TAMPA, Fla. — The Saints picked off four Jameis Winston passes, one of which was returned for a score, one of which led to a score and one of which prevented a Tampa Bay score in a 34-17 win Sunday.
The game was a return to form by the Saints after getting blasted by the Atlanta Falcons last week in a 26-9 loss.
"I was proud of how we responded after last week," said head coach Sean Payton. "It wasn't our best game but I thought we did a lot of good things to win."
The win, coupled with a Falcons win over the Panthers, put the Saints three games up in the division over the Panthers.
Winston was picked by Demario Davis late in the first quarter on a ball that rolled off of a receiver's back.
One play later Drew Brees hit Michael Thomas for a 16-yard score to make it 13-0.
Winston passed the ball seemingly on every down and had some success, but he also had the major mistakes.
With the game 27-17 in the fourth quarter and the Bucs at their own 33-yard line, a Winston pas was picked off by Marcus Williams and brought back 55 yards to make it 34-17 and put the game out of reach.
On offense, there was nothing spectacular but it was a solid outing.
Michael Thomas had a Michael Thomas game with 8 receptions for 114 yards and a touchdown. Alvin Kamara had 13 carries for 75 yards and caught 10 passes for 47 more.
Drew Brees hit 28 of 35 passes for 228 yards and 3 touchdowns.
"We still think we've got better football ahead of us," said Payton.
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