Perfect 10

TAMPA, Fla. -- With roughly four minutes left in Sunday's game between New Orleans and Tampa Bay, throngs of fans decked out in black and gold burst into cheers of "Who Dat."

Only, the NFC South showdown wasn't in New Orleans.

It was at Tampa's pewter-and-red decked stadium.

For the first time since mid-October, the Saints looked like one of the NFL's best teams, pounding the Buccaneers 38-7 in a structure that turned increasingly into a black-and-gold colored stadium the longer the game went on.

The win sets the course for a week's-worth of hype ahead of the Monday night game against the Patriots, the only team that has made it through an entire 16-game regular season undefeated.

This is the first time in franchise history the Saints (10-0) have won 10 consecutive games.

"I like where we're at," Saints Head Coach Sean Payton said. "We're 10-0. We beat a division opponent on the road. We've got to continue to get guys healthy. I think that's an easy question to answer."

Should the Falcons lose their game against Tampa Bay next week, the Saints would lock up the division.

Drew Brees finished the game 19 of 29 for 187 yards and three touchdowns. More importantly, the offense didn't have a turnover after giving the ball away 13 times in the past four games.

Robert Meachem scored two touchdowns - his first career two-touchdown game - while Pierre Thomas had 92 yards on the ground to go along with Mike Bell's 75 and two scores.

And for the third time this season, the Saints took down a rookie quarterback-first year coach duo. The first two times, the Saints beat the Lions 45-17 and the Jets 24-10.

Tampa's rookie quarterback was just as unsuccessful as Matt Stafford and Mark Sanchez. He ended the game 17 of 33 for 126 yards with a score and a three interceptions. After guiding the Bucs (1-9) on a 95-yard scoring drive to open the game, the Bucs gained only 124 yards the rest of the way.

New Orleans' defense constantly pressured Freeman, coming through three sacks, six hurries and a forced fumble that turned into a Saints touchdown that all but put the game away early in the third quarter.

"I felt really prepared for them," Freeman said. "I knew what they were running. It was just a matter of missing some throws. I wasn't able to put it where I had the previuos couple of weeks when I put it right on the money."

Said Raheem Morris, Tampa's first-year head coach, "We were living in a fantasy world a little bit there there last two weeks with him being able to come back and being able to strike like he was able to do."

But Tampa scored first, taking a 7-0 lead after the Saints offense was stymied on the opening possession. Tampa Bay converted 3 of 3  third downs, including an 18-yard scoring pass from Freeman to LSU product Michael Clayton in the corner of the end zone. Clayton got open when Freeman scrambled out of the pocket.

It was all the Buccaneers would get the rest of the day and the only time in the first half Tampa Bay made it into New Orleans territory.

"We made it a point to stop him from scrambling around and making those plays," Saints cornerback Usama Young said. "When the quarterback is running around, you give the receivers a lot of options and give them some time to adjust their routes."

New Orleans came right back, driving 68 yards in seven plays and tying the game when Brees hit Meachem over the middle for a 4-yard touchdown.

The Saints finally grabbed the lead with fewer than five minutes to go in the first half thanks to rookie cornerback Malcolm Jenkins, playing in place of Tracy Porter, who is out with a sprained medial collateral ligament. Jenkins returned the interception to the Bucs' 29 and four plays later, John Carney nailed a 38-yard field goal for a 10-7 New Orleans lead.

It would be all New Orleans needed for the rest of the game. But the scoring had just begun and the next two New Orleans drives put the game away.

First, New Orleans moved the ball in the two-minute drive to end the first half, finishing it off with a 6-yard touchdown pass from Brees to Meachem. Then, at the beginning of the third quarter, New Orleans' Scott Fujita and Charles Grant forced Freeman to fumble and Anthony Hargrove recovered.

Three plays later, Brees connected with tight end David Thomas for an 11-yard touchdown, giving New Orleans a 24-7 lead with 10:36 to play in the third quarter.

"In the beginning, we had a little struggle," running back Pierre Thomas said. "We felt good with our plays. The game plan was excellent. We just didn't execute at first. We stayed on track. We calmed down and went with our schemes and our game plan and executed."

Mike Bell tacked on two more touchdowns, one in the third and one in the fourth quarter, and New Orleans cruised into Patriots week undefeated.

"We always took it one game at a time," Saints defensive end Will Smith said. "Two weeks ago we weren't about New England, we were worried about whoever we played two weeks ago. This week we were worried about Tampa Bay and now that Tampa Bay is over, we have to worry about New England."