Brees outduels Brady as Saints crush Bucs, Chiefs survive scare
Drew Brees #9 of the New Orleans Saints throws a pass during the first half against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium on November 08, 2020 in Tampa, Florida. Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images/AFP
Drew Brees won the battle of the all-star quarterbacks, throwing four touchdowns as Tom Brady suffered the worst loss of his career in the New Orleans Saints 38-3 blowout of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday night in Florida.
Brees threw touchdown passes to four different receivers as the Saints easily won the showdown for first place in the NFC South Division.
“He had all his weapons on field too. So I thought it would be one of those games,” said Brees of the marquee matchup. “We have been playing against each other for 22 years now so there is a lot of respect there.”
Brees completed 26 of 32 passes for 222 yards and 12 different receivers caught passes on the night, while Brady threw three interceptions and had no touchdowns at Raymond James Stadium.
Brees’s four touchdown passes allowed him to vault over Brady in their back-and-forth battle for the NFL’s all-time touchdown record. Brees now has 564 career touchdown passes while Brady sits at 561.
It was the most one-sided loss of a legendary career for Brady as the Saints scored three touchdowns before Brady even registered a first down. He completed 22 of 38 passes and Tampa Bay rushed the ball just five times, the lowest total in league history.
“I can’t say enough about our pass rush and our front four,” said Brees. “Tonight was a great night. It was pretty special, exceptional.”
Kicker Wil Lutz booted a 36-yard field goal late in the second quarter as New Orleans led 31-0 at the half.
“We can’t waste a win. We wanted to spread the ball around,” said Brees. “The offense was able to possess the ball, run the ball well, and throw the ball well.”
In Buffalo, quarterback Josh Allen guided the offense by throwing for three touchdowns and Buffalo’s sturdy defense forced four turnovers as the Bills delivered the Seattle Seahawks their second defeat in three games with a 44-34 win.
Allen finished with a whopping 415 passing yards and added a rushing touchdown to outgun Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson in the clash between the division leaders.
Wilson completed 28 of 41 passes for 390 yards but he had two interceptions for the Seahawks, who fell to 6-2 in the NFC West. He also gave up two second-half fumbles while being sacked as the Seahawks attempted to rally from a 24-10 deficit at the half at Bills Stadium.
“We are capable of doing whatever we want to do. We have all of the pieces here, and we just have to continue to do things right on and off the field,” said Bills team captain Dion Dawkins.
Elsewhere, quarterback Patrick Mahomes passed for four touchdowns and 372 yards as the Super Bowl champion Chiefs won their fourth consecutive game by edging the Carolina Panthers 33-31 in Kansas City.
Tight end Travis Kelce, who is one of Mahomes’s favorite targets, grabbed 10 passes for 159 yards for the AFC West-leading Chiefs (8-1).
Mahomes now has 101 touchdown passes in 40 career games, surpassing Dan Marino who was the previous fastest to 100 in 44 games.
Mahomes completed 30 of 45 passing attempts and teamed up with receiver Tyreek Hill for two fourth-quarter touchdowns. Hill finished with nine grabs for 113 yards.
In Indianapolis, reigning league MVP Lamar Jackson rebounded from a sub-par game last week to gain 228 yards of total offense as the Baltimore Ravens handed Indianapolis their first loss at home this season with a 24-10 win.
Quarterback Jackson had a rushing touchdown and Gus Edwards ran for another score as the Ravens improved to 6-2 on the season.
Jackson grabbed a slice of history as he equaled the best 30-start mark of the NFL’s Super Bowl era.
He is 25-5 since becoming the Ravens’ starter, tying retired Dan Marino of the Miami Dolphins for the best start by a quarterback since the mid-1960s.
Elsewhere, it wasn’t pretty, but the Pittsburgh Steelers rallied from a 13-point deficit against the Dallas Cowboys to reach 8-0 for the first time in franchise history.
Minkah Fitzpatrick knocked away a pass in the end zone as the Steelers held on to beat the Cowboys 24-19 at AT&T Stadium.
“I’m really proud of our football team,” coach Mike Tomlin said. “Eight and zero for the first time in franchise history. We’re humbled and honored to be that group.”
