“We knew how potent their offense was, and we knew that really the best defense was our offense being able to sustain drives,” QB Josh Freeman said. “The tough thing is that only lasted our first drive.”

Freeman had his issues, he was 17 of 33 for 126 yards and three interceptions. The first-round draft pick was sacked three times and also lost a fumble that led to Brees’ 11-yard TD throw to David Thomas in the third quarter. He and the offense started the game red-hot, going for 7 with an 18-yard TD to Michael Clayton with 4:58 left in the first quarter.

Brees though went to work, he threw a four-yard TD to Robert Meachem to tie the game at 7 with 1:04 left in the first quarter. Then after a John Carney field goal gave New Orleans a 10-7 lead, Brees hit Meachem again for a 6-yard score to make it 17-7 with 28 seconds left in the first half.

The Saints really turned it on in the second half, scoring twice in the third quarter and then again in the fourth. Mike Bell ran in two of those scores, and Brees thew an 11-yard TD to David Thomas with 10:36 to play in the third quarter. The Saints D held the Bucs to 219 yards, and they had just 13 first downs.

The Bucs were limited to 124 yards after their opening march. Freeman said he was a “hair” off with many of his throws, but did not feel he took a step back running the offense in his third pro start. “It’s just one of those days,” the rookie said. “An off day. … I don’t see it as a problem going forward.”

The Buccaneers, now 1-9 on the season, will be at Atlanta Sunday at 1pm.

A new episode of VIZIOS PRO FOOTBALL PROFILES will debut each week beginning October 2, 2009. Check local listings for time and availability. FSN reaches over 85 million homes nationally. Featured athletes include Aaron Rodgers, Adrian Peterson, Brian Urlacher, Larry Fitzgerald, LaDainian Tomlinson and more.

Sunday found a Florida matchup, courtesy of a quirk of sorts in the NFL scheduling, between the Miami Dolphins and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. At first glance, you might think that there wouldn’t be very much scoring; if you subscribed to that line of thinking, then surprisingly, you’d be wrong. Actually there were the obligatory lead changes as most close games tend to have; however, it took a late drive conducted by Dolphins quarterback Chad Henne which led to a 25-yard field goal with 10 seconds left, enabling Miami to escape Land Shark Stadium with a 25-22 win over Tampa Bay. The Dolphins, despite the win, lost Ronnie Brown to an ankle injury in the third quarter.

The first quarter was rather uneventful as neither team stood out offensively, with the only socring coming, courtesy of a 51-yard Connor Barth field goal with 11:24 left in the period and a Brown touchdown run from a yard out, giving the Dolphins a 6-3 lead going into the second period. A key replay reversal occurred which helped Miami score 10 points in the final 1:25 of the first half; the sequence included a 5-yard TD reception by rookie Kory Sperry, followed by a 30-yard Dan Carpenter FG nearly 90 seconds later, giving the Dolphins a 19-6 lead as both teams went to their lockee rooms at halftime.

The third quarter was much like the first as little offense took place, with the only scoring taking place at the 4:05 mark of the period, courtesy of a 54-yard Barth FG, cutting the Dolphins lead to ten at 19-9 going into the final 15 minutes. Buccaneers QB Josh Freeman, just seven seconds into the final quarter, hit wide receiver Maurice Stovall with a 33-yard TD pass, reducing Miami’s lead to 19-16; after an interception by Tampa Bay linebacker Quincy Black, running back Carnell Williams would score on a 1-yard TD run with 1:14 left to go, giving the Bucs a very brief 23-22 lead. A quick drive by Henne set up what would prove to be the winning score as Carpenter drove home a 25-yard FG with just 10 seconds left on the game clock, icing the win for Miami.

Henne had mediocre numbers as he went 17-of-31 for 175 yards wth a TD and an interception while Freeman went 16-of-28 for 196 yards with a TD and an INT and also ran for 36 yards. Ricky Williams led the Dolphins’ rushing attack, carrying the ball 20 times for 102 yards while Brown added 82 yards on a dozen carries and a score; Williams led the Buccaneers rushers with 14 rushes for 52 yards with a TD.

WR Davone Bess led the Dolphins receivers with 4 receptions for 72 yards while Sperry caught three for 31 yards and a TD; tight end Kellen Winslow led the Bucs receivers with 7 receptions for 102 yards while Stovall caught 4 passes for 47 yards and a TD. Miami (4-5) looks to get to .500 as they have the short week; they travel to Charlotte to take on the Carolina Panthers Thursday while Tampa Bay (1-8) returns home to host the NFC South-leading New Orleans Saints next Sunday.

Tampa Bay quarterback Josh Freeman’s work ethic became a concern among fans after a broadcaster suggested the Tampa Bay rookie quarterback wasn’t working very hard on the mental part of the game. Head coach Raheem Morris gave strong responses to the contrary when asked about Freeman’s work ethic. “I wasn’t shocked to see him do it at all because I’ve seen him coming in here and studying,” Morris said. “You have to give the kid credit for his preparation that he put into it without the reps. When he got the reps, he used them. He took advantage of them. His ability to come into the meeting room and be here at 6:00 (a.m.) with (coordinator) Greg Olson and meeting with some of those guys, what I told you the kid could be and what we thought the kid was going to be when he got here and that’s what he was when he was at Kansas State and I didn’t think it would change. He only got more encouraged and more motivated to do those things.”

The house was ransacked and a TV was stolen. A lawn crew in the neighborhood saw the house’s rear doors had been forced open and told a neighbor who called police. No arrests have been made.

The Bucs beat the Packers 38-28, ending the NFL’s longest losing streak at 11 games. Piscitelli had three tackles.

They also at halftime paid honor to the 1979 division champion club, and it seemed to put a sense of excitment into the stadium as the Bucs rallied from a 28-17 deficit in the third quarter to rally for the much needed win.

The day also pointed to the future, as rookie QB Josh Freeman started, playing a solid game, making plays as he looks to be the player to lead the Bucs into the future. He was 14-for-31 for 205 yards with three touchdowns and one pick with a QB rating of 86.1. He outplayed Aaron Rodgers, who was 17-for-35 for 266 yards with two TD’s and three interceptions.

“I didn’t get too high or two low,” Freeman said. “I can’t say I did anything spectacular. I just played within myself, and when we had opportunities I took them.” He became the youngest quarterback ever to start a game for the Bucs, and it was worth it.

It also was worth it for Bucs coach Raheem Morris, who won his first game of his coaching career. “That’s a great start to how we want to be, how we want to work, how we want to play,” said Morris.

The Bucs won with a great effort from their defense, which sacked Rodgers six times and returned a pick late for a score which sealed the win. They also had a blocked punt for a score, and an 83-yard kickoff return by Clifton Smith that set up a score to close their 28-17 deficit to 28-24.

Down four, the Bucs took the lead for good when Freeman went 7 yards to Sammie Stroughter on fourth-and-4 for the go-ahead TD with under 5 minutes to play. Tanard Jackson then picked off Rodgers and instead of going to the ground with under a minute left went 35 yards to a clinching TD.

It was a much needed win and hopefully a positive sign of things to come for a team that needed to show some fire, and they did it vs a team that no one felt they could beat.

Tampa Bay: WR Antonio Bryant, QB Byron Leftwich, FB Chris Pressley, DL Dre Moore, OL James Lee, CB Mike Mickens, OG Shawn Murphy, WR Yamon Figurs.

Now though, there is some rumblings that the team could start over after this year. Word from Fox Sports is that the team may actually look to get rid of Raheem Morris, the rookie coach who has yet to win a game.

Who knows what’s in the future for Buccaneers rookie head coach Raheem Morris? It doesn’t sound like Morris and Bucs GM Mark Dominik are getting along and there are now rumblings that defensive coordinator Jim Bates could be in trouble, too, if Morris is back next season.

Maybe the team should have thought twice before they got rid of Jon Gruden after the collapse of last season.