The Saints are 1-0, but it was an ugly win. Here are some first impressions.

It was not an instant ESPN Classic worthy of seeing again and again and again.

Neither future Hall of Fame quarterback added to his stellar body of work. In fact, Drew Brees and Tom Brady looked their age — north of 40 but still ready, willing and able.

I can’t mask my disappointment even though COVID-19 protocols say I must.

But the best team won Sunday afternoon in a cavernous Mercedes-Benz Superdome, though the New Orleans Saints did not play their best.

And the visiting Tampa Bay Buccaneers played even worse.

That said, the three-time defending NFC South-champion Saints moved into familiar territory atop the division after Week 1, converting four Tampa Bay miscues into 20 points en route to a comfortable 34-23 victory.

So, now it’s on to the Las Vegas strip where the Saints will help the Raiders (1-0) cut the ribbon at their new, but empty palatial $1.9 billion Allegiant Stadium on Monday Night Football (ESPN, 7:15 p.m.).

Here are my first impressions from Game 1. The Saints and Bucs meet again in Week 9 (Nov. 8) at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida (NBC, 7:20 p.m.). And I suspect there could be a third encounter in the playoffs.

▪ I gave the Saints a game grade of B-minus, a solid effort under trying conditions and extenuating circumstances. They made enough game-changing plays in all three phases and remain the team to catch in the division and the NFC.

▪ The play of both teams reflected the strange times in which they are conducting business amid the deadly COVID-19 pandemic, without the benefit of an offseason program, restricted training camps and no pre-season games/scrimmages. Saints coach Sean Payton and Brees both acknowledged the play calling could have been better.

▪ Brady looked more like the GOAT who cost his team dearly and not the G.O.A.T. that we’ve come to appreciate over two decades. For a third consecutive game dating to last season, he was guilty of throwing a Pick 6 with Saints cornerback Janoris “Jackrabbit’‘ Jenkins doing the honors Sunday.

▪ Brady threw two INTs, no doubt reminding Bucs fans of last season when quarterback Jameis Winston threw 30 passes to opponents, seven of which were returned for touchdowns to set a league record. Winston now plays for the Saints.

▪ I’m not sure how Saints general manager Mickey Loomis continues to find cap room when there appears to be little wiggle room. In a span of two days, Loomis rewarded running back Alvin Kamara (5 years, $75M) and linebacker Demario Davis (3 years, $27M) with multi-year contract extensions that combined to exceed $100 million.

▪ Is there nothing Swiss Army knife Taysom Hill can’t do? He had five touches, accounting for 65 yards, including a 38-yard halfback pass to Kamara.

▪ Speaking of Kamara, he celebrated his huge contract extension with two touchdowns and came within inches of a third score. When happy and healthy, AK41 is simply electrifying.

And finally, we now have an idea what happens when COVID-19 and Mother Nature meet at the intersection of Trouble & Danger.

The mere idea of a NFL game being played inside an empty Superdome with Tropical Storm Sally slowly churning toward Cat 1 status in the Gulf of Mexico, midway between the two competing cities, seems too much to comprehend.

Truth be told, it’s all part of the new normal.