Notes from the Buccaneer locker room
The Tampa Tribune, published 21 September 2015

McCoy says he’s fine after leaving Saints game early
Gerald McCoy left the game during the Saints’ final possession, appearing to favor his right arm, but said in the locker room after the game that he was fine. McCoy’s first two pro seasons ended prematurely with torn biceps muscles — the left in 2010 and the right in 2011. McCoy had one sack on Sunday, his second of the season and the 29th of his career.

Evans targeted just 3 times in win over Saints
Mike Evans made his 2015 debut after sitting out the opener with a hamstring injury — but didn’t make a catch. Evans, who set a franchise record with 12 touchdown catches as a rookie, was targeted three times by Winston and said he was on a “pitch count’’ that limited him to 45-50 snaps. “I felt great and I’ll be even better next week,’’ Evans said. “The Saints came back on us last year in this building, but today we held them off. The crowd was definitely into it and Drew Brees is a beast, but we kept making plays out there.’’

Memorable afternoon
Second-year tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins, one of Tampa Bay’s few bright spots last week against Tennessee, entered Sunday’s game seeking atonement. After missing the team bus in New Orleans last year, Seferian-Jenkins also was guilty of a key drop during a bitter overtime loss. This time around, he arrived at the Superdome on time and made two catches for 29 yards, including a 21-yard reception on Tampa Bay’s third offensive snap.

But there were also a couple of potentially huge mistakes as Seferian-Jenkins was penalized for holding downfield on a third-and-7 screen pass to running back Charles Sims, nullifying a 12-yard gain late in the first quarter. In the second quarter, Winston underthrew Seferian-Jenkins, who was wide open 40 yards away and failed to secure the catch.

“Absolutely, I should have caught that ball,” said Seferian-Jenkins, who opened with a pair of touchdown catches against Tennessee. “It wasn’t easy for us today, but we battled through the adversity.”

Staying the course
In last year’s 37-31 overtime loss at the Superdome, Tampa Bay squandered an 11-point lead in the final 10 minutes of regulation. That fourth-quarter collapse was on the minds of Bucs defenders, especially when quarterback Jameis Winston and running back Doug Martin lost fumbles on consecutive series late in the game.

“I’m very proud of today’s effort,” said linebacker Lavonte David, who made eight tackles Sunday after struggling against the Titans in the opener. “We saw it last year — you can never rest against a Drew Brees. But we never lost our confidence today. We kept working hard and we were rewarded with a win.”

The Bucs received a break down the stretch when Zach Hocker missed a 42-yard field goal try that could have pulled New Orleans within 23-16. But they also made some breaks of their own as backup defensive lineman William Gholston blocked an extra-point attempt less than a minute later and safety Chris Conte forced a fumble. Gholston finished with six tackles in spot duty.

“Everyone was focused on just doing their job,” defensive tackle Gerald McCoy said. “Drew Brees is one of the greatest competitors to ever play this game and we showed today that we can handle a hostile environent against a Hall of Fame quarterback.”