The New Orleans Saints ended a deeply disappointing season on a positive note with a come-from-behind 23-20 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. Our takeaways:
- It's official: The Buccaneers hold the No. 1 pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. It's the silver lining of a nightmare season that ended with a seven-game losing streak and a 2-14 record. Quarterback appears to be the obvious direction to go with the first pick. Josh McCown is not the long-term answer and the team appears to have lost faith in Mike Glennon. Marcus Mariota? Jameis Winston? The Bucs are on the clock.
- The astounding rise of Odell Beckham Jr. will keep Mike Evans from winning the Offensive Rookie of the Year award, but the Bucs got themselves a keeper. Evans went over 1,000 yards for the season in this game and recorded his 12th touchdown reception. Evans and Beckham finished the year tied with 12 touchdowns apiece.
- The Saints wiped out a 20-7 deficit and shut out the Bucs in the second half. Will that be enough to save the job of defensive coordinator Rob Ryan? Ryan was a buzzy head-coach candidate this time last year. After the Saints tumbled on defense in 2014, it will be interesting to see if Ryan is the fall guy for a lost season.
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