Fortitude Pays Off for Fourcade : New Orleans: Journeyman quarterback leads Saints to 22-19 victory.

His journey has been a long and circuitous one through seven cities and three football leagues.

But 29-year-old John Fourcade--formerly of the Memphis Showboats, Toronto Argonauts and Denver Dynamite--finally made it to the big time Sunday and responded with a big-time performance.

“I’ve been around in every league known to man except the European leagues,” said Fourcade, who led New Orleans to a 22-19 victory over the Buffalo Bills. “I was just happy to be out there playing today.”

Fourcade, whose only other starts came as the Saints’ replacement quarterback during the 1987 strike, threw two touchdown passes, and Dalton Hilliard rushed for 97 yards and caught a 54-yard touchdown pass. Fourcade started in place of Bobby Hebert, whom Fourcade replaced last week.

Despite the victory, Philadelphia’s 20-10 win over Dallas ended the Saints’ slim playoff hopes.

“We are a good football team,” New Orleans linebacker Pat Swilling said. “We just won’t be going to the playoffs to show it.”

The loss was Buffalo’s second in a row and third in four games. The Bills (8-6) are repeating their swoon of last season, when they lost three of their final four regular-season games.

“It’s been a horror show,” said Bills nose tackle Fred Smerlas. “We’ve got to go out and redeem ourselves if we’re going to make the playoffs.”

The Saints (7-7), who gained 436 total yards, took advantage of Buffalo turnovers on each of their first two possessions to build a 13-0 lead in the first quarter, and take a 16-12 lead after a snowy first half.

The snow disappeared in the second half, but the Saints’ defense continued to handle the Bills, getting a timely interception midway in the fourth quarter that New Orleans eventually turned into the winning field goal.

Toi Cook, beat in the second quarter for a 42-yard touchdown pass caught by James Lofton, picked off a tipped ball near the Saints’ end zone as Buffalo was driving for a go-ahead score.

“The way (Bills’ kicker Scott) Norwood was kicking, that would’ve been a chip shot for him,” Cook said. “Somebody (Thurman Thomas) tipped the ball and it just ended up in my hands.”

With Fourcade and Hilliard leading the way, the Saints drove 81 yards to the Buffalo four, setting up a 22-yard field goal by Morten Andersen. Brett Maxie clinched the victory with New Orleans’ third interception of Jim Kelly.

“I’m very proud of them after what has happened the last couple of weeks,” said New Orleans Coach Jim Mora, whose team lost their previous two games by a total of 10 points. “You have to play pretty good to beat these guys.”