NEW ORLEANS, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- Aaron Brooks threw two touchdown passes in the third quarter Sunday night and New Orleans forced four turnovers to tighten the race for the NFC South title with a 23-20 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Saints improved to 8-4 and moved within one game of the division-leading Bucs. Atlanta, which recorded an overtime win over Minnesota earlier in the day, is only a half game behind Tampa Bay and will visit the Bucs next weekend.
Jake Reed made an acrobatic catch of a three-yard touchdown pass from Brooks on the opening drive of the third period to put the Saints in front and Brooks then hit Joe Horn with a 14-yard scoring toss for an 11-point lead.
New Orleans still led by 11 when Tampa Bay's Brad Johnson completed a two-yard touchdown pass to Keenan McCardell and then found Keyshawn Johnson for a two-point conversion with 2:49 to play.
Having two timeouts remaining, Tampa Bay Coach Jon Gruden kicked deep rather than try an onside kick. The Buccaneers were unable to regain possession as the Saints picked up the one first down they needed to kill the clock.
New Orleans defeated Tampa Bay for the second time this season, but Brooks was forced to leave the game late in the quarter with a bruised right triceps. Backup Jake Delhomme came in to convert a third-and-eight pass to Horn just after the two-minute warning to seal the victory.
Brad Johnson passed for 276 yards and two touchdowns for the Bucs, who had a four-game winning streak stopped.
Tampa Bay's top-ranked defense forced a safety in the first quarter when Brooks fumbled through the end zone.
Deuce McAllister scored for the Saints on a six-yard run in the second quarter to cap an 80-yard march only to have the extra-point attempt fail and Tampa Bay took a 9-6 halftime lead when Mike Alstott ran 44 yards for a touchdown.
