The Buccaneers pretty much had everything go right in this football game and the result was their first win of the season.  Josh Freeman was outstanding in his first NFL start his career.  He completed 14 of 31 passes for 205 yards with 3 TD passes and 1 INT.  He also carried the football 4 times for 20 yards (5.0 ypc) in this game.  Cadillac Williams led the way on the ground in this game with 56 yards on 16 carries (3.5 ypc).  Derrick Ward only rushed for 5 yards on 4 carries (1.3 ypc) in this game but he also caught 3 passes for 54 yards (18.0 avg) with a TD grab.  TE Kellen Winslow (4 rec, 57 yards, TD), WR Maurice Stovall (3 rec, 46 yards) and WR Sammie Stroughter (3 rec, 19 yards, TD) all pitched in to help Freeman in the passing game in his first NFL start.  The Buccaneers finished up with 279 total yards on offense (81 rushing, 198 passing) in this game despite only having possession of the ball for 24:43.

The Bucs’ D gave up a ton of yards in this game giving up 404 total yards (170 rushing, 234 passing) but they made a lot of big game changing plays.  CB Elbert Mack made the first big play of this game for the Bucs on D as he intercepted a Aaron Rodgers pass in the first quarter and he returned it 36 yards to set up a very short field for the offense.  The Bucs scored a TD on that drive.  Safety Tanard Jackson finished up with 6 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and a pass defensed but Jackson’s biggest play was a interception late in the 4th quarter that he returned 35 yards for the game sealing TD.  CB Aqib Talib (3 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception) and LB Geno Hayes (7 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss) also pitched in on the defense.  The Buccaneers also had six sacks which got Rodgers nervous in the pocket getting him to make some big mistakes.

The special teams also played a huge role in this win for the Bucs.  CB Ronde Barber returned a blocked punt 31 yards for a TD.  Clifton Smith also was giving the offense short fields to work with as he returned 4 punts for 54 yards (13.5 avg) and 2 kickoffs for 107 yards (53.5 avg).  The Buccaneers are now 1-7 on the year with this outstanding win over a decent Packers’ football team.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers traveled all the way to Wembley Stadium in London, England to get embarrassed by the New England Patriots.  At least they did not lose as bad as the Tennessee Titans did last week to the Patriots (59-0).  Josh Johnson had a terrible game for the Buccaneers, as the quarterback was picked off three times in this contest, including the fifth play of the game.  The Patriots’ Brandon Merriweather jumped a slant rout, intercepting Johnson and taking it 39 yards for the first score of the game.  Johnson went 9/26 for 156 yards, with three interceptions and one touchdown before being benched in the 4th quarter.  Josh Freeman replaced him and went 2/4 for 16 yards in garbage time.  The running game was much better than the passing game, but that isn’t saying much.  They got a mediocre 77 yards on 24 carries (3.2 avg) combined from Derrick Ward and Cadillac Williams.

The Buccaneers defense could not stop the big plays from happening, and had a really hard time stopping the Brady-Wes Welker connection.  Welker had 10 catches for 107 yards and a touchdown.  The Bucs gave up a 54-yard touchdown, a 35-yard touchdown, and 37-yard reception by Randy Moss to set up Wes Welker’s touchdown, and a 20-yard run from back-up QB Brian Hoyer.  The Bucs will never win a game if they keep giving up that many big plays in a game. Josh Johnson does not seem to be the answer for the Bucs at quarterback, so another QB change could be coming for the Bucs.  They have a bye this week to try and figure that situation out.

The Buccaneers played hard yesterday but it just wasn’t enough to win the game.  Josh Johnson completed 11 of 17 passes for 147 yards with 1 INT.  He also carried the ball 8 times for 45 yards (5.6 ypc) yesterday.  But Johnson fumbled the ball 5 times in this game losing 1 and that needs to stop if he’s going to continue to play.  Cadillac Williams had a solid game with 77 yards rushing on 16 carries (4.8 ypc) with a TD run.  Rookie WR Sammie Stroughter led the way in the passing game for the Bucs with 3 catches for 65 yards (21.7 avg).  The 7th round pick out of Oregon State also returned a kickoff 97 yards for a TD yesterday.  The Bucs finished up with 245 total yards on offense (124 rushing, 121 passing) in this game.

The Buccaneers played great against the pass but awful against the run and it cost them in the end.  Safety Sabby Piscitelli led the way for the Bucs on defense with 10 tackles.  Linebacker Barrett Ruud was also effective with 9 tackles and 3 passes defensed.  Safety Tanard Jackson made a huge impact in this game for the Bucs as he had 5 tackles, 1 pass defensed and he also intercepted a pass returning it 26 yards for a TD to tie the score at 21 in the 4th quarter.  The Panthers finished up with 322 total yards on offense (267 rushing, 55 passing) in this game.  The Buccaneers are now 0-6 on the season.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-5) still have yet to win a game this season and were completely over-matched on Sunday in their loss to the Philadelphia Eagles (3-1).  Eagles’ quarterback Donovan McNabb was making his first start since breaking a rib in week one, and showed no signs of rust.  McNabb threw three touchdowns and 264 yards on 16/21 attempts (76%).  Bucs’ quarterback Josh Johnson did not do a good job taking care of the ball and threw three interceptions.  He threw the ball a ton, as the Bucs were trying to be extra aggressive against a more talented team.  Johnson finished the game with 240 yards on 26/50 attempts and two touchdowns, but had the three interceptions and two fumbles (both recovered).  Johnson did do a good job running the ball when the opportunity presented itself.  He had 40 yards on 5 carries (8.0 avg).

Kellen Winslow was one of the few bright spots for the Buccaneers.  He had two touchdowns and 102 yards on nine receptions (11.3 avg).  The Eagles are just flat out better than the Buccaneers in pretty much every aspect of the game though, and were up 7-0 in less than three minutes into the game.  The Buccaneers Cadillac Williams did nothing for them, rushing for only eight yards on 10 carries (0.8 avg) and getting tackled in the endzone for a safety.  The Bucs need to go back to the drawing board and do whatever they can to get their first win of the year.  They will try for that win this Sunday at home against the Carolina Panthers (1-3).

The Bucs were winning this game 10-0 at the half and things were looking good.  But in the third quarter the Redskins scored 16 points and the Bucs just couldn’t recover.  Josh Johnson was o.k. in his first NFL start as he completed 13 of 22 passes for 106 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT.  He also carried the ball 7 times for 41 yards (5.9 ypc) in this game.  Cadillac Williams had a solid game with 77 yards rushing on 16 carries (4.8 ypc) and he also caught 4 passes for 22 yards (5.5 avg).  WR Antonio Bryant led the way in the passing game for the Bucs as he caught 4 passes for 44 yards (11.0 avg) with a TD.  The Bucs finished up with 229 total yards in this game (129 rushing, 100 passing). 

The defense played their best game of the year for the Bucs, without a doubt.  Barrett Ruud led the way for the Bucs in this game with 9 tackles.  CB Aqib Talib had his best game of his young NFL career as he had 4 tackles, defensed 3 passes and he had 3 interceptions (61 return yards).  The Redskins finished up with 277 total yards in this game (125 rushing, 152 passing).  The Bucs are now 0-4 on the season.

The Buccaneers failed to show up for the game yesterday in Tampa.  The Bucs only could muster 86 total yards of offense in this game (28 rushing, 58 passing) as they only had possession of the football for 16:22!  Byron Leftwich started this game and he completed 7 of 16 passes for 22 yards with 1 interception before he got yanked from the game.  Josh Johnson finished up by completing 4 of 10 passes for 36 yards and he also led the Bucs in rushing with 15 yards on 1 carry.  This was one of the worst displays of offensive football I have ever seen, period!

LB Barrett Ruud (14 tackles) and safety Will Allen (10 tackles) were very busy yesterday.  The Giants rolled up 397 total yards on offense (226 rushing, 171 passing) in this game. The Bucs are now 0-3 on the season and they appear to be getting worse.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers looked overmatched again against the Bills in Buffalo yesterday.  Byron Leftwich was very busy in this game as the Bucs were playing catch up ball the whole game as they were down 17-0 after the first quarter.  Leftwich completed 26 of 50 passes yesterday for 296 yards with 3 TD passes and 2 interceptions (one was returned 76 yards for a TD by Dante Whitner in the first quarter).  Derrick Ward led the Bucs in rushing in this game with 32 yards rushing on 9 carries (3,6 ypc).  Cadillac Williams got stuffed running the ball against the Bills as he carried the ball 7 times for only 9 yards (1.3 ypc) but he also caught 7 passes for 56 yards (8.0 avg) with a TD grab.  Kellen Winslow led the way in the passing game for the Bucs with 7 grabs for 90 yards (12.9 avg) with a TD grab.  Maurice Stovall was also effective for the Bucs with 3 catches for 80 yards (26.7 avg).  The Buccaneers finished up with 353 total yards in this game (57 rushing, 296 passing).

LBs Barrett Ruud (14 tackles) and Geno Hayes (10 tackles) led the way for the Bucs on D.  Safety Sabby Piscitelli was also busy in this game with 9 tackles, a fumble recovery and a interception in this game.  The Bills finished up with 438 total yards (218 rushing, 220 passing) yesterday.  The Buccaneers fell to 0-2 on the season with this loss.

The Buccaneers just couldn’t keep up with the Cowboys in this game.  Byron Leftwich had a solid first start for the Bucs as he completed 25 of 41 passes for 276 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs.  Cadillac Williams was outstanding in this game as he carried the ball 13 times for 97 yards (7.5 ypc) with a TD run.  Derrick Ward was also very effective in carrying the ball 12 times for 62 yards (5.2 ypc) with a TD run.  He also caught 2 passes for 21 yards in this game.  Michael Clayton had a solid game with 5 catches for 93 yards (18.6 avg).  Kellen Winslow pitched in with 5 catches for 30 yards (6.0 avg) and a TD.  The Bucs had possession of the football for 33:32 of this game and they rolled up 450 total yards on offense (174 rushing, 276 passing). 

Safety Sabby Piscitelli led a poor effort by the Bucs D in this game with 8 tackles.  The Cowboys only had the ball for 26:28 of this game but they still rolled up 462 total yards on offense (118 rushing, 344 passing).

The Buccaneers were down 24-13 heading into the 4th quarter before rallying late in the game and forcing it into OT where Matt Bryant won the game with a 34-yard field goal.  Jeff Garcia showed the heart of a champion in this game as he completed 31 of 43 passes for 339 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 interception.  Ernest Graham carried the ball 19 times for 62 yards (3.3 ypc) and he also caught 5 passes for 29 yards (5.8 avg).  But, Graham’s biggest play was when he threw a 3-yard TD pass to TE Alex Smith.  WR Antonio Bryant also had a huge game catching 8 passes for 115 yards (14.4 avg) with a TD grab.  The Bucs rolled up 423 total yards of offense, but, the special teams were also huge for them in this game as Clifton Smith returned a kickoff 97 yards for a TD in the 2nd quarter.  The Bucs did not play well on defense in this game as the usually pitiful Chiefs’ offense rolled up 384 yards on them.  The Chiefs rushed for a stunning 183 yards on 36 carries (5.1 ypc) in this game and WR Mark Bradley threw a 37-yard TD pass to QB Tyler Thigpen.  Still, a win is a win and this improved the Bucs to 6-3 on the season.

The Buccaneers had a few lapses of logic that cost them this football game.  The Bucs rushed for 139 yards against the Broncos averaging 6.3 yards per carry but the Bucs didn’t stay with it throwing the ball way too often.  Brian Griese started the game and he completed 13 of 19 passes for 88 yards.  He left the game due to injury and was replaced by Jeff Garcia who almost brought the team back to win but they fell just a bit short.  Garcia completed 13 of 17 passes for 93 yards with 1 TD and 1 interception.  Antonio Bryant was the leading receiver in this game for the Bucs with 7 grabs for 58 yards (8.3 avg).  Earnest Graham (80 yards) and Warrick Dunn (87 yards) both had solid games rushing and receiving.  The Bucs would be smart to involve the RBs much more in the offense as they are light at WR.  The Bucs’ defense played good enough to win this game holding the Broncos to 16 points and 333 yards of total offense.  The Buccaneers are now 3-2 on the season.