Notes and highlights from the Bucs’ 48-40 victory over the Saints - Tampa Bay’s 48 points matches a franchise high (three times: vs. Atlanta White Bryan Anger Jersey , 9/13/87; vs. New Orleans, 12/23/01; vs. Oakland in SBXXXVII 1/26/03).- Tampa Bay’s 529 total net yards are the second-most in a single game in team history (most: 573 at Minnesota, 11/16/80).- Tampa Bay’s 8.5 yards per play is the second-highest mark in a single game in team history (most: 9.08 vs. Kansas City, 10/14/12).- The Buccaneers scored on the team’s first drive of the game, with QB Ryan Fitzpatrick connecting with WR DeSean Jackson on a 58-yard touchdown pass to finish off a four-play, 68-yard drive lasting 2:00.- Jackson now has 27 career touchdowns of 50+ yards, tied with Hall of Famers Terrell Owens and Lance Alworth for the third-most in the NFL since the 1970 NFL/AFL merger.MOST 50+-YARD TOUCHDOWNS IN NFL HISTORY 1. WR Jerry Rice* 362. WR Randy Moss*293. WR Lance Alworth* 273. WR DeSean Jackson 273. WR Terrell Owens*27*Hall of Fame- Tampa Bay scored a touchdown on the team’s second drive of the game, with Ryan Fitzpatrick rushing for a three-yard touchdown to end a six-play, 71-yard drive lasting 2:27. Fitzpatrick now has 14 career rushing touchdowns.- The last time the Buccaneers scored a touchdown on each of their first two drives was against the Seattle Seahawks in 2016 (11/17/16).- K Chandler Catanzaro made his first field goal as a Buccaneer on Tampa Bay’s third drive of the game, connecting on a 33-yard attempt to cap an eight-play, 60-yard drive lasting 3:42.- The last time the Buccaneers scored on each of their first three drives was against the Indianapolis Colts in 2015 (11/29/15).- On the ensuing Saints drive, DE Vinny Curry recorded his first sack as a Buccaneer, dropping Saints QB Drew Brees for a seven-yard loss on third-and-four, forcing a New Orleans punt.- The Buccaneers scored their third touchdown of the first half on the team’s fourth possession, a nine-yard touchdown pass fromRyan Fitzpatrick to WR Chris Godwin. Godwin now has two career touchdown catches – both against New Orleans, in consecutive games.- Following Godwin’s touchdown catch, Tampa Bay’s defense stepped up, with CB Vernon Hargreaves forcing a fumble from Saints RB Mike Gillislee, which was recovered by S Justin Evans and returned 34-yards for a touchdown. It is the second forced fumble of Hargreaves’ career and the first fumble recovery and first touchdown of Evans’ career.- On the opening possession of the second half, Tampa Bay drove 57-yards in nine plays, lasting 3:36, with Chandler Catanzaro connecting on a 36-yard field goal.- Ryan Fitzpatrick threw his third touchdown of the day in the third quarter Youth O. J. Howard Jersey , connecting with WR Mike Evans on a 50-yard touchdown to end a four-play, 74-yard drive lasting 2:10.- Evans finished the game with seven catches for 147 yards and a touchdown. It is his 14th career 100-yard receiving game, matching Kevin House for the second-most such games in team history.- Tampa Bay has two passing touchdowns of 50+ yards in today’s game. The last time they have done so was in 1998 against Green Bay (12/7/1998; 62-yard touchdown catch Bert Emanuel & 64-yard touchdown catch Jacquez Green).- On the ensuing possession, LB Kwon Alexander forced a fumble from Saints WR Michael Thomas, which was recovered by CB Ryan Smith.- Over the past three seasons (2016-18), Tampa Bay’s defense has been one of the best in the NFL at taking the ball away, ranking fourth in the NFL in takeaways, third in forced fumbles and leading the league in fumble recoveries.NFL MOST TAKEAWAYS (2016-18)1.Baltimore Ravens 642.Kansas City Chiefs59*3.Philadelphia Eagles584.Tampa Bay Buccaneers575.Arizona Cardinals49**Does not include Week 14 gameNFL MOST FORCED FUMBLES (2016-18)1.Arizona Cardinals38*1.Dallas Cowboys 38*3.Tampa Bay Buccaneers364.Carolina Panthers33*4.San Francisco 49ers 33*Does not include Week 1 gameNFL MOST FUMBLE RECOVERIES (2016-18)1.Tampa Bay Buccaneers272.Kansas City Chiefs25*3.Oakland Raiders23*4.Baltimore Ravens 225.Dallas Cowboys 21*5.Carolina Panthers21*5.Philadelphia Eagles215.San Francisco 49ers 21*Does not include Week 1 game- Tampa Bay’s sixth touchdown of the game came when Fitzpatrick threw a 36-yard score to DeSean Jackson to end a six-play, 65-yard lasting 3:07. Jackson now has 51 career touchdown catches and Ftizpatrick now has 178 touchdown passes.- Jackson finished the game with five catches for 146 yards (29.2 avg.) and two touchdowns.- Fitzpatrick finished the game going 21-of-28 for 417 yards (14.89 yards per attempt) with four touchdowns and no interceptions, for a passer rating of 156.2. He also added 36 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown.- His 156.2 passer rating is the second-highest single-game mark in team history.HIGHEST PASSER RATING (Single Game – Team History, Min. 20 Att.)1. Craig Erickson vs. Indianapolis, 9/11/94158.32. Ryan Fitzpatrickat New Orleans, 9/9/18 156.23. Trent Dilferat New Orleans, 11/7/99151.54. Brad Johnsonvs. Minnesoata, 11/3/02 148.35. Shaun King vs. Minnesota, 10/29/00 148.0- His 14.89 yards per attempt is the highest mark in a single game in franchise history.HIGHEST YARDS PER ATTEMPT (Single Game – Team History, Min. 20 Att.)1. Ryan Fitzpatrickat New Orleans, 9/9/18 14.892. Vinny Testaverdevs. Green Bay, 9/13/9214.523. Jameis Winston at Carolina, 12/24/17 13.594. Craig Erickson vs. Indianapolis, 9/11/9413.045. Josh Freeman vs. Kansas City, 10/14/1212.62- His 417 passing yards are the fourth-most in a game in team history and marks only the sixth time that a player has eclipsed 400 yards for Tampa Bay.MOST PASSING YARDS (Single Game – Team History)1. Doug Williams at Minnesota White Ryan Fitzpatrick Jersey , 11/16/804862. Vinny Testaverdeat Indianapolis, 10/16/884693. Josh Freeman vs. New Orleans, 10/21/12 4204. Ryan Fitzpatrickat New Orleans, 9/9/18 4175. Brian Griesea Chicago, 9/21/08407- Players making the Buccaneers debut: DT Beau Allen, K Chandler Catanzaro, DE Vinny Curry, C Ryan Jensen, DE Carl Nassib, DE Jason Pierre-Paul, DT Jerel Worthy- Players making their NFL debut: LB Jack Cichy, CB Carlton Davis, CB M.J. Stewart, S Jordan Whitehead, RB Shaun Wilson Let’s give a shout-out to Jimmy Fallon for making football superlatives a popular source of entertainment.I’d like to also give a shout-out to The Draft Network for connecting the dots between football superlatives and website coverage.Like Bruce Arians’ idea of running multiple practices at the same time, it’s an idea which makes so much sense for it not to have been a thing prior to now.Better late than never, right? Let’s crack open our first batch of off-season superlatives!MOST LIKELY TO BE RELEASED: WIDE RECEIVER, DESEAN JACKSONAaron Doster-USA TODAY SportsAnytime you try something for the first time it’s best to take it slow at first. For example, maybe don’t head to the black diamond slopes the first time you strap on skis. Also, if it’s your first time giving your kid peanut butter, maybe don’t go with afull blown PB&J. So, in the spirit of easing into this http://www.authenticstampabaybuccaneers.com/cheap-chandler-catanzaro-jersey , let’s go with the low-hanging fruit. Wide receiver, Desean Jackson is easily the Buccaneers player under contract for the 2019 season who is most likely to be released.But, what about Gerald McCoy? Well, McCoy is younger - not much, but still - and there’s no doubt he could add something to an opposing roster if they have a need at defensive tackle.Jackson is obviously older, and has had just one 1,000-yard season in his last four. Sure, it could be Jameis Winston’s fault. Or Ryan Fitzpatrick’s. Remember, Jackson started with three 100-yard games with Fitzpatrick to start the season, but also had four games under it with the same starting quarterback.You know what, maybe it was Kirk Cousin’s fault in Washington. Either way, Jackson has never strung together three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons in his career. And he’s only eclipsed 1,100-yards twice. What are the chances he’s going to do it now, turning 33 down the final stretch of the 2019 season?The final cherry on top of the release sundae, is of course his desire to leave Tampa Bay.Teams likely wouldn’t offer much of anything - if anything - in a trade for Jackson just because of all the stuff I wrote above this. But add to it he’s not holding back on his desire to leave the team, and there’s zero leverage to force anyone into a trade.MOST LIKELY TO BE TRADED: DEFENSIVE TACKLE, GERALD MCCOYAaron Doster-USA TODAY SportsOk, so this is another easy one. McCoy has been on the team a long time. In fact, he’s the only face Bucs fans can directly associate with every single season of this latest stretch of misery put on by the franchise.As unfair as it may be, McCoy is the final piece of the losing culture which was there when the whole thing started to climb to it’s current pitch. Which is why so many are on board with seeing him sporting different colors in 2019.Add to it that his get off is still one of the best in the game, and there might be a team (Rams) inside a Super Bowl window (Rams) who could see the value in adding a veteran defender (Rams) and just so happen to understand how to have a hole opening up at defensive tackle (Rams).MOST LIKELY TO BE REPLACED BY A DRAFT PICK: CORNERBACK http://www.authenticstampabaybuccaneers.com/cheap-donovan-smith-jersey , BRENT GRIMESKim Klement-USA TODAY SportsFor one, it’s all but guaranteed Grimes’ days in Tampa Bay are done. His days in the NFL might be done. Either way, if your secondary needs an upgrade, you’re not likely to find it by bringing back Grimes who is on the wrong side of 30 and just doesn’t fit what is needed in what we expect the Bucs defense to look like in 2019. He’s not physical enough, and isn’t quick enough to play off coverage with enough consistency to be left on an island. Not happening.So, while it’s possible Jason Licht might look to free-agency for this, my money is on the starting cornerback playing opposite of Carlton Davis III being a rookie drafted in the second-round.I’d love a guy like Byron Murphy, but my money is on a day-two prospect like Julian Love (Notre Dame) or Deandre Baker (Georgia) getting the shot to replace Grimes early-on.MOST LIKELY TO BE REPLACED BY A FREE-AGENT: RUNNING BACK, PEYTON BARBERKim Klement-USA TODAY SportsIt pains me to say this because I’m a big fan and supporter of Peyton Barber. That being said, there was not enough consistent production out of the backfield for the Buccaneers in 2018 and I don’t see coach Arians wanting to sit on his hands here.Barber will likely be back, he’s a restricted free-agent, so the Bucs have all the leverage here. But being on the roster and not being replaced as a starter are two different things.Ronald Jones’ career has gotten an early breathe of fresh-air by the hiring of Arians and Byron Leftwich, but why stand pat when the team could bring in a third member to really give the group some juice?Mark Ingram is, and will be, a popular name. If Jones can step up in year two, then Tampa Bay could literally take a run at replicating what New Orleans did with Ingram and Alvin Kamara the past two seasons.T.J. Yeldon will likely be looking for a new start, and playing with a passing attack who actually threatens defenses would do the former Alabama stand-out some good.Don’t forget, Arians was high on Ameer Abdullah coming out of Nebraska, and at 26-years old the Bucs may take a run at him this off-season.Oh, and Kareem Hunt still needs a job.MOST LIKELY TO WIN THE SUPER BOWL WITH A NEW TEAM IN 2019-20: TIGHT END, CAMERON BRATEKevin Jairaj-USA TODAY SportsNobody likes the thought of their favorite player going somewhere else and watching them win a ring while your team sits at home.Unfortunately, Bucs fans have gotten used to it over the years. Two prime candidates to move on from Tampa Bay and find new homes for 2019 are Cameron Brate and Adam Humphries.Humphries is a free-agent Youth Lavonte David Jersey , but Brate is under contract. However, the whole two tight-end domination thing never really panned out, and O.J. Howard is a clear-cut number one player at his position.The problem with all of this though, is Howard’s injury history in just two NFL seasons.More on that at another time. If Brate were to be traded, there are some franchises who could use his services and may view him as a crucial key to their Super Bowl dreams - meaning they’d pay more.They are:NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTSThe Patriots are no strangers to bringing in talent for short stints and getting them a ring along the way.Rob Gronkowski isn’t the same player he once was, and really can’t ever seem to be healthy. I think smart money is on Gronk retiring after this latest Super Bowl win, and if the Patriots want to get Tom Brady and Bill Belichick another ring, they will need a suitable replacement.LOS ANGELES RAMSGerald Everett had one target for no catches and no yards and absolutely no impact on the Super Bowl.If the Rams want to repeat as NFC Champions and have a shot at winning next year’s title-fight, they’ll need to get some weapons who can actually produce when Todd Gurley is “not injured”.Brate would be one.DALLAS COWBOYSIf there is a team which rivals the Patriots in league-wide hatred, it might be this one. But with Amari Cooper, Dak Prescott, and Ezekiel Elliott all the Cowboys are missing is a legitimate threat in the middle of the field to open it all up for them.Every great Cowboys team had a contributor at the tight end spot. They don’t have one right now.LOS ANGELES CHARGERSSeems Brate may be destined for a move back to California. Philip Rivers may never get a ring, but if he’s going to, he’ll need to find a solid tight end to replace his favorite target and long-time running mate Antonio Gates.The Chargers have a running game, good receivers and a capable defense.Upgrades in some key areas and the addition of Brate would make them a true contender in the AFC, and might get Rivers a crack at the Lombardi.