NFL Wildcard Weekend Matchups

The NFL Wildcard round is set and unfortunately the Buccaneers will be watching from home. Heres how the games will play out next weekend:

Saturday, Jan 8th

• New Orleans Saints @ St. Louis Rams or Seattle Seahawks, 4:30pm EST
• New York Jets @ Indianapolis Colts, 8:30pm EST

Sunday, Jan 9th

• Baltimore Ravens @ Kansas City Chiefs, 1:00pm EST
• Green Bay Packers @ Philadelphia Eagles, 4:30pm EST

First Round Byes

• Atlanta Falcons, Chicago Bears, Pittsburgh Steelers, New England Patriots.
  

Packers And Giants Both Win, Buccaneers Eliminated

With Jay Cutler’s interception with 10 seconds left in Green Bay the Buccaneers playoff hopes were officially over. The Packers would go on to defeat the Bears 10-3 and punch their ticket to the post season while eliminating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the New York Giants whom both won Sunday but did not control their own destiny.

Despite their loss to Green Bay, the Chicago Bears clinched the second seed in the NFC and first round bye thanks to the Buccaneers victory over New Orleans. The Atlanta Falcons secured the number one seed and home-field advantage throughout the postseason by dismantling the Carolina Panthers.

The Philadelphia Eagles secured the third seed last week, and rested most of their starters in week 17. The New Orleans Saints and the Packers will be the 5th and 6th seeded wild card teams, while the winner of the NFC West (Seattle or St. Louis) will lock up the fourth seed later this evening.

The Buccaneers finish 10-6 but miss the playoffs but have nothing to be ashamed of, as they had a marvelous season, post season or not.

Bucs Beat Saints, Now Watching Scoreboards

New Orleans, LA (Sports Network) – Josh Freeman threw for 255 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and Tampa Bay kept its faint playoff hopes alive with a 23-13 victory over the New Orleans Saints.

Freeman was highly efficient, completing 21-of-26 passes for the Buccaneers (10-6), who notched their first victory against a team over .500 to win 10 games for the first time since 2005. Mike Williams recorded his 11th touchdown reception of the season, a Buccaneers record.

Rookie LeGarrette Blount ran for 66 yards to give him 1,007 in his surprisingly strong rookie campaign.

Tampa Bay still needs some help to make the playoffs, however, as the Giants and Packers would both need to lose their respective games later Sunday.

Drew Brees played into the fourth quarter for the Saints and finished with 196 yards passing with one touchdown and an interception on 22-of-38 throws. New Orleans (11-5) had something to gain only if the Falcons had lost to the Panthers, so Brees was lifted in the fourth when Atlanta took a substantial lead over Carolina.

New Orleans is the fifth seed in the NFC and will travel to play the winner of the Rams/Seahawks game next weekend in the playoffs.

The Saints tied the game, 10-10, on Garrett Hartley’s 45-yard field goal to open the second half, but Tampa Bay came back with two straight scoring drives to take the lead for good.

Micheal Spurlock returned the ensuing kickoff 69 yards to the New Orleans 33, and Connor Barth’s 32-yard field goal gave the Buccaneers a three-point advantage.

On the next Saints drive, Brees was pressured in the pocket and hit as he tried to throw, resulting in a fumble that Alex Magee recovered. The Buccaneers chose to go for it on 4th-and-1 from the 18 rather than extend the lead with a field goal try. Freeman faked the quarterback sneak, dropped back and threw a high-arching pass that Williams leaped and grabbed in the end zone for a 20-10 lead with two minutes left in the third.

Hartley brought New Orleans back to within seven following his 38-yard field goal with 11:17 left in the fourth, and Blount fumbled the ball away moments later, giving the Saints a game-tying drive opportunity with 9:15 to play.

At this moment, however, Brees was lifted from the game, and backup Chase Daniel was unable to muster any offense.

The Saints punted the ball away after a three-and-out, and Freeman’s 54-yard pass play to Dezmon Briscoe set up Barth’s 48-yard field goal to give Tampa Bay a 10-point lead with four minutes left.

Barth ended the game’s first drive with a 43-yard field goal, and New Orleans responded with a 13-play, 78-yard series that ended on a Brees four-yard touchdown pass to Jimmy Graham.

The Buccaneers found the end zone for the first time with 6:40 remaining until halftime. After Julius Jones fumbled for New Orleans inside the Tampa Bay five, the visitors moved 96 yards in 11 plays. Maurice Stovall caught a tipped pass on the right sideline for a 38-yard reception, and Briscoe’s two-yard touchdown catch made it a 10-7 game.

Game Notes

Brees was intercepted for the 12th straight game, the longest streak in the NFL since Detroit’s Jon Kitna in 2006…The teams split the season series, with New Orleans winning, 31-6, in Week 6…The Buccaneers outgained the Saints, 317-305…Reggie Bush led New Orleans in rushing with 70 yards on nine carries. Adrian Arrington was the Saints’ leading receiver with 79 yards on seven catches…Briscoe finished with four catches for 65 yards.

01/02 16:51:46 ET

Saints, Bucs Both Aim To Improve Positions In Regular Season Finale

The New Orleans Saints find themselves faced with a bit of a dilemma heading into its regular-season finale with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Their opponent, on the other hand, has no such reservations about the mindset it will have to take when taking the Superdome field this coming Sunday.

Although the Saints are assured of a spot in the upcoming NFC Playoffs, they can be slotted into two very different positions depending on the outcome of this weekend’s games. New Orleans still has a chance to earn the conference’s coveted No. 1 overall seed, but that’s contingent on the powerhouse Atlanta Falcons losing at home to the Carolina Panthers, owners of the league’s worst overall record, on Sunday.

If the Panthers are able to pull off the upset and the Saints defeat the Buccaneers, New Orleans will have home-field advantage throughout the NFC tournament as well as a greatly-desired bye for next week’s opening round. If the more likely scenario of the Falcons prevailing occurs, however, the reigning world champs would be seeded fifth and travel to the winner of the NFC West (either St. Louis or Seattle) in a Wild Card matchup on either Jan. 8 or 9.

The Atlanta-Carolina game will be going on at the same time as the Saints’ battle with the still-alive Buccaneers, meaning there’ll be plenty of scoreboard-watching taking place on the New Orleans sideline when the team competes.

New Orleans kept its chances of claiming both the NFC South and No. 1 seed possible by knocking off the division-leading Falcons in a 17-14 thriller Monday at the Georgia Dome, ending Atlanta’s eight-game winning streak in the process. The triumph was the seventh in the past eight outings for the Saints and a strong bounce-back from a 30-24 setback at Baltimore the previous week.

Saints head coach Sean Payton has stated he’ll be playing to win Sunday’s contest, but took a similar public stance prior to last year’s Week 17 tilt at Carolina. He then decided to either rest or limit the time of several starters, most notably quarterback Drew Brees, with New Orleans already having locked up the NFC’s top seed.

The Saints went on to lose to the Panthers — their third straight defeat to conclude the regular season — but Payton’s approach still paid off. New Orleans regained momentum during the playoffs and ripped off three consecutive victories to capture the franchise’s first-ever Lombardi Trophy.

For the Buccaneers, the message is much clearer — win Sunday’s game and your playoff hopes will remain intact. Tampa Bay still needs considerable help in order to seize the NFC’s final Wild Card berth, however, as Green Bay and the New York Giants also have to lose on Sunday in order for the Bucs to extend their season.

The Packers host NFC North champ Chicago and the Giants travel to Washington, with both games being held during the later portion of Sunday’s schedule.

Tampa Bay kept itself in the discussion by dominating wayward Seattle last Sunday, getting a career-high five touchdown passes out of young quarterback Josh Freeman and a personal-best 164 rushing yards from rookie running back LeGarette Blount en route to a 38-15 rout.

Though their goal of reaching the postseason may be difficult to attain, the Buccaneers can still achieve a couple of other objectives by besting the Saints. A win would give Tampa Bay double-digit victories for the first time since 2005 and disprove the notion that the up-and-coming club isn’t yet ready to seriously challenge the league’s heavyweights.

The Bucs are 0-5 against teams that currently possess a positive record in 2010, which includes a 31-6 thrashing by New Orleans in Tampa during Week 6. The Saints outgained the Buccaneers by a 475-277 margin in total yards that day, with Brees throwing for three touchdowns to lead the way.

There’s little doubt the Saints are more skilled and proven than the still- developing Buccaneers, and would be a consensus pick in most weeks. This may not be like most weeks, however, due to the likelihood that New Orleans will be jumping right into the postseason fray shortly after Sunday’s contest. The Saints will treat this game normally at the start, but if Atlanta begins pulling away in its matchup, don’t be surprised if Payton winds up giving some of his stars an early exit with an eye towards next week. That may be the opening that Tampa Bay, which will be going all out with its playoff lives at stake, needs to obtain a victory it desperately needs. Freeman’s made a history of orchestrating fourth-quarter comebacks during his brief pro career, and this could be another of those times.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Buccaneers 24, Saints 20

Saints' Colston, Thomas And Shockey Inactive

New Orleans Saints wide receiver Marques Colston is inactive for Sunday’s regular-season finale against Tampa Bay as he recovers from minor knee surgery performed earlier this week.

Colston suffered a knee injury in Monday night’s contest against the Falcons, a 30-24 win that secured the reigning Super Bowl champions a playoff spot.

Colston has recorded 84 receptions for 1,023 yards and seven touchdowns. It’s the fourth time in his five-year career he has eclipsed the 1,000-yard receiving mark.

Running back Pierre Thomas and tight end Jeremy Shockey are also inactive.

Thomas, who is slowed by a lingering ankle injury, missed practice on Wednesday and Thursday, but returned to take limited reps in Friday’s session.

Shockey is out with a groin problem.

NFL Week 17: Buccaneers Travel To New Orleans With Playoff Hopes Still Intact

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TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS (9-6) AT NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (11-4)

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