Bucs stun Saints 20-17 in OT
 

NEW ORLEANS (AP)—By refusing to quit on a lost season, Carnell Williams(notes) and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have prolonged the New Orleans Saints’ quest for home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

Williams rushed for 129 yards and a score, and Connor Barth(notes) kicked a 47-yard field goal in overtime, lifting Tampa Bay to a stunning 20-17 victory over the Saints on Sunday.

New Orleans was heavily favored and could have guaranteed itself home games throughout the NFC playoffs with a win, but instead dropped a second straight game at home after opening the season 13-0.


Williams had a 23-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter and Michael Spurlock’s 77-yard punt return tied it, completing a comeback from 17 points down in the first half.

The Saints had a chance to win in the final seconds of regulation, but Garrett Hartley(notes) missed a 37-yard field goal. Tampa Bay (3-12) then won the coin toss to open overtime and scored soon after.

Although the Saints jumped out to a 17-0 lead and appeared en route to an easy win, the Buccaneers kept playing hard and were the better team in the second half.

Spurlock’s game-tying score came after the Bucs had squandered two other scoring chances, once on Tracy Porter’s(notes) interception in the end zone and once on a failed fourth-and-short from the New Orleans 19-yard line.

New Orleans, shut out throughout the second half, finally drove into field-goal range in the final seconds, but Hartley hooked his kick badly to the left.

Tampa Bay’s defense continued to show improvement since coach Raheem Morris took charge of the group following New Orleans’ 38-7 win at Tampa Bay six weeks ago.

Drew Brees(notes) was held to 258 yards passing and one touchdown. The Saints rushed for 124 yards, but gained only 28 yards on the ground in the second half, when leading rusher Pierre Thomas(notes) sat out with bruised ribs.

Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman(notes) was 21 of 31 for 271 yards. He did not throw a touchdown pass and was intercepted twice, but made a pivotal play in overtime when he scrambled for a first down on third-and-6, sustaining the winning drive.

Tampa Bay’s Kellen Winslow(notes) had four catches for 76 yards, including a 35-yard catch during a 98-yard drive that ended with Williams’ score.

If Minnesota wins its final two games, starting Monday night in Chicago, then the Saints will have to win in Carolina next Sunday to wrap up the first No. 1 NFC playoff seeding in franchise history.

The Saints took a 7-0 lead on their first drive by going 75 yards in nine plays. Brees completed all three of his passes and the Saints gained 44 yards rushing on six carries, the last an 8-yard TD by Thomas.

New Orleans’ next touchdown was set up by Darren Sharper’s(notes) ninth interception of the season, during which he set an NFL record for interception return yards in a season with 376.

Six plays later, Brees hit Robert Meachem(notes) deep down the middle for a 30-yard score to make it 14-0 late in the first quarter. It was Meachem’s team-leading 10th TD of the season and ninth receiving.

Hartley’s 28-yard field goal made it 17-0. The Bucs began their comeback on Barth’s 34-yard field goal as the first half ended.

Bucs stun Saints 20-17 in OT - NFL - Yahoo! Sports