Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs New Orleans Saints Match Player Stats On Dec 24, 2016

The Sports Xchange
Dec 24, 2016

NEW ORLEANS -- Rebounding smartly from one of his weakest performances of the season just 13 days ago, Drew Brees threw for 299 yards and one touchdown and Mark Ingram rushed for two more scores to power the New Orleans Saints to a 31-24 victory over the Tampa Bay Bucs Saturday at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

The loss dropped the Bucs to 8-7 and muddied their playoff chances, and it also clinched the NFC South title for the 10-5 Atlanta Falcons and a playoff spot for the 10-5 New York Giants. The 7-8 Saints, despite winning their last two games, were eliminated from playoff contention before the kickoff.

In a 16-11 loss to Tampa Bay on Dec. 11, Brees was picked off three times and did not have a touchdown pass but he had his way against Tampa Bay on Saturday.

Brees, who completed 23 of 34 passes, threw an 11-yard option route to running back Tavares Cadet in the third quarter, and the Saints converted a two-point play on a draw play to Ingram to go up 28-14.

Ingram, who gained 90 yards on 18 carries, scored on runs of 6 and 14 yards, and kicker Wil Lutz added field goals of 42, 34 and 21 yards, the last coming with 11:55 left to give New Orleans a 31-21 lead.

Saints safety Jairus Byrd picked off Bucs quarterback Jameis Winston twice. He returned his first pick 24 yards to the Tampa Bay 14, and Ingram scored on the next play to give the Saints a 20-7 lead early in the third quarter.

Winston completed 23 of 35 passes for 277 yards. The Bucs drove inside the Saints' 20-yard line with two minutes left but settled for Roberto Aguayo's 35-yard field goal, which made it 31-24.

Aguayo's onside kick was recovered by Brandin Cooks at the Tampa Bay 45 to end the comeback.

The Saints had so much difficulty protecting Brees in the loss to Tampa Bay 13 days ago that establishing the run game was a priority.

Ingram gained 42 yards on nine carries in the first half, and the Saints picked up 71 yards on the ground to help keep Brees clean. Brees completed 14 of 20 passes for 142 yards in the first half, and three of his incompletions were drops, two by Brandin Cooks and one by tight end Coby Fleener.

The Saints got on the board first with an 11-play, 91-yard drive, highlighted by Brees' 20-yard pass to Cooks and a 21-yarder over the middle to Fleener to the Bucs' 6-yard line.

Ingram got the score on the next play when Brees changed the play at the line of scrimmage, walked under center and then handed off on a trap play that worked perfectly.

Winston tied the score at 7-7 with a 12-yard slant to tight end Cameron Brate.

The Saints took their 13-7 lead on field goals of 42 and 34 yards by Lutz. The Saints defense allowed Winston some underneath throws but just 72 yards passing in the first half. New Orleans held a 208-97 edge in total offense.

NOTES: Tampa Bay RB Doug Martin, averaging just 2.6 yards a carry, was a healthy scratch. Martin signed a five-year, $35 million contract ($15 million guaranteed) in the offseason after averaging 4.9 yards a carry in 2015. Martin suffered a hamstring injury early in the season but has not been on the Buccaneers' injury report. ... The Saints were eliminated from playoff contention before the kickoff when the Redskins and Packers posted victories. ... Meghan Payton, daughter of Saints coach Sean Payton, was on the sidelines shadowing a FOX sideline reporter. She is a student at Pepperdine University.