With a deep and talented receiving corps back in play, Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints stay hot

Apparently the return of Michael Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders helped to wake up a sleeping giant on Sunday night.

The New Orleans Saints (6-2) took control of the NFC South race with a stunning 38-3 rout of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-3) in Tampa.

It was the worst loss of Tampa Bay quarterback Tom Brady’s career and one of the most convincing wins in the Sean Payton-Drew Brees era. The Saints’ victory was so thorough that former Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston made his 2020 debut as New Orleans’ backup, completing his only pass for 12 yards while running out the clock over the final six minutes.

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Not only did the Saints complete a season sweep of the Buccaneers after beating them 34-23 in Week 1. But they also seem to have fully gotten their mojo back with their offensive lineup intact for the first time since Thomas left that Week 1 game in the final minutes with a high ankle sprain.

Thomas wasn’t dominant in his return, catching five passes for 51 yards Sunday night. But his presence helped to open things up for a Saints offense that could no wrong.

The Saints became just the third team in the last 30 years to have 12 different players catch a pass, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Brees completed passes to 11 different players in the first 19 minutes alone while New Orleans ran up a 31-0 lead in the first half.

Even more remarkably — Brees was on the injury report all week because of an injury to his right throwing shoulder that limited him in practice on Wednesday and Thursday. And Thomas had missed the past seven games because of the ankle injury, a one-game team disciplinary suspension and a hamstring injury.

Sanders, who was back in the lineup after missing the past two games on the reserve-COVID list, caught four passes for 38 yards and a touchdown.

The Saints have now won five in a row.