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Week 8 Game Recap: Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9, Dallas Cowboys 13
What you need to know
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
Tampa started off pretty well with Dallas, scoring field goals on two of their first three drives and forcing Dallas to go three and out on their first two drives. However, problems did start to show themselves on offense during those opening drives as Tampa Bay was unable to use good starting field position, the two scoring drives started on the Dallas 47 and Tampa 48 respectively, to get anything more than field goals.
Jeff Garcia was efficient in leading the Buccaneers offense, but he was not able to lead the team into the end zone. Garcia spread the ball around, getting nine different receivers involved in the passing game. He showed good pocket presence, feeling the rush and moving around in the pocket to buy some time for his receivers to get open.
Antonio Bryant was the featured receiver during the first quarter when Tampa had the most success moving the ball into scoring position. He was targeted six times during the opening quarter as Tampa jumped out to a 6--0 lead. However, he seemed to disappear from the offense until late in the game when they were trying to drive for the winning score.
Earnest Graham did everything that the team asked of him. He played both fullback and halfback, but was unable to get on track running against a tough Cowboys defensive front. Even though the going was tough, Graham showed a willingness to plow into the interior of the line and gain the tough yards needed to keep drives going.
| Dallas Cowboys |
Dallas never seemed to get on track offensively, and they had to rely on the defense to keep the team in the game until the offense could capitalize on good field position and Tampa Bay defensive breakdowns to score. The lone offensive touchdown drive was aided by four defensive penalties totaling 28 yards at the end of the first half.
Cowboy receivers had a tough time finding openings against the Tampa defense as the defense backs did not have to worry about Brad Johnson throwing any deep passes. Johnson, not being very mobile, was limited to throwing shorter, quick routes to try and keep the pass rush from getting to him.
The focal point of the Cowboy offense was Marion Barber. He was the only back to carry the ball and was targeted many times out of the backfield on screen plays and swing passes. Barber gained 71 hard earned yards on the ground as Dallas attacked the middle of the Tampa defense. He had a hard time getting going early, but was able to break a few runs into the second level during the later stages of the game.
Terrell Owens was the featured receiver in the passing attack as Dallas made it a point to get the ball to their best receiver. Owens' yardage totals were depressed by the Tampa defensive backs tackling him shortly after he caught the ball, limiting him to few yards after the catch.
What you ought to know
| QB Jeff Garcia, Pass: 27 - 43 - 227 - 0 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 2 - 7 - 0 |
Garcia had a difficult time in finishing Tampa drives. Two of their first three drives started close to midfield, but were only able to turn the good field position into field goals. Garcia was able to move the offense into scoring position using his veteran leadership. His job was made easier with the Dallas cornerbacks playing in soft coverage against the outside receivers and the linebackers concentrating on stopping the run. However, he did make one mistake that potentially could have cost his team a touchdown. While scrambling inside the Dallas 20 he completed a pass to Antonio Bryant on the five, but Garcia was past the line of scrimmage when he threw the ball and the play had to be brought back. Instead of having the ball third and two from the five, Tampa had a third and fourteen from the 18. He was able to move around in the pocket to get away from the pressure and sometimes seeing a hole in the coverage to run for positive yards. He did have some trouble with low throws as the Cowboy line was able to knock down three of his throws at the line of scrimmage, and he almost had two passes picked off on throws behind the intended receivers.
| RB Earnest Graham, Rush: 17 - 42 - 0, Rec: 4 - 22 - 0 (6 targets) |
Graham was the workhorse of the Buccaneers offense. He played the majority of the game from the halfback position, but was moved to fullback when the offense was faced with short yardage situations. Rarely coming out of the game for a breather, he showed good stamina as he gained half of his total yardage during the final 20 minutes of the game. He showed quickness and toughness as he did not go down on first contact; it usually took a host of defenders to bring him down. Called upon five times when the Bucs needed to gain one yard for the first down, he was successful on three of the carries.
| RB Warrick Dunn, Rush: 1 - 0 - 0, Rec: 2 - 8 - 0 (4 targets) |
With the pinched nerve in his back, Warrick Dunn saw little action in relief of Earnest Graham. His main contribution was in the passing game, where he turned his four targets into three receptions. However, his first reception will not show up in the final box score as it was negated by a Dallas penalty that Tampa accepted that resulted in a first down.
| RB Clifton Smith (1 targets) |
Clifton Smith made his NFL debut and made his first career reception on a good catch along the left sideline during the first quarter.
| WR Antonio Bryant, Rec: 6 - 45 - 0 (9 targets) |
Antonio Bryant was an integral part of the offense as Tampa was getting out to an early six point lead. He was targeted five times on the first two series, catching four of the passes. He showed good hands and concentration, as he was usually well covered by a defender who would tackle him immediately. His longest reception was on a screen play during the opening drive, where he caught the ball behind the line of scrimmage and followed his blockers for a 12 yard gain. After his good first quarter he was rarely seen until the final stanza as Tampa was driving for a potential winning score. He caught two passes on the final drive, but was not able to convert either reception into a first down as he was well covered on both receptions.
| WR Michael Clayton, Rec: 3 - 23 - 0 (6 targets) |
Clayton did not make his presence felt until the second half as Garcia looked to other receivers first. During the second half he was able to turn his limited targets into three receptions. Good field presence was shown as he picked a ball out of the air for a short gain on a pass that was batted up by one of the Cowboys defensive lineman.
| WR Joey Galloway, Rec: 3 - 38 - 0 (6 targets) |
Joey Galloway was used on routes that were intended to stretch the defense. He was unable to connect with Garcia on deep passes in the first half, but was able to find openings in the middle of the field and turn short passes into gains of more than ten yards.
| WR Ike Hilliard, Rec: 3 - 23 - 0 (3 targets) |
Coming off of a concussion during last week's game against Seattle, Hilliard did not see a target until the fourth quarter. He was able to make the most of his limited targets by turning his first two receptions into first downs, with the second reception coming on a key fourth and six play on the final drive.
| TE Jerramy Stevens, Rec: 3 - 16 - 0 (7 targets) |
Stevens started the game but was not heavily targeted until the fourth quarter due to the passing game flowing through the receivers. He is an erratic receiver, as he had one pass thrown his direction that almost resulted in an interception as he was not in the correct position to catch the ball. He also dropped a pass on the final drive that would have given the Bucs a key first down.
| TE Alex Smith, Rec: 2 - 39 - 0 (2 targets) |
Smith saw limited action as the second tight end. He did make an impact in the game by finding open areas in the middle of the field. He was tough to bring down, as it took two players to bring him down on both of his receptions.
| PK Matt Bryant 3 - 4 FG, 0 - 0 XP, 9 points |
Bryant was good on three of his four field goal attempts, missing wide right from 51 yards.
| TB Rush Defense |
The Tampa Bay rush defense was strong as they limited Dallas to only 70 total yards on 26 carries. During the early parts of the game, Cowboys backs had little room to run as the front seven closed off the running lanes.
| TB Pass Defense |
With Dallas not attempting deep passes with Brad Johnson at quarterback the Tampa pass defense was able to focus on the short and medium routes. The defensive players are sure tacklers, and Cowboy receivers were not able make many yards after the catching the ball. Tampa was able to get pressure on Brad Johnson, sacking him three times and forcing him to throw early many other times.
| QB Brad Johnson, Pass: 19 - 33 - 122 - 1 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 1 - -1 - 0 |
Starting his second game in relief of the injured Tony Romo, Johnson is a good game manager but is limited in his skills. He is unable to throw the deep ball accurately and therefore does not attempt many deep passes. The failure to pose a threat in this part of the game limited the Dallas offense and caused the Tampa defense to concentrate on taking away the short game. Johnson does not move around good in the pocket and must rely on his offensive line to keep the pass rush off of him. He was sacked three times, but that was mainly due to the occasional blitz as his offensive line did a good job in protecting him.
| RB Marion Barber, Rush: 25 - 71 - 0, Rec: 6 - 29 - 0 (7 targets) |
Marion Barber was given the task of keeping the offense moving with the injury to Tony Romo and he showed that he is more than up to the task, as he was the leading rusher and caught the most passes. He rarely got a breather, only coming out of the game for a single play. During the first two series Dallas tried to establish a running game early to try and take some of the pressure off of Johnson with Barber touching the ball on five of the first ten plays from scrimmage. During the first quarter he found the going tough, but when Dallas started to have success through the air he found more room to run. Barber had his greatest success during the second and third quarters when the offense went to a more balanced attack.
| RB Tashard Choice (1 targets) |
Choice was unable to come up with a reception on a screen play early in the third quarter.
| WR Terrell Owens, Rec: 5 - 33 - 0 (10 targets) |
Dallas made a concerted effort to get Owens involved in the offense early, targeting him on consecutive pass plays on their second drive. Owens was well covered by Tampa defenders, but was still able to haul in five receptions. He did not seem to have his timing down with Brad Johnson as he was unable to connect on pass plays where he could have gotten free from coverage for extra yardage. Owens was targeted one time in the end zone at the end of the first half, but the pass was thrown well out of his reach.
| WR Roy Williams, Rec: 2 - 10 - 1 (5 targets) |
Roy Williams is still in the process of learning the Dallas offensive system after coming over from Detroit. Both of his receptions came in the second quarter and played an important part in the first ten points of the game. His first reception came on the opening play of the second period as Dallas was beginning its drive for their first points. At the end of the half he hauled in a seven yard pass that would have given the Cowboys first and ten on the Tampa 21, but the play was nullified by a defensive pass interference penalty. He would score the game's only touchdown four plays later on a fade route as he was able to come down with the ball while being well covered by the Tampa defender.
| WR Patrick Crayton, Rec: 1 - 13 - 0 (4 targets) |
Patrick Crayton saw limited action in the offense as he lost some targets to Roy Williams. His only reception was a key one as he caught a pass at the Tampa Bay four yard line with six seconds left in the first half that gave Dallas a first and goal from the two.
| TE Martellus Bennett, Rec: 3 - 21 - 0 (3 targets) |
Filling in for the injured Jason Witten, Bennett was able to catch all three balls thrown in his direction. His first reception was a ten yard catch on a third and nine play that gave the Cowboys a key first down on their first scoring drive.
| TE Jason Witten, Rec: 1 - 8 - 0 (1 targets) |
Witten played little as he left the game during the second quarter with a rib injury. He returned for a handful of plays in the third quarter before leaving the game for good.
| TE Tony Curtis, Rec: 1 - 8 - 0 (3 targets) |
Tony Cutis saw action while filling in at the second tight end spot due to the injury to Jason Witten. His only reception gave the Cowboys a third and one during their final drive as they were attempting to run out the clock in the fourth quarter.
| PK Nick Folk 2 - 2 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 7 points |
Nick Folk was perfect on both of his field goals attempts.
| DAL Rush Defense |
The Cowboys rushing defense was effective in stopping the Buccaneers running game, limiting them to 49 yards rushing and only four first downs on the ground. Earnest Graham had little room to run as the defensive line was able to clog up the running lanes in the middle of the field.
| DAL Pass Defense |
Jeff Garcia was able to find open areas in the middle of the Cowboys defense as Cowboys played soft coverage against the outside receivers. The defense was also hindered by the loss of Anthony Henry to a quad injury during the third quarter. The defensive line was able to get some pressure on Garcia, but he was able to move around in the pocket and get the ball away before getting sacked.