Buccaneers Vs. Saints: Josh Freeman, Mike Williams TD On Fourth Down Gives Bucs 20-10 Lead

Holding a slim 13-10 lead over the New Orleans Saints in the third quarter, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have now extended that lead to ten points.

Alex Magee sacked Drew Brees, forcing a fumble which Tim Crowder recovered. That set the Bucs up with the ball at New Orleans’ 38-yard line.

New Orleans played well enough defensively to get the Bucs into a fourth-and-one situation at the Saints’ 18-yard line. Rather than kicking a short field goal to extend their lead to 16-10, the young Bucs, led by young head coach Raheem Morris, decided to go for it on fourth down.

Josh Freeman took the snap and huddled as if he were going to attempt a quarterback sneak. Then he backed off, looking for a receiver to the left side of the alignment, and retreated further when two Saints rushers got into the backfield. On his second read, Freeman lofted up a pass to rookie receiver Mike Williams, who overcame tough coverage (bordering on interference) from Jabari Greer to haul in an 18-yard touchdown reception.

The Bucs are clearly playing for the post-season, and they’ve got a ten-point lead on the road to prove it.