The Tampa Bay Buccaneers handed the Minnesota Vikings their first defeat at home this season 36-17.

Rookie running back Doug Martin exploded in his best game yet as an NFL back. Martin led the Buccaneers in rushing and receiving, with 29 carries for 135 yards and one touchdown. His touchdown run came midway through the 4th quarter to help solidify the victory. Martin caught three passes for 79 yards and a touchdown.

Buccaneers quarterback Josh Freeman continues to pick up his level of play week after week. Freeman competed 19-of-36 passes for 262 yards and three touchdowns. Freeman has thrown three touchdowns in three consecutive games.

Wideout Mike Williams contributed with six catches and 68 yards along with one touchdown. Third year full-back Erik Lorig scored his first NFL touchdown.

Vikings quarterback Christian Ponder bounced back from his 58 yard passing game last week. Ponder completed 19-of-35 passes for 251 yards one touchdown and one interception. Ponder connected with favorite wideout Percy Harvin in the 2nd quarter on an 18 yard touchdown pass.

Harvin finished the game with seven receptions, 90 yards and one touchdown. Harvin compiled 87 total receptions last season; he currently has 60 receptions through eight games and could possibly catch 100+ passes for the first time in his career.

Adrian Peterson had another great game as one of the superior running backs in the NFL. Peterson broke out a 64 yard touchdown run in the 3rd quarter. Peterson averaged 8.2 yards per carry with his 15 carries for 123 yards. AP sits atop the NFL with 775 yards through eight games, and also with the most 20+ yard runs.

With the loss the Vikings fall to 5-3, but remain in 2nd in the NFC North Division just ahead of the 4-3 Packers; they have yet to play. Of the Vikings final eight games, five will be against divisional opponents, which will absolutely be decisive in their efforts in making the playoffs.

Next week the Vikings will be heading west to take on the Seattle Seahawks, who remain undefeated at home. The Buccaneers will also be heading west to take on the Oakland Raiders and look to get back to .500.

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Eli Manning and the New York Giants were at first down by two scores, but a 25 point 4th quarter comeback allowed the Giants to defeat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 41-34.

Manning was off to an extremely shaky start and threw three interceptions in the first half, including his last interception with less than a minute left, resulting in a Buccaneers’ pick six to go ahead 24-13. However, Manning kept his composure and finished off the game, throwing for over 500 yards and three touchdowns.

Giants wideout Hakeem Nicks was questionable for today’s game because of a foot injury, but that did not seem evident in his performance. Nicks caught 10 passes for 199 yards and one touchdown. Giants receiver Victor Cruz had a big day catching 11 passes for 179 yards and one touchdown.

Tampa Bay took advantage of the Giants weak secondary throughout the game. Josh Freeman completed 15 of 28 passes for 243 yards and threw two touchdowns along with two interceptions. Wideout Vincent Jackson caught 5 passes for 128 yards and one touchdown. Wideout Mike Williams caught 3 passes for 59 yards, and scored a touchdown with less than two minutes left to tie the game.

Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw did not see much action after exiting the game in the 2nd quarter with a neck injury. Third year running back Andre Brown handled most of the snaps at running back for the rest of the game. Brown had 13 carries for 71 yards and scored the game-winning touchdown for the Giants with 31 seconds left.

After scoring the go ahead touchdown, the Giants kicked back off to the Buccaneers, giving them an attempt to tie the game. Tampa started their drive on their own 36 yard line, and Freeman and Jackson connected for 19 yards moving up to the Giants 45 yard line. The following play, Freeman connected with Mike Williams all the way down to the Giants’ 16. However, the play was reviewed by officials because Williams did not maintain possession and was overturned, negating the big gain. With about 12 seconds remaining, Freeman dropped back, overthrew intended receiver Dallas Clark and was intercepted by Giants linebacker Michael Boley to end the game.

Eli and the Giants offense came out for one more play to kneel it and solidify the win. At the end of the game, controversy spurred as Giants coach Tom Coughlin confronted Buccaneers coach Greg Schiano evidently upset about something.

The Giants could have easily breezed past the Buccaneers if they would have converted on their red-zone possessions. The Giants settled for four field goals in the red-zone rather than punching in touchdown scores. New York will be back in action this upcoming Thursday against the Carolina Panthers.

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New Year’s Day means a change in lifestyle for many people. Not so much for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and their losing ways, however. The Bucs (4-12) laid an absolute egg in the first half in Atlanta and fell 45-24 to the Falcons (10-6) – Tampa Bay’s 10^th loss in a row to close out a miserable season that ironically began with a promising 4-2 start.

“If I was in the business of working out my future, I wouldn’t be coaching,” said Raheem Morris shortly after. “I’m going to go to work tomorrow until they tell me to stop.” Unfortunately, that’s exactly what management told him to do on Monday. Unable to win a game since October 16^th, Morris was fired after 3 years as the Bucs head coach. A 42-0 first half lead for the Falcons pretty much sealed his fate.

Aware that a Lions loss in Green Bay would give them an opportunity to clinch the 5^th playoff seed, Atlanta held nothing back from the get-go. By the time the Packers had defeated the Lions 45-41, the Falcons entered the 2^nd quarter with a commanding 21-0 lead.

Matt Ryan touchdown passes of 17 and 48 yards to rookie receiver Julio Jones on the second and third Falcons’ possessions of the game, respectively, put Atlanta up three scores following a one yard rushing touchdown by rookie Jacquizz Rodgers to open the game. The first of Josh Freeman’s three interceptions set up Ryan’s second and final touchdown pass of the game.

Atlanta put up just as many points in the 2^nd quarter. A Freeman fumble put the Falcons at the Tampa 30, and Michael Turner finished off the drive with a one yard touchdown run on 4^th and goal to make it 28-0. Turner would add an 81 yard sprint to the end zone on Atlanta’s next possession after scoring on a 26 yard Curtis Lofton pick six.

Freeman struggled mightily yet again, turning the ball over a total of 4 times. His counterpart’s day was the exact opposite scenario. With a 35 point lead just before halftime, and a team record of 42 points in one half, Falcons coach Mike Smith had the luxury of sitting Ryan for the rest of the game after just 9 passing attempts.

Ryan also set the Falcons single season franchise record for passing yardage. With just 106 yards he totaled 4,177 on the year, breaking Jeff George’s 1995 mark. ”We had opportunities the week before and just didn’t make the plays,” Ryan said. “Today, we made the plays and I think that’s what we needed moving forward.”

The Falcons were only able to add one more field goal in the 2^nd half with Chris Redman taking snaps. This was of no concern for Atlanta though, as Tampa Bay fell three touchdowns short with just two touchdowns and a field goal for the remainder of the game. The Falcons will now head to New Jersey for a 1 p.m. Wild Card showdown with the Giants. They hope to rebound after a disappointing divisional round loss to Green Bay last year despite being the number one overall seed after a 13-3 record.

“Honestly, I’ve said it all year: I think we’re a better team than we were last year,” Gonzalez said. This is only the first time in Falcons history that they have made the playoffs in back-to-back seasons. Now that the Bucs’ spiraling downfall has finally come to an end, they will search for a new head coach before seeking an impactful franchise player with the 5^th overall pick in the upcoming draft.

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Move over Peyton Manning. The all-time rookie passing record set by the Colts quarterback back in 1998 was broken on Christmas Eve by the electrifying Cam Newton.Newton surpassed Manning’s mark of 3,739 yards with a 171 yard display in the Panthers’ (6-9) 48-16 thrashing of the Bucs (4-11).

“It’s very nice to do something with a record that’s so prestigious in this league,” said Newton. The number one pick in this year’s draft accounted for 4 touchdowns on the day, 3 passing and one rushing – the exact figures he posted against Tampa Bay only 3 weeks ago, ironically.

As for the Bucs, the common theme during their 9 game losing streak plagued them once again – turnovers. Tampa Bay gave it away 4 times on Saturday, giving them an overwhelming total of 28 during their slide. Carolina turned takeaways into early Christmas presents, scoring half of their points off of them.

“The mistakes led to points, and that’s been the difference between this year and last,” said coach Raheem Morris. “When you can’t maintain possession, this is the result. It causes lopsided results. It causes mental mistakes. It causes poor performances on defense, and out-of-character offense. Things begin to spiral out of control.”

These turnovers are also making Morris’ seat hotter by the week. The Bucs look nothing like the team that came out of the gate 4-2. Carolina struck first blood on the game’s opening possession when DeAngelo Williams went untouched into the end zone on an 8 yard carry to conclude a 9 play, 80 yard drive. Sixty of the yards came on the ground for the Panthers, while the other 20 broke Manning’s record for Newton.

Williams added his second and final touchdown run in the 3^rd quarter with a 22 yard sprint down the right sideline on a pitch from Newton to give Carolina a 27-10 lead. Carolina players were definitely in the holiday spirit. Every player that scored a touchdown made his way to the stands and handed the ball to a fan. LeGarrette Blount’s fumble on Tampa Bay’s first possession would not be tolerated by Morris. Blount was immediately benched for the remainder of the first half.

After the Panthers turned the fumble recovery into a 21 yard field goal, it appeared that the Bucs responded to Blount’s benching, as they went on their longest touchdown drive of the year. A coach’s challenge overturned the initial ruling of an incompletion to finish off a 15 play, 9 minute and 20 second drive with a touchdown catch by Arrelious Benn.

Carolina went into halftime with a 20-10 lead after the team’s exchanged field goals following Brandon LaFell’s superb 91 yard touchdown reception. The play was the longest touchdown pass in team history for the Panthers. Josh Freeman’s interception on the first drive of the 3^rd quarter by Jonathan Nelson led to another Panthers touchdown. Nelson was signed off the practice squad just one day earlier.

A Kellen Winslow fumble later in the quarter led to an 11 yard touchdown catch by Jonathan Stewart on a 60 yard drive for Carolina. The Panthers would score two more touchdowns during the game – a 49 yard dash right up the middle for Newton and Jeremy Shockey’s 4^th touchdown of the season, thanks to a kickoff return fumble by Tampa’s Sammie Stroughter.

Freeman’s one yard touchdown sneak with about 11 minutes remaining would be the final scoring play for either side. Freeman passed for 274 yards, completing 28 of 38 attempts. Newton would be replaced by backup Derek Anderson after Tampa’s failed 2 point conversion attempt.

The Bucs defense will now look to rebound in Atlanta on New Year’s Day after giving up 48 points in a game for the second time this season. The last thing they want to do is send Morris off, having lost his final 10 games as coach. For the Panthers, it’s all about continuing to move in the right direction. A win at the Saints in Week 17 for first year coach Ron Rivera would mean a 5 game improvement upon the team’s 2-14 2010 campaign.

“I believe there is certainly that kind of talent in the locker room where we can certainly take the next step and become a very competitive football team (next year),” said Rivera. “We have that ability.”

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After back-to-back heartbreaking losses, Tony Romo and the Cowboys weren’t going to leave this one to chance.

Four Romo touchdowns on the team’s first five drives easily propelled Dallas to a 31-15 victory over Tampa Bay on Saturday night. The Dallas quarterback looked as focused as ever during one of his best performances on the year.

“I was just finding guys who were open and the guys do the rest,” said Romo. “I thought the offense played good as a whole.”

At 8-6 the Cowboys now control their own destiny in the NFC East. Wins over the Eagles and Giants over the last two weeks would earn them a postseason berth as division champions.

And while all is good and well for America’s team, things could not be any worse for the Buccaneers (the Bucs). The loss was Tampa Bay’s eighth in a row, dropping their record to 4-10 after an impressive 4-2 start. The losing streak has head coach Raheem Morris on the hot seat just one year removed from a 10-6 season.

The players openly acknowledged a sense of fear for Morris’ future before the kickoff. With playoff aspirations long gone, they admitted that their main motivation to finally win lay in protecting his job.

A 25 yard third down run by Josh Freeman on the game’s opening drive created the immediate positive atmosphere that the players have been searching for so desperately. However, that enthusiasm lasted for literally less than a minute.

With no one open, Freeman ran up the middle once again on the next play. As he went into his slide, Cowboys linebacker Anthony Spencer chased him down from behind and punched the ball loose. Bradie James would recover Tampa Bay’s league-leading 32^nd turnover for Dallas at their 44 line yard.

Romo would then lead a 7 play drive that ended with a scrambling 8 yard touchdown throw to Miles Austin to give the Cowboys an early 7-0 lead. Austin showed great fight as he out-wrestled Tampa safety Sean Jones for the ball all the way to the ground.

The Bucs offense was unable to rebound for the remainder of the first half. Not only were they shut out, but they also couldn’t attain a single first down following Freeman’s opening drive run.

While Tampa was completely inefficient offensively over the first 30 minutes, Dallas was the exact opposite. The Cowboys went into halftime with a 28-0 lead behind three Romo touchdown passes and one rushing score.

Romo’s second touchdown was an 8 yard throw to Dez Bryant that capped off a 10 play, 69 yard drive. He would then lead a 64 yard drive in the second quarter that ended with a 9 yard touchdown throw to Laurent Robinson. And with 20 seconds remaining in the half, Romo called his own number to finish off a 62 yard drive with a one yard touchdown run.

Romo looked nearly perfect during the first half. He completely cut up the Bucs defense, going 18-22 for 189 yards. With the luxury of a big lead, he took it rather easily in the second half. He was not responsible for any more touchdowns and his final line read 23-30 for 249 yards.

“I thought he just had a good feel for what we were doing against what they were doing,” said coach Jason Garrett. “I thought he got back quickly and got the ball out of his hands, and when he had to move and make plays, he was able to do that too. He made a lot of big plays and not many bad plays.”

Freeman’s night was a completely different story. He passed for only 14 yards in the first half and had a total of just 148 yards through the air going 17-27 with one touchdown toss.

Tampa Bay tried to get back into the game after opening the second half with a strip-sack of Romo that was recovered by linebacker Dekoda Watson and run back 4 yards for a touchdown. Following a Dallas field goal, the Bucs were able to make it a two possession game thanks to a touchdown catch by Dezmon Briscoe and a successful two point conversion to cut the lead to 31-15 with 23 seconds remaining in the third, but the Cowboys held the Bucs scoreless in the fourth and held on to win by the same score.

Tampa Bay will now look to end the losing streak in Carolina next week, while the Cowboys will continue their playoff push hosting Philadelphia.

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It’s almost as if the Buccaneers never recovered from the long flight to London to play the Bears in Week 7.

Tampa Bay’s 4-2 record upon their arrival to England is now a distant memory after dropping their seventh consecutive game with a 41-14 loss to the Jaguars on Sunday.

There haven’t been any major changes made to the roster, so the continuous losing following a 10-6 season last year remains a head-scratcher.

Things looked more than promising out of the gate for the Bucs. After missing last week’s game with a shoulder injury Josh Freeman opened up the game by leading his team on an 80 yard scoring drive. A one yard LeGarrette Blount touchdown run gave them a quick 7-0 lead.

The defense held 10^th overall pick Blaine Gabbert, league rushing leader Maurice Jones-Drew, and the rest of the Jacksonville offense completely in check throughout the first quarter.

A Ronde Barber interception late in the first immediately erased the threat of a scoring drive for the Jags. Barber recorded the 43^rd interception of his career with a pick off Gabbert that he returned to his own 48.

Freeman would turn the takeaway into six after a 13 yard touchdown rush to give the Bucs a 14-0 lead in the second quarter.

The Jaguars then suddenly woke up, and they did so with a bang.

Montell Owens crushed Buccaneers punt returner Preston Parker on the Tampa Bay 20. The ball came flying out and was recovered, and returned eight yards into the end zone by Jacksonville’s Colin Cloherty. The Jags had unexpectedly cut the deficit in half at 14-7.

However, the Bucs still believed that they were in good shape, as they were still containing the Jaguar offense.

But Gabbert’s day completely turned around on the next drive after completing a 62 yard throw down field to tight end Mercedes Lewis. He was just 2-7 for 9 yards prior to the throw, but went 17-23 for 208 yards after. It was clear that he gained a new found confidence from it.

Maurice Jones-Drew then punched home a one yard touchdown to tie the game at 14 with 2:05 remaining in the half.

Tampa Bay tried to remain composed, but a sack of Freeman near the end zone ruined that plan. Nate Collins recovered the ball in the end zone for the Jags to give them their first lead of the day.

And the Jags would not lose that aggression. An Ashton Youboty interception at the Tampa Bay 49 eventually set up five yard touchdown throw to Jones-Drew with just four seconds left in the quarter.

The touchdown was Jones-Drew’s 71^st of his career, passing Fred Taylor for number one on the Jags all-time touchdown list. He reached the end zone four times before the clock hit triple zero.

“It means a lot,” said Jones-Drew. “To break a record that Fred set, it means a bunch. Words can’t explain how excited I am to have a guy that mentored me the whole time, taught me how to play this game the right way, how to take care of my body and do those things.”

The record-breaking touchdown capped a less than eight minute span in which the Jaguars put 28 points on the board.

“I can’t remember a quarter like that,” said interim Jags head coach Mel Tucker. “When you’re playing like that, that’s fun. That was good for us to have that feeling, to experience that. That’s what it takes to win consistently at a high level in this league. We got a taste of that today.”

Turnovers were a major contributor to the huge scoring output by the Jags. Giving the ball away seven times gave Tampa Bay no shot at victory.

“Yeah, once again, turnovers,” said Freeman. “It seems every time we started to get something going, we’d shoot ourselves in the foot. It makes it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to win a football game when you turn the ball over like we did.”

The Bucs offense was unable to put anything together throughout the entire second half, and 13 fourth quarter points sealed a comfortable victory for the Jags.

Jaguars fans enjoyed watching their fourth win of the season, but this one was different for the team. This was their first victory under Tucker.

So they just had to celebrate by giving him a classic Gatorade bath on the sideline.

It doesn’t get any better than that.

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The Green Bay Packers managed to stay unbeaten as they defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a close one, 35-26. For the first time this year, the Packers did not look like the offensive juggernaut that teams around the NFL have become accustomed to. The Packers were pushed to the edge by the Buccaneers, but prevailed thanks to an Aaron Rodgers touchdown pass to Jordy Nelson late in the 4^th quarter.

The Packer offense didn’t necessarily struggle, but it lacked the familiar flow seen in previous games. After the game Rodgers was noticeably dejected with his performance he stated, “I didn’t throw the ball very well. I’m not trying to be ridiculously humble right now, I’m just frustrated. The ball wasn’t coming out the way I wanted it to today.”

Rogers lack of comfort with the ball showed itself when he was picked off by corner Elbert Mack. The Buccaneers offense took advantage of the rare gift, Rodgers has only thrown four picks this year, and Josh Freeman delivered a quick strike to Dezmon Briscoe for a touchdown to pull them within two points. Freeman carved up the Packer defense up on the drive completing five passes in a row.

A sight the defense could not have been accustomed to, because for most of the day Lagarette Blount ran wild on the field. Including an impressive 54 yard run where Blount bulldozed through the arms of seven Packer players.

However when the Packer defense needed to come through at the end of the game, they forced the Buccaneers to turn the ball over on downs and effectively sealed the victory. The Packers defense needs to make all the necessary adjustments if they want win next week, because their opponent is Matthew Stafford and the Detroit Lions who just threw for five touchdowns.

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The Chicago Bears (4-3) posted a hard-fought 24-18 victory over elected home side Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-3) in the 5^th NFL International Series at Wembley, London.

The Bucs (who played at Wembley as recently as 2009, when they took on the New England Patriots) were welcomed to the field with rapturous applause as tight end Kellen Winslow Jr ran out onto the ‘hallowed turf’ bearing the Union Jack. The Bears, who played at Wembley 25 years ago in the inaugural American Bowl, were enjoying a large amount of support, with a significant contingent of the near 77,000 crowd seemingly Chicago fans.

The game started with a 3 and out from the Bears offence, and they looked as if the occasion, likened to a Superbowl in atmosphere by Hall of Famers Marshall Faulk and Richard Dent, may have unnerved them somewhat. If they were slightly overawed, they soon overcame it, and the league leading Matt Forte, who has 908 yards rushing already this season, ran in a 32-yard TD to give the Bears the lead.

Forte went on to enjoy a monster performance in London, rushing for 145 yards on just 25 carries. An injury to running back Earnest Graham sent things from bad to worse for the Bucs, leaving only the inexperienced Kregg Lumpkin active. Veteran cornerback Ronde Barber did pull back two points for the Bucs when he tackled Forte in the endzone for a safety.

The much maligned Chicago offensive line, who had given up 19 sacks on Jay Cutler so far this season, put in a strong performance, allowing Cutler to find Roy Williams on the 25-yard TD pass in the second quarter. Although Cutler was being given better protection than he has had all season, the story of the game was the Bears work running the football.

Marion Barber collected the 50^th rushing TD of his career as he powered into the endzone from 12 yards out. The Bears were then close to adding to their lead when Lance Briggs intercepted on Freeman’s first pass after the Barber TD and, despite the linebacker taking the ball all the way to the endzone, a Chicago player was called for a push in the back, and Briggs’s celebrations were cut short.

The game was brought back to life early in the fourth quarter as Winsow collected a TD pass, and although Freeman, who coincidentally made his first ever NFL appearance at Wembley two years previously, failed to find Mike Williams for the extra two, and the Bucs were looking a threat in the deep for the first time in the game.

A fourth quarter comeback continued to look on the cards as Freeman, who was showing a composure in the fourth that he had lacked throughout the game, found Dezmon Briscoe for the 24-yard TD and the Bucs kicked the extra point to cut the Bears lead to three points.

The Bears then kicked a field goal to establish a six point lead, and with less than two minutes left in the game, the Bucs began a drive on their own 28 yard line. Although they looked dangerous, recording consecutive first downs, D.J. Moore grabbed an interception with around a minute to play to effectively end the game.

The Bears will fly home hoping that their offensive line has turned a corner, with good performances against both the Vikings and now the Bucs, and that Forte can carry on running the ball with the same effectiveness that has seen him lead the NFL in rushing yards so far this season.

Head Coach Raheem Morris and the Bucs will be disappointed that they could not complete their fourth quarter comeback, but cannot be too aggrieved, as Tampa Bay did not turn up in their first three quarters.

They leave London in better spirits than two years ago, when they were on the end of a 35-7 demolition by the Patriots, and Morris will see a lot of potential on his side as they head into their bye-week.

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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-2) welcomed the New Orleans Saints (4-1) to the Raymond James Stadium, hoping to improve their record before they jet off to London to entertain the NFL’s UK-based fans next week.

Having collected impressive victories over the likes of the Atlanta Falcons so far this season, the Bucs were keen to keep their win percentage over the 500 mark, despite having fallen to a franchise record defeat to the San Francisco 49’ers last week. Standing in their way however, was an in-form Drew Brees and his Saints were not going to be pushovers, as their impressive record so far shows.

With LeGarrette Blount sidelined through injury, the Buccaneers turned to Earnest Graham, but the running back failed to make much of an impression with his early rushes. The Bucs did however grab the lead when the Saints turned over possession, and the home side kicked a field-goal after failing to convert a 3^rd down.

The lead was to be short-lived however, with Brees finding tight end Jimmy Graham for a 16-yard gain, giving the Saints great field position, and also furthering Graham’s lead at the top of the tight end reception table in the NFL. From here, wide receiver Marques Colston collected a 38-yard TD pass from Brees, putting the visitors into the lead for the first time.

The lead changed hands again early in the 2^nd quarter however, when Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman found Arrelious Benn, who had escaped the man coverage, for a 65–yard TD pass, the longest for the Bucs since 2008.

The Bucs continued to press home their advantage, with Graham rushing for big gains consistently on a drive which culminated in a field goal, extending their lead to six points. Meanwhile, the Saints continued to struggle to get their offense going, and when the Bucs regained possession, they worked their way down the field before Freeman found Preston Parker on the slant route for a 19-yard TD pass.

The Saints came close to striking back just before the interval, having started on their own 2-yard line, but Brees passed successfully to Graham for 43 yards, and then to Colston for 37 yards, but had to settle for three points with a field goal as time ran out.

The 3^rd quarter went by fairly uneventfully for both sides, with neither side truly threatening the opposition end-zone, until the Saints moved to within 10 yards of the Bucs end-zone with just three minutes left in the quarter. Unfortunately for Sean Peyton’s side though, the Tampa Bay defense were more than a match for the New Orleans offense, and limited them to the field goal.

This did however make it a one-possession game heading into the 4^th,, until the Buccaneers struck back quickly, kicking a field goal themselves, and re-establishing the 10-point lead. The Saints soon closed the gap on the Bucs once the 4^th quarter started, driving to Tampa Bay’s 12 yard line, which then allowed explosive rookie Mark Ingram to power into the end-zone, reducing the lead to just three points.

With time running down in the 4^th, and the Bucs having added three more points to their lead, Brees was moving them Saints offense down the pitch, taking them to the Bucs 4 yard line. The usually infallible Brees then threw an interception in the Bucs end-zone, with Quincy Black picking the ball, and allowing Tampa Bay to run the ball away, with the game finishing at 26-20 to the Bucs.

Raheem Morris will be thrilled with his team’s effort and performance last night, especially that of his defense, who made life extremely difficult for Brees.

The Saints will not be entirely disheartened however, with tight end Graham collecting over 100 receiving yards for the fourth game in the row, and really establishing himself as a danger-man for the Saints, as they hope to bounce back this week, and continue their march towards the playoffs.

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