SmashMouth

The New Orleans Saints ended a dismal season by overcoming a listless first half performance and rallying to beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23-20 at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday.

The Saints (7-9) finished with seven wins for the third time since Sean Payton took over as head coach in 2006. The Saints had the same record in 2007 and 2012, when Payton was away from the team due to a suspension.

The Bucs (2-14) finished the season with their worst record since 1986 entered the game with the NFL's second-worst rushing offense, averaging only 79 yards a game. They blew past that total in the second quarter, finishing with 183 yards on the ground as they wore out the Saints' struggling defense with lengthy drives in the first half.

Saints quarterback Drew Brees threw three interceptions against a defense that hadn't picked off a pass in a month. But the Bucs failed to convert the turnovers into touchdowns, which allowed the Saints to come back after trailing by as much as 13 in the fourth quarter.

Mark Ingram's 1-yard touchdown run cut the Bucs' lead to 20-14 with 14:02 left in the game.

Saints cornerback Keenan Lewis intercepted a McCown pass that was bobbled and tipped by receiver Tavarres King, giving the Saints possession at the 50 with 5:20 left in the game. After converting on fourth-and-2, Brees hit Marques Colston as he dashed across the field for a 36-yard touchdown reception.

read more

Attached Thumbnails