TULSA WORLD HOMEPAGE | WIRELESS

Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Follow us on RSS
Sports Extra! Sports Extra Tulsa World Follow us on ...


SPORTS EXTRA BLOGS
    Sports Editor
Mike Strain

Sports Columnist
Dave Sittler

The Picker
Entertaining & Infuriating

LOCAL PROS

ALL SPORTS

PHOTOS & VIDEOS

OUTDOORS

FIND A STORY

EMAIL ALERTS

SOCIAL MEDIA

RSS FEEDS

CONTACT US
BUY PHOTOS & PAGES

TULSA WORLD

ADVERTISE ON SPORTS EXTRA

National Football League
New Orleans 23, Tampa Bay 20
When: 1:00 PM ET, Sunday, December 28, 2014
Where: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida
Temperature: 79°
Head Official: Brad Allen
Attendance: 59952

Saints 23, Buccaneers 20: Drew Brees and Marques Colston connected for a go-ahead 36-yard touchdown pass with 1:57 left as visiting New Orleans rallied past Tampa Bay.

Brees finished 24-of-38 for 281 yards and threw three interceptions, but led two touchdown drives in the fourth quarter and threw a TD pass for the 36th consecutive game. Mark Ingram rushed for 57 yards and a touchdown and Khiry Robinson added a TD run for the Saints (7-9), who shut out the Buccaneers in the second half and erased a 13-point halftime deficit.

Doug Martin rushed for 108 yards on 19 carries and rookie Mike Evans set a franchise record with his 12th touchdown reception for the Buccaneers (2-14), who finished 0-8 at home and clinched the No. 1 draft pick. Josh McCown went 14-of-23 for 115 yards with a touchdown and an interception and was sacked for a safety three plays after the Saints took the lead.

The Buccaneers took a 20-7 halftime lead behind McCown's 6-yard TD pass to Evans, Charles Sims' 8-yard touchdown run and a pair of Patrick Murray field goals. Ingram's 1-yard plunge pulled the Saints within 20-14 with 14:02 left and after the teams traded punts, Keenan Lewis snagged a McCown pass tipped by Tavarres King for an interception with 5:20 remaining.

The Saints went 50 yards in seven plays with Colston streaking down the left sideline for the touchdown, and the New Orleans defense continued its second-half dominance on the ensuing series. After a holding penalty backed up the Buccaneers, McCown was sacked on consecutive plays as Junior Galette brought him down in the end zone to seal it.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Evans (1,051) and WR Vincent Jackson (1,002) became the first Tampa Bay duo to record 1,000 receiving yards in the same season before Jackson left with a groin strain in the first quarter. … New Orleans did not score a first-quarter touchdown in any of its eight road games this season. … The Saints improved to 12-28 in games in which Brees throws multiple interceptions.

Top Game Performances
Rushing
New Orleans   Tampa Bay
Mark Ingram Player Doug Martin
14 Attempts 19
57 Yards 108
4.1 Avg Yards 5.7
1 Touchdowns 0
18 Long 45
Receiving
New Orleans   Tampa Bay
Kenny Stills Player Mike Evans
5 Receptions 5
82 Yards 54
16.4 Avg Yards 10.8
0 Touchdowns 1
44 Long 18
Team Stats Summary
 
  Yards Scoring Defense
Team Tot Rus Pas TD FG INT Sck FF
New Orleans 338 70 268 3 0 1 3.0 0
Tampa Bay 280 183 97 2 2 3 2.0 1