WATCH: Rashid Shaheed returns a punt 54 yards for a badly-needed TD

Rashid Shaheed returned a punt 54 yards for a badly-needed touchdown against the Buccaneers. It’s just what the Saints needed:

Leave it to Rashid Shaheed to bring the Caesars Superdome to its feet. A big stop by the New Orleans Saints defense and a foolish Tampa Bay Buccaneers penalty set him up in favorable field position to return a punt in the second  quarter, and he delivered.

Shaheed caught the ball just inside Saints territory and split the gunners to cut upfield, where a nice block by linebacker D’Marco Jackson sprung him free down the sideline. Shaheed had so much room to run he danced his way into the end zone. Special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi was waiting to celebrate with him.

This was Shaheed’s second career punt return touchdown, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. His score and Blake Grupe’s following kick cut the Bucs’ lead down to 17-10. With Chris Olave out in concussion protocol, Shaheed is going to be needed not just on offense but in the game’s third phase.

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