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Week 5 Game Recap: Tampa Bay Buccaneers 13, Denver Broncos 16
What you need to know
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
The Buccaneers played Denver even in the first half and after two Matt Bryant field goals, went into the break tied at six. Tampa Bay was sloppy on the offensive side of the ball, where they gave up three sacks that certainly did not help keep drives alive. The Broncos scored the first touchdown of the game in the third quarter and later added a field goal that put the game out of reach for the Buccaneers.
QB Brian Griese was knocked out of the game in the third quarter after throwing for just 88 yards and no scores and was replaced by former starter Jeff Garcia. Garcia didn't look too rusty and nearly led a comeback for Tampa Bay that just fell short. He connected with WR Ike Hilliard on a seven yard touchdown reception that cut eh Denver lead to three late in the fourth quarter, but the Buccaneers could not stop the Denver offense from running out the clock and eventually going into the victory formation to close out the game.
RB's Earnest Graham and Warrick Dunn split the load in the running game almost 50/50, where Graham rushed ten times for 59 yards and Dunn added 11 carries for 74 yards. Tampa Bay averaged over six yards per rush, but ran the ball just 22 times and did not get much help from their passing game on third downs.
WR Joey Galloway missed another game with a foot injury and Antonio Bryant continued his steady play as he finished with a team high seven receptions for 58 yards. Ike Hilliard caught a fourth quarter touchdown pass from seven yards out and finished with four receptions for 29 yards, but Tampa Bay had zero passing plays over 20 yards and were rushed as a result of the pressure applied from the Denver front seven.
| Denver Broncos |
Jay Cutler led two first half scoring drives that ended with successful field goals, but could not get much going downfield against the Tampa Bay secondary. He did not let it get to him, and he came out in the second half and led two more scoring drives, where he first connected with WR Brandon Stokley for a ten yard touchdown reception and led a 14 play drive that ended with a Matt Prater field goal that proved the be the difference in the game.
Selvin Young could not get much going on the ground, as he rushed for just 38 yards on 10 carries and had a long run of just eight for the game, and former Buccaneer Michael Pittman led the Broncos with 39 yards on six attempts, including runs on the final drive that sealed the deal for Denver.
Brandon Marshall was held in check and finished with just three receptions for 25 yards and rookie Eddie Royal left the game in the fourth quarter, but Brandon Stokley stepped up and caught a ten yard touchdown pass and led the Broncos with six receptions for 52 yards.
What you ought to know
| QB Brian Griese, Pass: 13 - 19 - 88 - 0 TD / 0 INT |
It was a rough game for Brian Griese against his former club. Griese finished 13 of 19 for just 88 yards and was forced to leave the game in the third quarter with a shoulder injury and did not return. Griese was efficient while he was in the game, but the Broncos front seven got to him with pressure and forced him to hit his check downs. Former starter Jeff Garcia played ok in his relief, so owners will want to keep an eye on his injury status and the whole QB situation in Tampa Bay throughout the week.
| QB Jeff Garcia, Pass: 13 - 17 - 93 - 1 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 1 - 6 - 0 |
Jeff Garcia filled in for the injured Brian Griese and nearly brought Tampa Bay back in this game as he completed 13 of 17 for 93 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Much like Griese, Garcia was unable to get much going downfield against the Broncos, a combination of not having Joey Galloway in the lineup once again, and the pressure applied by the Denver defense. He connected with WR Ike Hilliard from seven yards out in the fourth quarter to cut the Broncos lead to three, but that was the last Tampa Bay had the ball. Garcia did throw in interception, but the Buccaneers were able to get the ball back on the play when the Denver defender fumbled it away.
| RB Earnest Graham, Rush: 10 - 59 - 0, Rec: 5 - 21 - 0 (6 targets) |
Graham continued to have success running the ball for Tampa Bay, as he carried the ball ten times for 59 yards, a 5.9 ypc average, and added five receptions for 21 yards on six targets in the passing game. Unfortunately for Graham and his owners, he once again split time with Warrick Dunn, who finished with one more carry than Graham.
| RB Warrick Dunn, Rush: 11 - 74 - 0, Rec: 3 - 13 - 0 (3 targets) |
Dunn split carries with Earnest Graham and put up productive numbers as he ran the ball 11 times for 74 yards on the ground and caught all three passes thrown to him for 13 yards in the passing game. This looks to be almost a 50/50 split with the two backs right down the middle.
| WR Antonio Bryant, Rec: 7 - 58 - 0 (10 targets) |
Bryant was the most targeted Tampa Bay receiver with ten and he finished with seven receptions for 58 yards. He continued to be the most popular Buccaneers receiver target wise in the absence of Joey Galloway and four of his ten targets came on third down.
| WR Ike Hilliard, Rec: 4 - 29 - 1 (6 targets) |
Ike Hilliard was targeted six times, and finished with four receptions for 29 yards, including a seven yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter that cut the Denver lead to three with two minutes remaining.
| WR Michael Clayton, Rec: 3 - 26 - 0 (4 targets) |
Clayton was targeted four times and recorded three catches for 26 yards. He was targeted three times on third downs, and had one reception called back for penalty. All three of his catches resulted in Tampa Bay first downs.
| WR Joey Galloway |
Galloway missed the game due to a foot injury that has kept him out of the lineup since week one.
| TE Jerramy Stevens, Rec: 1 - 12 - 0 (2 targets) |
Stevens failed to record a catch, but was targeted two times in the game. One was a deep target and the other came in the red zone, so he was a part of the game plan, just could not take advantage of his opportunities.
| TE Alex Smith, Rec: 1 - 11 - 0 (1 targets) |
Smith caught the only pass thrown his way for an 11 yard gain.
| PK Matt Bryant 2 - 2 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 7 points |
Bryant made good from 33 and 31 yards out on his only two field goal attempts and connected on one extra point to finish with seven points.
| TB Rush Defense |
The Buccaneers held the Broncos to 106 yards rushing on 26 attempts and gave up a long run of just 16 yards, but they could not stop Denver when it mattered the most, late in the fourth quarter after they cut the Broncos lead to three.
DB Jermaine Phillips finished with eight solo tackles and one assist to lead the secondary and LB Barrett Ruud totaled four solos and two assists to lead the linebackers. Ruud was injured late in the game and did not return.
| TB Pass Defense |
Tampa Bay held Jay Cutler to under 250 yards passing and gave up just one score, so their effort cannot be questioned. They were also able to hold WR Brandon Marshall to just three receptions for 25 yards. However, they did not record a sack and failed to force any turnovers, and without much help from their offense, zero turnovers certainly did not help the Buccaneers cause.
| QB Jay Cutler, Pass: 23 - 34 - 227 - 1 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 5 - 16 - 0 |
Jay Cutler was able to take what the Buccaneers defense gave him, but he was not happy about it. Cutler showed some frustration early in the game when he could not find many openings in the Tampa Bay secondary, and their pressure was forcing him to hit his check downs and not take too many chances down field. He was able to get his poise back and hit some receivers on short routes and finished with 227 yards on 23 of 34 passing. Cutler connected with WR Brandon Stokley from ten yards out in the fourth quarter for his only score of the game, and he chipped in 16 yards rushing on five attempts.
| RB Selvin Young, Rush: 10 - 38 - 0, Rec: 1 - 1 - 0 (3 targets) |
Young failed to get much going against Tampa Bay with ten rushes for 38 yards rushing and just one reception for one yard on three targets in the passing game. He had a long run of just eight yards and could not find much room on the outside against a fast Buccaneer defense.
| RB Michael Pittman, Rush: 6 - 39 - 0, Rec: 2 - 22 - 0 (2 targets) |
Pittman contributed in both the rushing attack and passing game and finished with six rushes for 39 yards on the ground and two receptions for 22 yards on his only two targets.
| RB Andre Hall, Rush: 5 - 13 - 0, Rec: 2 - 17 - 0 (2 targets) |
As usual, Hall was rotated into the Denver backfield and contributed five rushes for 13 yards on the ground, and another 17 yards on two receptions on his only two targets in the passing game. It wasn't Hall's day, as he was called for two penalties on the same series that forced Denver into a field goal situation.
| WR Brandon Stokley, Rec: 6 - 52 - 1 (7 targets) |
Stokley finished with six receptions for 52 yards on seven targets, and came up with Denver's only touchdown on a ten yard reception from QB Jay Cutler. He was targeted twice on third downs. His score came after fellow wideout Eddie Royal was injured on a punt return.
| WR Brandon Marshall, Rec: 3 - 25 - 0 (8 targets) |
Marshall led the Broncos in targets with eight, but was able to haul in only three passes for 25 yards. He was targeted three times on third down, and was open on a few different plays where he was either over thrown or he slipped on the wet turf, so his numbers definitely could have been a little more impressive with some better luck.
| WR Eddie Royal, Rec: 3 - 23 - 0 (5 targets) |
Royal had three receptions for 23 yards on five targets. He was injured on a punt return in the fourth quarter and did not return.
| TE Tony Scheffler, Rec: 4 - 65 - 0 (4 targets) |
Scheffler caught all four balls thrown his way for 65 yards. Three of his receptions netted Denver first downs.
| PK Matt Prater 3 - 3 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 10 points |
Prater continued his strong play, as he connected on field goals from 55, 40 and 27 yards out and hit his only extra point attempt to finish with 10 points in the game.
| DEN Rush Defense |
Denver did not play particularly well against the run, but their defensive unit made plays when they had to and played well enough to win. Tampa Bay rushed for 139 yards on 22 attempts, for a 6.3 ypc average, but those numbers didn't translate into big offensive numbers.
LB D.J. Williams finished with a team high nine solo tackles and two assists and fellow LB Boss Bailey added nine solos and one assist himself to lead the Denver defense.
| DEN Pass Defense |
The Broncos did give up a late passing score to Tampa Bay, but they held the Buccaneers in check throughout the game and pressured both QB's into hurried throws that halted drives. They finished with three sacks and an interception, but gave up zero plays of over 20 yards and limited Tampa Bay to under 200 yards passing.
LB D.J. Williams had a sack for Denver and DL's Elvis Dumervil and Ebenezer Ekuban each added sacks of their own to lead the Broncos. DL Marcus Thomas recorded Denver's only interception of the game, but gave the ball right back to Tampa Bay when he fumbled the return attempt.
