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 Lose to Buccaneers 48-40  Cheap Sheldon Rankins Jersey The Saints had not won a season opener since the first game of the 2013 season, and in 2018 it was the same old, same old story again my friend. On Sunday in the Mercedes Benz Superdome, New Orleans came out swinging, scoring on their first three possessions and totaling 24 points in the first half. You would think that scoring 24 points in one half would have the Saints comfortably in the lead? Think again: New Orleans’ defense allowed Tampa Bay to have just as much success, looking every bit the porous and inept unit that we have come to loathe during Sean Payton’s tenure. In the first half, the Bucs did not punt once and scored a franchise record 31 points (with seven of those coming on a Mike Gillislee fumble returned for a touchdown). In the second half, the Saints offense suddenly became sluggish, beset by penalties, drops and a costly fumble by Michael Thomas. The Bucs found the end zone once again in the third quarter, upping their lead to 17 points in the third quarter at 41-24. The fourth quarter brought much of the same, Tampa absolutely perforating the Saints defense and scoring at will as the lead ballooned up to 24 points. New Orleans would finally get on the board with touchdowns by Alvin Kamara and two points conversions to get within eight at 48-40. But Ryan Fitzpatrick (who I’m sure was actually Tom Brady disguised as a Buccaneer) continued lighting up the Saints secondary, throwing for over 400 yards and using his feet to convert a crucial third and eleven play late in the fourth quarter.The defense had an absolutely horrendous day, unable to put any pressure of Fitzpatrick and not much better against the run. Could it be a fluke? Next week against the Cleveland Browns should tell us very quickly where this season is likely to go: another year of shootouts where Drew Brees has to throw 50 times a game, or a season like last year, where the running game and the defense are competent enough to keep the team balanced and make them a contender. For now, and although it is just one game, the 2018 Saints are big, gigantic fraud!***Below is a timeline of the game as it unfolded, if you can stomach to read.1st QuarterSaints take the opening kickoff all the way down for a touchdown by Alvin KamaraNO: 7 - TB: 0The Buccaneers respond immediately, with DeSean Jackson for a 58-yard touchdownNO: 7 - TB: 7Saints go back down the field and have to settle for a Wil Lutz field goalNO: 10 - TB: 7Tampa Bay easily gets into Saints territory on runs by Peyton BarberFitzpatrick gets into the end zone for a touchdownNO: 10 - TB: 14Saints just as quickly get into Bucs territory as the quarter endsThis has all the makings of a shootout early!2nd QuarterBrees finds Ted Ginn Jr. for a 28-yard touchdown to open the second quarterNO: 17 - TB: 14Bucs get into the Saints’ red zone in the blink of an eyeTampa stall and Chandler Catanzaro ties the game with a 33-yard field goalNO: 17 - TB: 17Saints go three-and-out for the first time as Brees is sacked Bucs dice up the defense again and move down the field with easeFitzpatrick finds Chris Godwin for a touchdownNO: 17 - TB: 24With just over four minutes left in the first half, the Bucs haven’t punted yetMike Gillislee fumbles the ball and the Buccaneers recover for a touchdownNO: 17 - TB: 31Saints get into Bucs territory and into the Bucs red zoneBrees finds Michael Thomas alone in the end zone for a touchdownNO: 24 - TB: 31Buccaneers take a knee, at the half Saints are down seven3rd QuarterBucs start with the ball as they had deferred after winning the tossBucs easily get into the red zone aided by Saints penaltiesTampa stalls and settle for a 36-yard field goalNO: 24 - TB: 34Saints go three-and-out for the second time of the game and puntBucs go three-and-out and punt for the first timeSaints stall and have to punt once againRyan Fitzpatrick finds Mike Evans for a 50-yard touchdownNO: 24 - TB: 41Saints get into Bucs territory Cheap Alvin Kamara Jersey , but Michael Thomas fumbles the ball awayBucs take over as the quarter ends4th QuarterKen Crawley gifts the Bucs another first down on a terrible PIRyan Fitzpatrick finds DeSean Jackson for a touchdownNO: 24 - TB: 48Saints drive into the Bucs red zoneAlvin Kamara runs into the end zone for a touchdownKamara converts the two-point conversionNO: 32 - TB: 48On third down, Bucs go deep and find DeSean Jackson into Saints territoryBucs stall while running the clock and settle for a field goalCatanzaro misses the field goal as the Saints take overSaints get into Bucs territory in two playsBrees finds Alvin Kamara for a touchdownTed Ginn Jr. converts the two-point tryNO: 40 - TB: 48The Bucs take over and run the clock, converting a big 3rd and 11 playBuccaneers win the game 48-40.Drew Brees on collision course to make NFL history against Falcons By: Ryan Michael Pro Football Analyst Ryan Michael is a Pro Football Analyst who specializes in quarterback statistics, analytics, film-study and interviews with NFL veterans. He has used his own era-adjusted metric, QBS2, to grade every qualifying starting quarterback since 1937. For more information, visit his website: www.quarterbackscore.webs.com and follow him on Twitter: @theryanmichaelOne of the biggest records in American sports is just a day away from falling, only you probably haven’t heard much about it.Brett Favre’s 6,300 career pass completions are the most in NFL history. It’s a mark set over a 20-year, 302-game Hall of Fame career. A mark so far out of reach, even the great Peyton Manning retired 176 completions short of breaking it.Since the 1941, only 7 quarterbacks have held the title of being the NFL’s all-time pass completion leader: Sammy Baugh, Bobby Layne, Y.A. Tittle, Johnny Unitas, Fran Tarkenton, Dan Marino and Favre.That company is far more dominant than mainstream media would have you believe.Enter Drew Brees, 2-3 quarters away from becoming the 8th man on that list. Not Peyton Manning. Not Tom Brady. Not Aaron Rodgers, Joe Montana or John Elway.Drew Brees: The NFL’s 6x leader in pass completions (2007, 2008, 2011, 2014 Terron Armstead Jersey , 2016 and 2017) and at age 39, 2018’s current leader in pass completions (65 through Week 2).Favre’s record was set over 302 games but Brees will break it in his 252nd. A lot of that has to do with being the NFL’s all-time completion-percentage leader (67.1%). If Brees completed passes at the rate Brady has (64.0%), his career total would drop from 6,287 to 5,999—and he’d be 302 completions away from making history, not 14.This Sunday, September 23rd in Atlanta, the fall of Favre’s record will be greeted with a clap, a FOX Television graphic, a tweet from the NFL and the Saints and then—it will fade away.Football is the top sport in America and quarterback is the top position in football. Of the three major volume records: pass completions, passing yards and touchdown passes, this is the least significant, but an important one nevertheless.Had Brady been the quarterback in arm’s reach of the record, it would have been the top storyline in American sports this week. It’s almost as if acknowledging the significance of Brees’ feat takes away from the narratives pushed to justify others as “greater” on the all-time list, even as they sit further down the record books.The story of Brees’ career, is it not?This record, like others Brees will break, is the culmination of over 17 years of hard work, nearly a decade and a half of elite on-field performance and a dedication to precision at a level few Hall of Famers could ever match.Of course, every current and future Hall of Fame quarterback has the opportunity to prove me wrong by breaking what will now be Brees’ record.