Even in defeat, several New Orleans Saints stood out with inspired performances against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Chase Young brought relentless energy off the edge, Kool-Aid McKinstry bounced back with tight coverage, and rookie Devin Neal quietly impressed in protection. Their efforts were bright spots in an otherwise tough Week 8 loss.
DE Chase Young
For most of this season, the Saints have struggled to generate pass-rush pressure, and it has really hurt this defense. The saving grace was former Washington Commanders first-round pick Young returning from injury. Since then, Young has been attacking opposing offensive tackles, making them look like inexperienced rookies. He had a challenge this week against Tampa Bay Buccaneers star tackle Tristan Wirfs, but it definitely didn’t look like one.
Against the Bucs, Young had 1.5 sacks, a forced fumble, pressured QB Baker Mayfield all day, and made plays against the run. This past offseason, the Saints re-signed Young to a 3-year, $51 million contract, making him one of the highest-paid players on the team, and it looks like that may have been a home run move.
CB Kool-Aid McKinstry
A player who is not having a great start to the season is McKinstry, but Sunday seemed like a great bounce-back game. The second-year defender has struggled in DC Brandon Staley’s scheme, primarily because of the zone coverage — reflected by his average C grade (73.4) in PFSN’s CB Impact metrics.
Former Alabama DB Kool-Aid McKinstry said “Not Today!”#CollegeFootball #RollTide #BamaFactor
— The Bama Standard Network©️🐘 (@TheBamaStandard) October 27, 2025
Facing Tampa Bay, McKinstry was more in man coverage, and he looked great. There was a notable sequence near the beginning of the third quarter where the Bucs were on the Saints’ one-yard line. New Orleans made some excellent stops against the run in this area earlier in the game, so Tampa Bay went with the passing game instead. Twice, they targeted McKinstry on the left side of the endzone, and both passes were near interceptions that the WR had to defend.
RB Devin Neal
This is a bit of a surprise choice because the Saints did not run the ball once with Neal this game (even though they should have). The reason he was one of the standout players was his blocking. Tampa Bay HC Todd Bowles loves to blitz, especially against young/inexperienced QBs.
The Bucs started early with the blitzes, and the Saints were struggling to pick them up. When Neal was in the game, that was another story. The rookie running back looked like the best non-offensive line blocker for the Saints, and it would have been a much worse day for offense if Neal wasn’t on the field.
