Monday, 4 a.m.
This, then, is what they refer to as a hard-fought victory.
The Tamps Bay Bucs showed they could take a punch, and deliver one as well, in Sunday afternoon's 20-10 victory over the New Orleans Saints, breaking a streak of seven straight regular-season losses to the Saints.
Seemingly energized by a bench-clearing brawl early in the fourth quarter, the Bucs took over a close game in the last 13 minutes to come away with a victory.
Turns out, there is a bit of fight to the Tampa Bay Bucs.
Turns out, there is life afterward, too. In those last 13 minutes, the Bucs forced four turnovers to win an uphill struggle. Three of those turnovers were interceptions by former Bucs' quarterback Jameis Winston, one of them returned by Mike Edwards for a game-sealing touchdown.
The Bucs were annoyed that a long incompletion to Scotty Miller down the right sideline went without a pass interference call against Marshon Lattimore, who had been hand-fighting with Miller on his route.
Quarterback Tom Brady moved upfield to protest to the officials, but Lattimore chirped at him. Brady walked toward Lattimore, talking back, when Leonard Fournette exchanged shoves with Lattimore. Receiver Mike Evans then shoved Lattimore to the turf, and after the exchange, both Evans and Lattimore were ejected.
The Bucs downplayed the incident, but it certainly helped focus the team for the final period. The Bucs had struggled offensively all day, gaining only 188 yards through the air and 72 on the ground. But in that closing period, Tom Brady hit Breshad Perriman with a 28-yard touchdown pass for the go-ahead score.
"That’s why we kept him," Bucs' coach Todd Bowles said. "He can do everything. He comes up big at the right time. He can block, he plays special teams and he knows all the receivers spots. He proved his worth today."
The win is certain to remind onlookers of how difficult it was to watch Jameis Winston's interceptions when he played for the Bucs. In 72 games with the Bucs, he threw 88 interceptions.
The Bucs are now 2-0, largely because of their defense, which has allowed 13 points in two games. That said, the Saints had some success running the ball, averaging 5.1 yards per carry.
In two weeks, the Bucs have 10 sacks and six takeaways.
That's been more than enough to offset two so-so weeks by quarterback Tom Brady, who has 402 yards in two games.
The Bucs are home Sunday afternoon against Green Bay.