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| ATL at NO | CIN at IND | CLE at TEN | DAL at PIT | HOU at GB | JAX at CHI | KC at DEN | MIA at BUF |
| MIN at DET | NE at SEA | NYJ at SF | OAK at SD | PHI at NYG | STL at ARI | TB at CAR | WAS at BAL |
Week 14 Game Recap: Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23, Carolina Panthers 38
What you need to know
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
QB Jeff Garcia had an excellent game as he threw for over 300 yards and two touchdowns. Garcia was able to bye time in the pocket by scrambling most of the game and found WR Antonio Bryant several times on big pass plays down the field. Tampa Bay had not had one pass play of 50 yards or longer all season, and Garcia had two of them in this game. Garcia was under pressure most of the game and was forced to scramble often. He was also sacked five times in this game.
WR Antonio Bryant had a career game as he caught nine passes for 200 yards and had two touchdowns. Bryant was able to get open deep down the field several times and made some big plays for the Buccaneers including a 50 yard touchdown pass early in the second half. Bryant's second touchdown came late in the game where he made an incredible one handed, diving catch in the back of the end zone. Bryant seemed to be open all night and when he was well covered he managed to make great catches. He became only the second Buccaneers second player in team history to have 200 yards receiving in a game.
The Buccaneers never really got the running game going and fell behind in the second half; this forced them to turn to the passing game. RB Warrick Dunn was effective but only had ten carries for 49 yards. RB Cadillac Williams was less effective, only getting 22 yards on nine carries but, did get a rushing touchdown in the game. Dunn looked like the better back in this game but, did not get enough touches and did drop a few passes in the game.
| Carolina Panthers |
Delhomme didn't have his best game as he was 14 of 20 for 173 and had two costly interceptions in the game. He did have a big play to WR Steve Smith early in the second half when he found him for a 38 yard touchdown pass. But Delhomme took a back seat to the Carolina's power rushing game that looked absolutely dominant against one of the better run defenses in football.
The Buccaneers came into this contest only giving up one rushing touchdown in 12 games this year, but they proceeded to give up four in this game. RB Jonathan Stewart would rush for two; both inside the five yard line, and RB DeAngelo Williams would score two as well, one on a 16 yard run and the other on a 36 yard scamper late in the game. The Carolina offensive line simply wore down the Buccaneers defense and was able run on them at will in the fourth quarter of this game. Both Stewart and Williams looked sensational as they were both able to break tackles on a consistent basis on a very good tackling Tampa Bay defense. Stewart and Williams combined for a 301 yards on the ground against the Buccaneers who came into this game only allowing 95 yards a game.
WR Steve Smith had a relatively quiet first half, but had a big second half including catching a 38 yard touchdown pass early the half. Despite a tough matchup, Smith had little trouble getting open in the second half as he caught six of his game high nine passes in that half. He saw a lot of single coverage in the second half as the Tampa Bay struggled to stop the run. He may have put up bigger numbers in this game but, the Panthers' run game was nearly unstoppable in the second half and they did not need to pass a lot. Smith finished the game with 117 yards.
What you ought to know
| QB Jeff Garcia, Pass: 24 - 38 - 321 - 2 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 2 - 6 - 0 |
Garcia had a pretty nice first half by going ten for 15 for 120 yards but, couldn't get the ball into the end zone as Tampa Bay continued to struggle in the red zone. Most of Garcia's passes came on short routes but, he did hook up with WR Antonio Bryant for 52 yards deep down the right sideline for the Buccaneers' biggest play of the game. Garcia had a very good second half and he went back to Bryant again early in the half when he hit him for a 50 yard touchdown on a deep pass that was little underthrown, but Bryant was able to get into the end zone this time. He went back to Bryant a couple of times down the field and was able to make some plays. He threw a second touchdown to Bryant late in the game on 15 yard pass. He did a good job of scrambling in the pocket and creating more time for himself.
| RB Warrick Dunn, Rush: 10 - 49 - 0, Rec: 3 - 13 - 0 (6 targets) |
Dunn only had 24 yards on five carries in the first half as he split carries with RB Cadillac Williams (who also had five carries in the first half.) Dunn was the more effective runner but, Williams got the one goal line carry in the first half and would score another goal line carry in the second half. He finished the game a 4.9 average per carry but, only had ten carries in the game. A lack of touches and the fact he shared carries almost fifty-fifty with Williams, limited Dunn in this contest.
| RB Cadillac Williams, Rush: 9 - 22 - 1, Rec: 1 - 6 - 0 (1 targets) |
Williams split carries with RB Warrick Dunn throughout the game but wasn't that effective, only averaging 2.4 yards per carry. He only had nine yards on five carries in the first half and had 13 yards on four carries in the second half. Williams had the only goal line carry for the Buccaneers in the first half but, he was stuffed from the two yard line. He got another chance near the goal line in the third quarter and made a nice move and powered the ball in from the four yard line for this first touchdown in over year. It would be the Buccaneers only rushing touchdown in the game.
| WR Antonio Bryant, Rec: 9 - 200 - 2 (10 targets) |
Bryant had a career game as he became only the second Tampa Bay player to have 200 yards receiving in one game. He had a very good first half by leading all receivers in the half with 78 yards. He made the longest play of the game when he caught a deep pass down the left sideline for 52 yards in the second quarter. He was pushed of bounds on the two yard line. Bryant burned CB Ken Lucus again early in the second half for a 50 yard touchdown. He actually had to come back for the pass that was underthrown and was able to run into the corner of the end zone for his first score of the game. Bryant put a double move on Lucus and was able to get wide open deep down the field on that play. He had another long catch on a route over the middle with a defender on his back for a 39 yard gain. Bryant then proceeded to throw the ball away from the official after the play and got a delay of game penalty. He would make an amazing one handed, diving catch late in the game for his second touchdown.
| WR Ike Hilliard, Rec: 2 - 20 - 0 (2 targets) |
Hilliard caught one pass for 12 yards in the first half and added a catch of eight yards in the second half.
| WR Michael Clayton, Rec: 1 - 15 - 0 (3 targets) |
Clayton had only one catch for 15 yards in the game as WR Antonio Bryant accounted for most of the Buccaneers offense from the passing game.
| WR Joey Galloway |
He did not have a catch in this game and has not had a catch since week nine.
| TE Jerramy Stevens, Rec: 5 - 33 - 0 (6 targets) |
Stevens almost had a touchdown in the second quarter but had the ball knocked out of his hands in the back of the end zone. Stevens caught one pass for five yards in the first half. He would add four catches for 28 yards in the second half.
| TE Alex Smith, Rec: 1 - 20 - 0 (3 targets) |
Smith had an opportunity to catch a touchdown in the second quarter but the ball bounced off his finger tips. He would catch a 20 yard pass down the middle of the field in the second half. It was his only reception.
| PK Matt Bryant 1 - 2 FG, 2 - 3 XP, 5 points |
Bryant missed a 40 yard kick in the first quarter when the ball bounced off the upright. He would make a 20 yard kick in the second quarter. Bryant had an extra point blocked late in the game.
| TB Rush Defense |
The Buccaneers defensive tackles got pushed around most the game and the run defense completely wore down in the fourth quarter as the Panthers ran wild in that quarter. The Buccaneers gave up over 300 yards rushing and four scores on the ground. This was an uncharacteristic performance for a run defense that has been near the top all year.
| TB Pass Defense |
CB Ronde Barber intercepted a pass midway through the second quarter for Tampa's first of two turnovers. SS Jermaine Phillips got the second interception of the game for the Bucs on great effort play where he tipped the ball to himself. Tampa Bay would have only one sack in the game.
| QB Jake Delhomme, Pass: 14 - 20 - 173 - 1 TD / 2 INT, Rush: 2 - -2 - 0 |
Delhomme didn't play very well in this game early on and didn't protect the ball, throwing two interceptions in the game. He was six for ten for 69 yards and one interception in the first half. He did have one big play when he threw a 38 yard touchdown pass to WR Steve Smith in the third quarter. The Panther offensive line and running attack took over the game midway through the third quarter as the Buccaneers simply could not stop the running game of Carolina. He did make some plays in the passing game when the game was close, but didn't need to make many in the second half because the running game was so dominant.
| RB DeAngelo Williams, Rush: 19 - 186 - 2, Rec: 1 - 6 - 0 (1 targets) |
Williams started the game slow, and then showed the great burst of his by breaking a 40 yard run up the middle midway through the second quarter. It would the first of several long runs in the game. The run put Williams over 1,000 yards for the year. He did a great job of breaking tackles in this game against a very good defense. He is also very elusive when he gets into the open field and has the speed to outrun defensive backs. Williams had seven carries for 63 yards in the first half. Williams did not get the goal line carries in this game as watched from the sidelines as RB Jonathan Stewart ran for two scores from inside the five yard line in the second half. But Williams and the rushing attack got stronger as the game went on and he ripped off another long run late in the game for 41 yards. Williams would get his own touchdown on the same drive as he used his speed to break it outside to the sideline and score on 16 yard run. He would get a second touchdown on a 36 yard run late in the game. Williams looked great in this game as he rushed for a career high 186 yards on only 19 carries against a Tampa Bay defense that had held him to only 27 yards during their last meeting earlier in the season.
| RB Jonathan Stewart, Rush: 15 - 115 - 2 (2 targets) |
Stewart had an excellent game as he and teammate RB DeAngelo Williams both looked great as they set a team record for rushing in a game for the second time in a month. He had a two yard touchdown run late in the first half as he was able to punch it into the end zone easily. The Carolina offensive line was able to push around the Buccaneers defense in short yardage situations and Stewart's easy two yard run was another example of this in the game. Stewart had seven carries for 21 yards in the first half but would have a big second half as he racked up 94 yards. He started the second half with a powerful run up the middle for 28 yards, breaking several tackles. Stewart would get his second touchdown of the game on a four yard run in the fourth quarter as the Panthers' offensive line began to wear down the much smaller Buccaneers defense. Stewart ran for 30 yards late in the game as he broke several tackles on the play.
| WR Steve Smith, Rec: 9 - 117 - 1 (10 targets) |
Smith had a big game despite the fact the running game had over 300 yards rushing and had four rushing touchdowns. He caught a short seven yard pass in the second quarter and brought it down to the Buccaneers two yard before being driven out of bounds. Smith had only three catches for 31 yards in the first half but would have a much bigger second half. Smith caught a 38 yard touchdown when he got open deep down the field and made a great catch by keeping both feet in bounds. Smith saw a lot of man to man coverage in the second half because the Buccaneers were struggling to stop the run. He finished with a game high nine catches for 117 yards.
| WR Muhsin Muhammad, Rec: 3 - 43 - 0 (3 targets) |
Muhammad had two catches for 31 yards in the first half and added one more reception for 12 yards in the second half.
| WR Dwayne Jarrett, Rec: 1 - 7 - 0 (2 targets) |
Jarrett caught seven yard pass on a quick slant for a first down in the second quarter for his only catch of the game. He did get a pass thrown to him into the end zone and drew a pass interference penalty.
| WR D.J. Hackett |
Hackett was inactive for this game because of injury.
| PK John Kasay 1 - 1 FG, 5 - 5 XP, 8 points |
Kasay made a 33 yard field goal in the first quarter and added five extra points.
| CAR Rush Defense |
The run defense did a good job of containing the Tampa Bay run game and holding the running backs to only 80 yards.
| CAR Pass Defense |
The pass defense did not have an answer for WR Antonio Bryant who had over 200 yards and scored two touchdowns. They did get good pressure on Garcia and sacked him five times.
