Buccaneers Hear Call of Wild

Warren Sapp thinks the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are peaking at the right time.

The Buccaneers (8-6) took a big step toward making the playoffs for the fourth time in five seasons Sunday, routing New Orleans, 48-21, for a one-game lead over the Saints (7-7) in the race for an NFC wild-card spot.

“We’re in the driver’s seat now,” Sapp said. “We’ve got to crank the car up and mash the gas.”

Brad Johnson threw three touchdown passes and Martin Gramatica kicked four field goals before leaving with an injury as Tampa Bay rebounded from a 24-point road loss to Chicago with a dominating performance.

Mike Alstott rushed for 101 yards and one touchdown, while Ronde Barber returned one of his three interceptions 36 yards for a touchdown with two minutes left.

With Gramatica sidelined by a strained right hamstring, the Buccaneers finished the blowout with a two-point conversion to equal the franchise record for points in a game.

“We’ve got some big-time players in this room and the bigger the game, we usually step up our performance,” said Sapp, who sat out most of the fourth quarter with a sore left shoulder. “We had to have this one, and we got it done against a tough ballclub.”

Tampa Bay improved to 12-1 at home in December under Coach Tony Dungy. The Buccaneers close with home games against Baltimore and Philadelphia. The Saints will play their last two at the Superdome against Washington and San Francisco.

Aaron Stecker returned the opening kickoff a Tampa Bay-record 86 yards to set up Johnson’s 14-yard touchdown throw to Karl Williams. Three plays later, Barber intercepted Aaron Brooks’ first pass and Tampa Bay went up, 14-0, on Alstott’s one-yard run.

Johnson also threw touchdown passes of 17 yards to Warrick Dunn and four yards to Dave Moore. Gramatica kicked three of his four field goals in the first half while the Buccaneers were building the lead to 30-0.

Brooks threw touchdown passes of 11 and 16 yards to Joe Horn and 10 yards to Eddie Williams in the second half, finishing 21 of 38 for 248 yards with four interceptions.

The Buccaneers outgained New Orleans, 269-34, while limiting the Saints to only one first down in the opening half. Alstott did much of the damage, averaging nearly five yards a carry as Tampa Bay amassed 104 on the ground before the break.

The Saints led the NFL with 49 sacks, 21 in their previous three games. However, a Tampa Bay offensive line that has had trouble protecting Johnson--as well as opening holes for the running game--did a good job of keeping the quarterback on his feet and clearing the path for Alstott.

Johnson wasn’t sacked, and the Saints didn’t force any turnovers.