THE Saints' DEFENSE

With Sunday's game advertised as a contest between the Saints' top-ranked offense and the Buccaneers' fourth-ranked defense, less attention was paid to the Saints' defense, a unit looking to build on an impressive second half the previous week against the Green Bay Packers .

On Sunday, despite the 23-20 loss, that unit managed to come away with the other kind of numbers it wanted. Tampa Bay converted just two of its 15 third downs, one in each half.

"Third down is big in this league," Saints cornerback Randall Gay said. "To get off the field on third down -- get your rest, get your offense on the field, give them an opportunity to make plays -- that was our goal, to limit the third downs, really try to stop them on third down. And I think we did a real good job of that. But when it comes down to it, we just didn't make the plays at the end of the game to win the game."

The Saints limited the Buccaneers to 254 total yards -- 149 rushing and 105 passing. Tampa Bay's Jeff Garcia was able to scramble but completed nine of his 23 throws for 119 yards and a touchdown. The Saints sacked him four times.

The Saints' defense gave up two touchdowns early in the second half -- both Tampa Bay drives began in New Orleans territory -- but no touchdowns and one field goal after the 8:36 mark of the third quarter.

"I thought by and large the defense played well," Saints Coach Sean Payton said. "They played well on third down, and they played well considering some of the short fields they had to deal with. So I was encouraged."

On a team where quarterback Drew Brees usually stands out and the defense is typically blamed, Brees had three game-changing interceptions -- and Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma was the player that stood out. Vilma had seven tackles, one sack, one pass deflection, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.

BOTH RUNNING GAMES

Tampa Bay came into Sunday's game with a balanced team, and it showed against the Saints.

A clear difference between the Saints and Buccaneers is the running game.

Tampa Bay finished with 149 rushing yards, including 74 on 22 carries from Warrick Dunn and 42 on seven carries by Garcia.

New Orleans had 44 total rushing yards, with 4 coming in the first half. Pierre Thomas rushed for 34 yards on 11 carries, Deuce McAllister had 13 yards on three carries, and Reggie Bush had no yards on three carries.

Receiver Devery Henderson had one carry for minus-3 yards.

"The first half was kind of sloppy and windy, and we were struggling," Payton said, explaining his team's eight first-half carries. "We took some minus plays in the running game that hurt us. We felt like Drew was throwing it pretty well considering the conditions."

HARTLEY AND PAKULAK

Lost amid the poor field position that the Saints encountered Sunday, and the fact that their playoff hopes took a giant blow, were the performances of kicker Garrett Hartley and punter Glenn Pakulak.

Hartley and Pakulak, both the third at their position to play for the Saints this season, performed well in poor weather and field conditions.

Hartley made field goals of 47 and 43 yards, continuing his perfect streak as a rookie. He has made all eight of his career field-goal attempts.

Pakulak punted five times for 247 yards, with one punt sailing 70 yards.

The Saints might not have a good shot at a playoff spot, but they just might have found special teamers to hang onto for the future.

HOW THE GAME WAS WON

Of all the players on the Saints' roster, Brees probably would be the last that one would expect to be blamed for a loss.

But his three interceptions were devastating Sunday.

The Buccaneers won the highly touted battle of their defense against the Saints' offense, and Tampa Bay showed why its pass defense is so tough.

But Brees was not the only one at fault.

Bush could not accomplish anything in his return, and the Saints' running game was about as unsuccessful.

The Buccaneers had an impressive running game, and their game plan seemed well suited for the weather conditions.

As expected, this was a completely different matchup from when the teams played in the season opener, and Tampa Bay showed head-to-head why it is up three games on New Orleans in the NFC South.

FROM THE COACH'S MOUTH

"We just, in the end, didn't have enough in us, and ended up losing a close game to a good team." -- Payton.

Compiled by Teddy Kider