11/30/2008 - Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Bryant had three field goals, including the go-ahead kick with 1:55 remaining, as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers held on to edge the New Orleans Saints, 23-20, in a key NFC South bout.
Jeff Garcia completed just 9-of-23 passes for 119 yards and a score on a rainy afternoon but had no interceptions and ran for 42 yards for the Bucs (9-3), who have won four in a row. Tampa Bay kept pace with Carolina for first place in the division, as the Panthers beat Green Bay, 35-31, on a late touchdown.
The Bucs and Panthers now hold a three-game lead over New Orleans, with Atlanta in between at 7-4. The Falcons play at San Diego later Sunday.
Warrick Dunn ran for 74 yards, while Carnell Williams had a rushing touchdown for Tampa Bay. Antonio Bryant caught three passes for 63 yards and a score.
"The win is more rewarding than anything," Antonio Bryant said. "I am just out there playmaking, trying to make the plays. That is the types of games we are finding ourselves in."
Drew Brees threw for 296 yards and two scores on 25-of-47 passing for the Saints (6-6) but was intercepted three times. Marques Colston caught six passes for 106 yards in the loss.
"There's no doubt we played a good defense," Colston said. "But it's not the first or the last we're going to play. We just need to play better in crunch time."
The Saints, who were coming off a 51-29 win over Green Bay last week, scored 10 points in the fourth quarter to draw even at 20-20.
But with 2:24 left in the game, Brees' pass was picked off by Jermaine Phillips at the Saints' 30-yard line. He returned the ball 13 yards, and the Bucs ran three plays before reaching the two-minute warning. Bryant's 37-yard kick curved left through the uprights to give Tampa Bay a three-point lead with 1:55 on the clock.
New Orleans still had plenty of time to score, but on the second play of the Saints' ensuing drive, a scrambling Brees was picked off by Phillip Buchanon, and the Bucs ran down the clock to seal the win.
The first half ended with New Orleans holding a 10-6 advantage, but the Bucs scored two times in the early stages of the third quarter to take the lead.
A 34-yard kickoff return by Clifton Smith set Tampa Bay up at the New Orleans 46 for the opening drive of the third.
A series of runs and short passes had the Bucs at the Saints 31 on 3rd-and-6, and Garcia's pass to B.J. Askew caromed off the fullback into the air. But Antonio Bryant was there to make the 12-yard catch. Garcia picked up 11 more yards on a run before Williams dashed eight yards up the right sideline into the corner of the end zone for a 13-10 Tampa lead.
It was Williams' first touchdown since September 23 of last season, as the following week he tore his patellar tendon. He only returned from recovery and rehab last week against Detroit.
After the Saints punted from their own 17, Tampa took over at the New Orleans 43 and needed just two plays to tack on another score. Dunn ran for four yards before Garcia aired out a pass for Antonio Bryant, who ran a stop-and-go route to get past the Saints secondary and was open to make the catch, which gave the Bucs a 10-point advantage with 8:36 remaining in the quarter.
New Orleans got deep into Tampa territory on its next drive, but Brees' end zone try for Jeremy Shockey was picked off by Cato June. Tampa Bay continued to hold the 20-10 lead going into the fourth quarter, but the Saints got back into the game in short order.
New Orleans' drive of 11 plays and 82 yards, which bridged the final two quarters, ended with a pass to Pierre Thomas. Brees threw to the right flat for Thomas, who sprinted 20 yards upfield into the end zone to bring the Saints within three points with 12:09 remaining.
The teams had a series of three-and-outs before New Orleans got the ball back with 7:16 left in the game. The Saints had great field position after punter Josh Bidwell's kick went just 18 yards and fell out of bounds at the Bucs 48.
Brees connected with Shockey on the first play for 21 yards, and after the drive stalled, Garrett Hartley punched a 43-yard kick through the uprights to tie the game at 20-20 with 5:34 on the clock.
Hartley's 47-yard field goal opened the scoring with a little more than five minutes left in the first quarter, but Matt Bryant tied the game with a 38- yarder only 10 seconds into the second stanza.
Bryant had a 23-yard kick with 2:34 left in the first half for a 6-3 Tampa lead, but New Orleans came back with a quick score to grab the lead.
Brees completed passes of 14 yards, to Shockey, and 37 yards to Colston, the latter of which advanced the ball to the Tampa 21. Reggie Bush ran for eight yards on second down before Brees found Lance Moore in the center of the end zone from 13 yards out with just 33 seconds left, giving the Saints a 10-6 lead at halftime.
Game Notes
The Saints won the first matchup of the season between the clubs, 24-20, in Week 1...Bush returned to the Saints lineup after missing the four previous games. He hadn't played since an October 19 loss to Carolina, in which he hurt his knee. Bush finished with five receptions for 32 yards...Thomas was the Saints' leading rusher with 34 yards on 11 carries.
<< Manning, Giants top Redskins in NFC East clash
Landover, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Eli Manning threw for 305 yards, including a
40-yard touchdown to Amani Toomer, and Brandon Jacobs ran for another score,
as the New York Giants defeated the Washington Redskins, 23-7, at FedEx Field.
Mann
<< Flacco, Ravens easily dispatch of Bengals
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rookie quarterback Joe Flacco threw a pair
of touchdowns, as the Baltimore Ravens stymied the lowly Cincinnati Bengals,
34-3, at Paul Brown Stadium.
Flacco finished with a career-high 280 yards on 19
<< Choi wins Skins Game with $415,000
Indian Wells, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - K.J. Choi pocketed $270,000 for a birdie
on the 18th hole Sunday, giving him a big win at the Skins Game.
Choi finished the 18-hole, two-day event with six total skins and $415,000.
The seven-time PGA
<< Blazers fire past Pistons
Auburn Hills, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - LaMarcus Aldridge scored a game-high 27
points, leading the Portland Trail Blazers to a 96-85 road victory over the
Detroit Pistons.
Brandon Roy added 19 points for the Blazers, who have won four st
Line of Scrimmage: Burress' Night Out Plan Backfires >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Remember when the New York Giants had
little problems?
You know, like Michael Strahan not showing up to training camp, or Tiki Barber
talking about how Tom Coughlin got outcoached?
Those now seem like e
Denver WR Royal active vs. Jets >>
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Denver Broncos wide receiver Eddie
Royal was active for the team's game against the Jets after being limited in
the week's practice with a toe injury.
He was listed as questionable on the injur
No. 3 Louisville upended by Western Kentucky >>
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A.J. Slaughter scored a game-high 25 points
and had nine rebounds as Western Kentucky surprised third-ranked Louisville,
68-54, at the Sommet Center.
Slaughter finished 8-of-15 from the floor, whi
Villarreal, Valencia earn La Liga wins >>
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Villarreal and Valencia earned wins on
Sunday in the Spanish La Liga to keep pace with table leaders Barcelona, who
have 32 points after 13 weeks.
Villarreal climbed to second place with 28 poi
Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com
In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.
Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.
Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.
Memphis vs. Ohio State
Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.
UCLA vs. Kansas
In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.
With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action. Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”. By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.
To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting