Buccaneers' Bruce Arians shocked by blowout loss to Saints

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers entered Sunday night's game against the New Orleans Saints in good shape. In recent weeks, Bruce Arians' squad obliterated the Green Bay Packers and stomped the Las Vegas Raiders, but those big wins are now a distant memory following a 38-3 loss to the Saints. 

Sunday's loss was arguably the worst of Tom Brady's career, but Arians didn't blame him for the defeat. Instead, Arians simply said that New Orleans dominated in all facets of play and that it was a surprising loss following a strong week of practice.

“It was shocking,” Arians said, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. “To know just watch[ing] us practice, the way we practiced all week, the confidence we had coming in. . . . I give New Orleans credit. They kicked our a-- in every phase. . . . Everything. Offense, defense, special teams.”

While Sunday's loss was hideous, Arians now says the Bucs are putting all their energy toward preparing for the Carolina Panthers, who nearly defeated the Kansas City Chiefs, next weekend. 

With a 6-3 record and a number of difficult games remaining on their schedule, the Buccaneers now will have a difficult time winning the NFC South, especially because the Saints have the tiebreaker. 

If Brady wants any hope of winning his seventh Super Bowl ring, he'll have to be far better than he was on Sunday.