, who was on the winning side in a divisional playoff meeting last season, threw four touchdowns against the Saints but, despite dragging his side back from a heavy deficit, could not get the job done.

With five minutes and 44 seconds left, the 44-year-old threw a 50-yard touchdown pass to Cyril Grayson, which looked to have the Buccaneers on their way, but it wasn’t to be.

With just one minute and 24 seconds on the clock, Saints safety P.J. Williams intercepted Brady and ran 40 yards for a touchdown to help seal a thrilling victory over the Super Bowl champions.