NEW ORLEANS – A botched trick play may have cost the New Orleans Saints their season.
Devery Henderson fumbled a late, awkward toss from Reggie Bush, allowing substitute starting quarterback Luke McCown to drive Tampa Bay for a touchdown with 17 seconds left that lifted the Buccaneers to a 27-23 victory on Sunday.
The winning score was a quick four-yard pass to Jerramy Stevens, who had to outleap Jason Craft to make the catch.
The victory gave Tampa Bay (8-4) a comfortable three-game lead in the NFC South Division with only four games left, while the Saints (5-7) probably have to win out to even have a chance at a wild-card playoff berth.
The Saints may have thought they got a break when Tampa Bay starter Jeff Garcia was kept out of the game with a bruised lower back.
McCown had other ideas. He completed his first 15 passes and wound up 29-of-37 for 313 yards and two touchdowns.
AP-ES-12-02-07 1937EST
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.