NEW ORLEANS -- Tampa Bay's Mike Glennon barely had time to search the field before New Orleans defensive end Junior Galette raced into the backfield untouched and tackled him.
The Bucs quarterback went down in the end zone for a safety and with it went the momentum Tampa Bay had built in earning a double-digit, fourth-quarter lead on Sunday.
Tampa Bay allowed 17 unanswered points and lost to the Saints, 37-31 in overtime.
"I felt like we had an opportunity to steal a game," Bucs coach Lovie Smith said. "Whenever you get up like that on the road, you've got to be able to finish."
A week after coming from behind to defeat Pittsburgh on the road with a last-minute touchdown, it appeared Tampa Bay (1-4) was in line to come up with a second straight stunner.
Making his second consecutive start for the injured Josh McCown, Glennon was 19 for 32 for 249 yards and two touchdowns to go with a first-half interception.
The defense, meanwhile, intercepted Saints quarterback Drew Brees three times, returning one for a score, and quieted a Superdome crowd that had become used to watching wins.
With coach Sean Payton on the sideline -- he was suspended for the 2012 season -- New Orleans hasn't lost at home since the end of the 2010 regular season.
Penalties, however, allowed the Saints (2-3) to stay in the game. Tampa Bay was flagged 15 times for 113 yards, including nine for 72 yards on offense.
Few might have been bigger than a 5-yard penalty on defensive back Johnthan Banks on third-and-10 in overtime.
The penalty allowed the Saints offense to remain on the field and New Orleans finished the Bucs off with a 12-play, 80-yard game-winning drive.
"It did seem like that at inopportune times, on both sides of the ball, we got penalties and that's going to beat you," said Bucs cornerback Alterraun Verner, who had an interception and five tackles. "That's partly what we did today. We beat ourselves. I wouldn't say the Saints necessarily beat us."
Everything fell apart for the Buccaneers in the last 13 minutes of regulation.
Tampa Bay held a two-score lead after Glennon's 9-yard pass to Robert Herron. The Saints responded with a touchdown drive, capped by Pierre Thomas' 27-yard run.
A 2-point conversion failed, but with the Superdome crowd roaring in support of the defense, the Bucs seemed to come unraveled. A holding penalty was followed by a botched snap, then a pair of pre-snap penalties backed Tamp Bay against its goal line.
Soon after, the Bucs gave up the safety, which cut their lead to 31-28. New Orleans capped the next drive with Shayne Graham's 44-yard field goal to tie it with 2:30 left.
"That sack was great," Saints safety Rafael Bush said. "It definitely gave us a boost of energy and we needed it. It came at the right time."
The Saints drove inside the Tampa Bay 20 three times in the first half, but settled for two field goals and led 13-0 after Thomas' first touchdown of the game.
Tampa Bay opened its scoring on Patrick Murray's 55-yard field goal late in the second quarter. The Bucs turned Brees' first turnover into a 20-yard touchdown pass from Glennon to Louis Murphy to make it 13-10 at halftime.
Bobby Rainey's 9-yard run made it 17-13 early in the third quarter and then Danny Lansanah grabbed an errant Brees pass and went 33 yards for his second touchdown on an interception this season.
Brees responded by leading a 12-play, 63-yard drive capped by Travaris Cadet's 5-yard touchdown catch, setting up a wild fourth quarter.
NOTES: In addition to Jimmy Graham, the Saints also lost C Jonathan Goodwin (knee) and LB Ramon Humber (ankle) to injuries during the game. ... The Bucs did not announce any injuries. ... Brees surpassed 40,000 yards passing with the Saints in his 132nd game with the club. Dan Marino had been the fastest to 40,000 yards with one club, doing so with Miami in 153 games.
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