The Tampa Bay Buccaneers finally scored a touchdown Sunday, on a five yard pass from Josh Freeman to Kellen Winslow with 5:36 left in the fourth quarter, cutting the New Orleans Saints lead to 24-16, but it was too little too late, as the Saints held the ball for the next four plus minutes, culminating in a John Kasay field goal that would provide the final margin of victory in 27-16 New Orleans win. The Saints improved to 4-0 this season at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
The Saints held the Buccaneers at bay all day long, behind the arm of Drew Brees and a balanced rushing attack. Brees was 27 of 36 for 258 yards and two scores, also throwing an interception. Chris Ivory, Pierre Thomas and Darren Sproles provided 175 yards on the ground and a score, on a nine yard Thomas run in the third quarter.
Josh Freeman completed 27 of his 37 throws for 281 yards and a touchdown, but received little support from the ground game. LeGarrette Blount carried the ball 13 times for 72 yards, but unfortunately for Blount, the "highlight" of his game was getting flagged for throwing a punch at a New Orleans player.
Tracy Porter of the Saints was injured three plays into the game making a tackle on Buccaneers wideout Mike Williams. Porter had to be carted off the field. The team has yet to provide an update on Porter's injury.
For more on Tampa Bay, check out SB Nation's Buccaneers blog Bucs Nation. For more on the Buccaneers vs. Saints showdown, visit this StoryStream. For more on New Orleans, visit SB Nation's Saints blog Canal Street Chronicles.