After all, for much of the first half and part of the second, the ominous, black clouds above Raymond James Stadium emptied their contents, leaving the Bucs and the New Orleans Saints to deal with conditions that, at times, resembled a monsoon.

One of the first things Gruden did was thank the fans for braving the conditions. "Not a great day to watch a Football game," he said.

But in the end, it proved to be just that for Tampa Bay fans.

The Bucs intercepted two passes from Saints quarterback Drew Brees in the final 2:30. The first, by safety Jermaine Phillips, set Tampa Bay up for Matt Bryant's 37-yard field goal that wound up as the winning score in this 23-20 victory. The second, by cornerback Phillip Buchannon, sealed the Saints' fate and sent the home team to its fourth consecutive win. It allowed the 9-3 Bucs to keep pace with the Carolina Panthers atop the NFC South heading into next Monday night's trip to Charlotte.

There were other things besides that for Bucs fans to be happy about despite the weather.

For one, they got to watch running back Carnell "Cadillac" Williams score his first touchdown of the year after seeing his first game action of the season the previous weekend.

For another, Tampa's defense found a way hold the NFL's leading passer in relative check. Brees had 296 yards and two touchdowns but also threw three interceptions.

Of course, the rain helped the task. "It was tough to throw the ball," Gruden said. "(But) they put the game in Drew's hands, and rightfully so."

Brees' counterpart, Jeff Garcia, completed just nine of 23 passes for 119 yards but didn't throw an interception and added 42 yards on seven rushing attempts.

"There were lanes for me to just take off and run," he said with a grin, adding he realized some of the runs certainly were not things of beauty.

The defense took care of the rest, holding the Saints to 44 rushing yards.

"We went out there and played Buccaneer ball," defensive end Greg White said. "And anytime we do that, it's a 'W.'"

Added linebacker Barrett Ruud: "I thought when we needed to step up, somebody always did, and that was what was great about today. Whenever somebody had to make a play, and it came from everywhere, somebody did it."

Garcia, on the other hand, did just enough to get the Bucs a win, something he pretty much has been doing all season.

"You can't play down the significance of this game to further separate ourselves from an explosive, scary team like New Orleans," he said. "... (We're) one step closer to potentially grabbing a division title."

Next up: Carolina .

The Panthers , also 9-3 following their win at the Green Bay Packers , already have lost once to the Bucs, a 27-3 smackdown in mid-October.

Bucs linebacker Cato June believes that Carolina is going to still be smarting about that one. Round 2 figures to be less about revenge and more about postseason ramifications.

"It will be a great atmosphere to go down there," June said. "It's for all the marbles, for right now, at least, and it's put up or shut up time.

"Someone will rise up to the occasion and become a premier team in the NFC, and why not us?"