SAINTS @ BUCS
FOURTH QUARTER
Saints 38, Bucs 7 (10:12) Mike Bell jumps in from the 1 for the Saints, giving the team an insurmountable lead. It was Bell's second touchdown of the game. New Orleans had 36 rushing yards at halftime, now the Saints are up to 187 for the game.
THIRD QUARTER
Saints 31, Bucs 7 (4:50): Jonathan Vilma intercepted Tampa's Josh Freeman and six plays later, New Orleans' Mike Bell punched the ball in, giving the Saints a 31-7 lead. Bell became the third Saints player to score a touchdown on the day and New Orleans began to look like the team from the opening five games.
Saints 24, Bucs 7 (10:36): Scott Fujita and Charles Grant forced Josh Freeman to fumble the ball and Anthony Hargrove recovered. Three plays later, Drew Brees hit tight end David Thoms for an 11-yard touchdown pass. Thomas is the 18th Saints player to score a touchdown this year.
SECOND QUARTER
Stats of note:
Total Yards: Saints 190, Bucs 124
Third-Down Conversion: Saints 1 of 6, Bucs 4 of 9
Penalties: Saints 2 for 20 yards; Bucs 1 for 4 yards
Saints Individual Rushing: Pierre Thomas 6 carries 23 yards, Mike Bell 2 carries, 10 yards, Lynell Hamilton 1 carry, 3 yards
Saints Individual Passing: Drew Brees 15 of 23 for 154 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs
Bucs Individual Rushing: Earnest Graham 2 carries 29 yards; Carnell Williams 8 carries 21 yards, Derrick Ward 6 carries 17 yards; Josh Freeman 1 carry 15 yards
Bucs Individual Passing: Josh Freeman 5 of 14 for 63 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Saints 17, Bucs 7 (:28): Using the two-minute drill to perfection, Drew Brees connected with Marques Colston for 57 yards on three catches. But it was Robert Meachem who again put the points on the board for New Orleans, this time on a 6-yard touchdown pass.
Saints 10, Bucs 7 (4:11): John Carney hit a 38-yard field goal to give New Orleans the lead. The key play came when rookie cornerback Malcolm Jenkins intercepted a Josh Freeman pass, returning it to the 29-yard line. Four plays later, Carney put the Saints on top.
FIRST QUARTER
Saints 7, Bucs 7 (1:04): Drew Brees drove the Saints 68 yards in seven plays as the Saints tied the game 7. The touchdown came when Brees found Robert Meachem over the middle for a four-yard touchdown.
Bucs 7, Saints 0 (4:58): Tampa Bay took a 7-0 lead when Josh Freeman hit Michael Clayton for an 18-yard touchdown in the back corner of the end zone. The play capped a 12-play, 6 minutes, 55 second drive that included Tampa going 3-for-3 on third downs.
The Saints were stopped on their opening series.
PREGAME
Raymond James Stadium in lovely Tampa, Fla., is slowly filling up. Well, filling up might be overstating things.
There are people here. That's about all you can say.
Here are some pregame notes.
Saints Inactives: K Garrett Hartley, WR Lance Moore, CB Tracy Porter, RB Reggie Bush, CB Chris McAlister, CB Jabari Greer, LB Jonathan Casillas
Lineup Changes: Zach Strief will start in place of Jermon Bushrod at left tackle. Anthony Hargrove stars in place of Sedrick Ellis as defensive tackle, Randall Gay starts at left corner for Jabari Greer and Malcolm Jenkins starts at right corner for Tracy Porter.
Tampa Inactives: QB Byron Leftwich, WR Yamon Figurs, CB Mike Mickens, CB Elbert Mack, G Shawn Murphy, T James Lee, Wr Brian Clark, DT Dre Moore.
