What we learned from Saints' upset victory over Buccaneers

The New Orleans Saints earned their most impressive victory of the year on Sunday, beating the division-leading Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24-20 on the road. The Saints improved to 3-10 but have to feel pretty good about this one. Here are three things we learned from the victory:

Shough stands tall

Rookie quarterback Tyler Shough had a brilliant day, leading the Saints offense to a second-half comeback and rushing for two second-half touchdowns in the rain. He finished the day with modest numbers (13 of 20 passing, 144 yards, one interception; 7 carries for 55 yards), but it included several big plays on third down and is the type of victory that will lead the Saints to believe they have their quarterback of the future, no matter how high their draft pick is next spring.

Moore finds more

Shough isn't the only rookie who impressed Sunday. First-year head coach Kellen Moore had a good day calling the offense, from the scripted first drive that produced Devin Neal's first career touchdown to the fourth quarter, when the Saints were finding ways to run the ball in bad weather against a good rushing defense. The result was a career day for yet another rookie: Neal finished with 70 yards and the touchdown on 19 carries , plus a big 14-yard catch to convert a third down on the Saints' final touchdown drive.

Tough D when it counted

The Saints defense wasn't perfect, but it was very good when it counted. The Buccaneers were only 3 of 13 on third down and 2 of 7 on fourth down. The five fourth-down stops included three stuffs in short-yardage situations near midfield, flipping field position, as well as the stop that ended the game. And don't forget a couple of third-down stops inside the 25-yard line that forced Tampa Bay into field goals. That ultimately was the difference in the game.