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National Football League
New Orleans 23, Tampa Bay 13
When: 1:00 PM ET, Sunday, December 31, 2023
Where: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida
Temperature: 66°
Head Official: Land Clark
Attendance: 65471

Derek Carr threw two touchdown passes, the New Orleans defense forced four turnovers and the visiting Saints kept their playoff hopes alive with a 23-13 victory against the Tampa Buccaneers on Sunday afternoon.

Carr completed 24 of 32 passes for 197 yards and threw touchdowns to Taysom Hill and Juwan Johnson, who finished with eight catches for 90 yards.

Baker Mayfield was 22 of 33 passing for 309 yards and two touchdowns but had two interceptions. Tampa Bay (8-8), which had won four in a row, missed an opportunity to clinch its third consecutive NFC South title, but can still do so with a victory at Carolina next weekend.

The Saints (8-8), who avenged a 26-9 home loss to Tampa Bay in Week 4, can win the South with a win over Atlanta and a Bucs loss to the Panthers in Week 18.

Tampa Bay forced a 3-and-out on the Saints' first possession of the second half then drove to the New Orleans 43. But Rachaad White fumbled when he was hit by Johnathan Abram. Demario Davis recovered for the Saints and returned to their 45.

New Orleans made two first downs before stalling and Blake Grupe kicked a 28-yard field goal for a 20-0 lead at the end of the third quarter.

Mayfield threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Trey Palmer to trim the lead to 20-7 with 7:50 remaining.

After Grupe kicked a 38-yard field goal, Mayfield threw a 47-yard touchdown pass to Chris Godwin, but the two-point conversion pass was intercepted by Paulson Abedo, leaving New Orleans with a 10-point lead.

The Saints scored a touchdown on their first possession for the first time this season. Carr finished a 14-play, 73-yard drive with a 4-yard touchdown pass to Johnson. The 7-0 lead held up through the end of the first quarter.

The Buccaneers drove to the New Orleans 36 early in the second quarter before Alontae Taylor intercepted Mayfield at the 2.

Carr threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Hill and Grupe added a 45-yard goal to increase the Saints' lead to 17-0 at halftime.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
Rushing
New Orleans   Tampa Bay
Jamaal Williams Player Rachaad White
19 Attempts 11
58 Yards 42
3.0 Avg Yards 3.8
0 Touchdowns 0
17 Long 16
Receiving
New Orleans   Tampa Bay
Juwan Johnson Player Trey Palmer
8 Receptions 4
90 Yards 84
11.2 Avg Yards 21.0
1 Touchdowns 1
32 Long 54
Team Stats Summary
 
  Yards Scoring Defense
Team Tot Rus Pas TD FG INT Sck FF
New Orleans 310 108 202 2 3 2 2.0 1
Tampa Bay 349 57 292 2 0 0 1.0 0
Upcoming Games
  • Tampa Bay will play their next game on the road against Carolina. The Buccaneers have a W/L % of .556 after a win and .429 after a loss.
  • New Orleans will play their next game at home against Atlanta. The Saints have a W/L % of .429 after a win and .556 after a loss.