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Saints Win Season Opener over Bucs, 24-20
09/07/08 - 10:31 PM
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NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Drew Brees delivered on his pledge to give
the Saints’ storm-weary fans what he thought they deserved.
Brees passed for 343 yards and three touchdowns against the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, giving fans already jubilant about
their team’s quick return from Hurricane Gustav a 24-20
season-opening triumph to celebrate as well.
Tampa Bay had a shot to win the brutal, back-and-forth contest
until Scott Fujita intercepted Jeff Garcia’s fourth-down pass just
inside the Saints 20-yard line with just under 40 seconds to go.
Brees’ scoring passes went for 39 yards to David Patten, 84 to
Devery Henderson and 42 to Reggie Bush, with Bush’s score putting
the Saints in the lead for good in the fourth quarter.
Garcia was 24-of-41 for 221 yards, including a 2-yard TD pass to
Ike Hilliard, which gave the Bucs a brief 20-17 lead.
But Tampa Bay’s offense produced only one touchdown. The Bucs’
defense got the other in the first quarter, when blitzing
linebacker Barrett Ruud hit Brees as he threw, causing a fluttering
pass that Phillip Buchanon intercepted and returned 26 yards.
Bush, who vowed to come back strong from a down second season in
which he never had a gain longer than 25 yards, had 112 yards
receiving and 51 yards rushing. He did most of the work on what
proved to be the winning drive, starting with a 29-yard gain on a
short reception over the middle.
His touchdown came on a short third-down reception on which he
juked Jermaine Phillips at the 25 and stiff-armed Buchanon at the 5
before diving for the pylon. Bush was close to stepping out of
bounds before his dive, but Tampa Bay did not challenge the call.
After sitting out all four preseason games, flamboyant tight end
Jeremy Shockey made his debut for New Orleans and had the crowd
chanting his name while he celebrated a tough 10-yard catch on
third-down. The play, just a few plays after his 26-yard reception,
set up Martin Gramatica’s field goal late in the third quarter,
which tied it at 10.
Shockey finished with six catches for 54 yards.
Henderson’s TD reception, a career-long catch for him, came
after Brees had drawn the Bucs’ offside and then took a shot
downfield for his fastest receiver, who was wide open after Ronde
Barber fell down.
The play put the Saints up 17-13 in the final minute of the
third quarter.
Tampa Bay finally converted its first third down early in the
fourth quarter on Joey Galloway’s 13-yard reception, which extended
an 11-play, 73-yard drive that ended with Hilliard’s score with
10:43 left.
Tampa Bay’s Earnest Graham led all rushers with 91 yards on 10
carries. His career-long 46-yard gain, on which he broke four
tackles, set up Matt Bryant’s 33-yard field goal that gave the Bucs
a 13-10 lead in the third quarter.
While practicing in Indianapolis last week, where the Saints set
up shop to stay out of Gustav’s way, Brees said he was pleased the
regular-season opener would be played in New Orleans, as scheduled,
so the team could give the region’s fans “what they deserve.”
The Saints took the opening kickoff 76 yards on six plays,
capped by Brees’ scoring pass to Patten on a third-and-short play.
Phillips and fellow Bucs defensive back Aqib Talib hesitated on a
play fake, letting Patten get behind them.
A rash of penalties helped stall New Orleans’ next few drives as
the game evolved into a defensive struggle for the rest of the
first half. The Bucs had only four first downs until their last
drive of the second quarter, which covered 61 yards in 1:25 to set
up Bryant’s 37-yard field goal, giving Tampa Bay a 10-7 halftime
lead.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

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