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TAMPA, Fla. — We’ve all had trips like the one the New Orleans Saints made here Sunday.

You know the kind: the ones where nothing seems to go right. Instead of Florida, the airline sends your luggage to Nova Scotia, your hotel reservation has evaporated and your rental car’s air conditioner has one temperature: Mojave.

It’s enough to make you vow never to step outside your home again — until that one thing makes your forget your troubles.

For the Saints, that one thing was Garrett Hartley’s game-winning 27-yard field goal try curving through the uprights as time expired, turning a lost weekend in the Liquid Sunshine state into a cardio workout of a 16-14 victory.

Everything about Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers flashed big red “danger” signs for the Saints, signs that came into even sharper definition as what was an afternoon contest dragged into “Sunday Night Football” territory turn by mind-bending turn.

An early season divisional road game gave the Saints a chance to stuff the Bucs, like everyone else assumed to be a worthy NFC South contender going into the season, into one of those infamous Florida sinkholes. But getting to that point proved to be a trip filled with perils. Eventually, they were almost too much for New Orleans to overcome.

First, the weather. A hot, sunny Sunday devolved into something calling for them to raise a tropical storm warning flag on the pirate ship behind Raymond James Stadium’s north end zone shortly after Hartley drilled the game’s opening field goal with 10:30 left in the first quarter. A lightning bolt flashed out of lead gray clouds to the east, and soon a typhoon plunged the game into a 69-minute weather delay.

Dome teams are like domesticated pets. They don’t perform as well when you put them outside in adverse conditions. That was apparently one of the Saints’ offensive problems Sunday.

Read more: Rabalais: Saints

lsutigerfan

Tragic!!! Did someone die?

Danno

Schiano's ego did.

homerj07

Fluck we play down to the level of the other team WAY TO OFTEN.

Michigan_SF

Well hopefully that doesn't happen with the Tards again.

RailBoss

Division games are always brutal, no love loss!!

Mardigras9

Bad weather, a big delay, Tampa's improved D
It's a big road win for the Saints. The Saints deserved to win, they left a lot of points on the field and Tampa had no offense. Who would have guessed their kicker would miss and ours win it.