BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — Despite an impressive first-half effort by Saints rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler in his first-career start, poor tackling plagued the New Orleans Saints in a 51-27 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It was a nightmare start for the Saints. Tampa Bay jumped to an early lead on the game’s opening drive. Quarterback Baker Mayfield carved up the Saints defense, going 6-of-6 for 62 yards, capping the drive off with a 4-yard touchdown pass to Chris Godwin to go up 7-0.  On the ensuing Saints possession, wide receiver Chris Olave fumbled on just the third play and  Buccaneers Antoine Winfield cashed in with a 58-yard return for a touchdown to put the Saints in a 14-0 deficit. Olave would leave the game after the play and did not return with a concussion.  Tampa Bay would take a 17-0 lead with a first-quarter field goal. New Orleans finally got on the scoreboard in the second quarter with a 42-yard field goal by kicker Blake Grupe, kickstarting a wild 5-minutes.  The Saints continued to erase the deficit in the second quarter with All-Pro return specialist Rashid Shaheed returning a punt 54 yards for a touchdown to make it 17-10 Tampa Bay.  The Shaheed touchdown started a momentum swing. On the following Tampa Bay possession, cornerback Paulson Adebo picked off Mayfield, his third interception of the season. The Saints cashed in with a field goal to make it a 17-14 Tampa Bay lead.  The Saints' defense continued to harness momentum. On the next Tampa Bay drive, Saints safety Jonathan Abram picked off Mayfield. New Orleans cashed in on the next play. Rattler connected to rookie receiver Bub Means from 10-yards out to give the Saints their first lead of the game, 20-17. The touchdown was the first career touchdown for both Rattler and Means. New Orleans erased a 17-point deficit in 5 minutes.  The Buccaneers retook the lead on the following drive with a 36-yard touchdown pass from Mayfield to Sean Tucker to go up 24-20.  AP Top 25: Oregon, Penn State move behind No. 1 Texas. Army, Navy both ranked for 1st time since ’60 The Saints answered right back with a 4-yard touchdown run by Alvin Kamara, set up by a 41-yard pass from Rattler to tight end Foster Moreau, to go up 27-24 late in the first half.  The New Orleans defense continued to give Mayfield problems in the second quarter, hauling in its third interception of the quarter courtesy of defensive end Cameron Jordan. The Saints lead 27-24 at the break.  The Buccaneers would retake the lead 31-27 in the third quarter on a 55-yard Mayfield pass to Godwin.  Tampa Bay continued to seize control, intercepting Rattler to start the fourth quarter and cashing in with a touchdown to go up 37-27 early in the fourth quarter. The Buccaneers continued to seize control, adding a rushing touchdown halfway through the fourth quarter to go up 44-27. Latest News Larson dominates at The Roval to lead all 4 Hendrick cars into next round of NASCAR playoffs NASCAR's late caution call upends Xfinity Series race as Sam Mayer wins The Roval at Charlotte 50 Cent-themed escape room coming to Louisiana New Orleans Saints fall to Tampa Bay Buccaneers 51-27 Sam's Club opening location in Texas, but there's no checkout lanes