National Football League

Bucs tops Saints 23-13, but still miss playoffs

Published Jan. 3, 2011 2:21 p.m. ET

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When Sean Payton rested Drew Brees early in the fourth quarter, it might have cost the quarterback the single-season NFL completions record. The move also might have prevented the Saints from reaching 12 wins in two straight seasons for the first time in franchise history.

The defending champions had other priorities in mind, though, as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers pulled away for a 23-13 victory on Sunday.

''It's all about what you do in the playoffs,'' said Brees, whose team opens the postseason on Saturday in Seattle. ''This is what you play for. This is our moment, coming up.''

New Orleans (11-5) rested several hobbled regulars who might have been able to play had there been more on the line. When out-of-town scores showed Atlanta pummeling Carolina en route to a 31-10 win, and it became evident that the Saints would finish second in the NFC South and as the fifth playoff seed in their conference, Payton started resting healthy players as well.

''We did the right thing, the smart thing. And that's part of the reason why some guys didn't play today when they probably could have,'' said Brees, who remained on the bench when LeGarrette Blount's fumble gave the Saints the ball 37 yards from a tying touchdown. ''You're thinking about, 'How can we put ourselves in the best position to succeed this next week?'''

The Buccaneers now begin a third straight offseason without a playoff appearance despite finishing with a 10-6 record that represented a dramatic improvement over their 3-13 2009 campaign.

Second-year quarterback Josh Freeman hit rookie receivers Dezmon Briscoe and Mike Williams each for touchdowns to help the Buccaneers win in the Louisiana Superdome for a second straight year. Yet Tampa Bay was eliminated from postseason contention soon after when Green Bay defeated Chicago to snatch the final NFC playoff spot.

''It's rough,'' Freeman said as he awaited results of later games that ultimately doomed the Bucs to an earlier vacation than they wanted. ''We had a good team this year. You hate to say goodbye right now.''

Freeman completed 81 percent of his passes (21 of 26) for 255 yards and was not intercepted. Briscoe's 2-yard TD came on a tough catch in the back of the end zone. Williams' 18-yard score came on a pass Freeman lofted into the end zone after faking a keeper on fourth-and-short late in the third quarter.

Connor Barth hit three field goals, the third from 48 yards to give the Bucs a two-score lead with 4:01 to go.

Even though the Bucs missed the playoffs, Freeman said, winning 10 games was ''a great accomplishment and is something we can build upon.''

Reggie Bush had 70 yards rushing and 55 yards receiving for the Saints, who opened the game without several regulars including receiver Marques Colston (right knee), running back Pierre Thomas (left ankle) and tight end Jeremy Shockey (groin). During the first half, three more regulars left with injuries: Safety Malcolm Jenkins (right knee), tight end Jimmy Graham (left ankle) and leading rusher Chris Ivory (left foot).

Brees was 22 of 38 for 196 yards, was intercepted once, fumbled on a sack and threw one touchdown pass to Graham in the first quarter.

Brees finished with 448 completions this season, which broke his 2007 NFL record of 440 single season completions. However, the Colts' Peyton Manning later set a new mark with 450 completions in the final minutes of Indianapolis' win over Tennessee.

Brees wasn't dwelling on that, though.

''It's not easy to come off a championship season and come back and put yourself in a position to make another run at it,'' Brees said. ''But here we are in the big dance and we want to make the most of it.''