TAMPA, Fla. — A bounce back performance is what the New Orleans Saints expected out of Alontae Taylor, and it is ultimately what they received.

A week and a half after he was benched for his performance against the Los Angeles Rams, Taylor made one of the more important plays of the game when he recorded the first of four Saints turnovers. His second quarter interception of Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield was the first of his career.

“(Quarterback Derek Carr) always tells me before the game, ‘You’re going to get the first one when it’s supposed to happen,’” Taylor said. ‘So when I got the first one today, he just told me it happened when it was supposed to.”

The Buccaneers were driving with the help of a couple crucial defensive penalties on the Saints that allowed them to convert two long third downs. They were at the Saints 39 and driving when Mayfield took a shot downfield for rookie receiver Trey Palmer.

Taylor was positioned just off Palmer’s hip when he leapt to intercept the slightly underthrown pass at the Saints’ 2-yard line, ending the scoring threat.

The young cornerback, his coaches and teammates were all open about what transpired last week against the Rams. Taylor is playing a new position this year as the Saints slot defender, and too often last week, he was fooled by the Rams offensive looks, leading him to be out of position.

Still, the Saints maintained throughout the week that he would be back in the starting lineup, and their faith in him was not shaken. Taylor repaid that faith with a big day Sunday in Tampa.

“He’s young, he’s going to have his challenges, he’s going to have his adversity,” said Tyrann Mathieu. “But to see a young dude respond like that? Man, he’s going to be around for a long time. That’s who he is. Whatever he put on tape against the Rams, maybe it was an off day.

“But that’s the Alontae we need, and that’s the Alontae we all expect to show up.”