By Tom Krasniqi

 

The bye week came at a good time.  And playing against a backup quarterback certainly helped.  The Bucs put the clamps on Jamaal Charles and Josh Freeman came alive with 3 touchdown passes to lead Tampa Bay to a 38-10 romp over the Kansas City Chiefs at Raymond James Stadium.   

The Bucs struck first in the opening quarter.  Josh Freeman and Brady Quinn each threw red zone interceptions.  But late in the first quarter, Freeman found Mike Williams on a 62-yard touchdown catch and run to put the Bucs up 7-0.  Williams made a great adjustment in beating Stanford Routt for the ball and outracing him to the end zone. 

The Chiefs got on the board midway through the 2nd quarter on a 38-yard field goal by Ryan Succop which made it 7-3.  A streak came to an end in the 2nd quarter when Connor Barth missed a 55-yard FG when it banged off the upright.  That ended Barth’s streak of 25 consecutive field goals made.  A quick moving first half had the Bucs up 7-3 at the half.  The Bucs rush defense did an exceptional job in the first half as they held the NFL’s leading rusher in Jamaal Charles to 8 yards and 7 carries.

The Bucs came out firing in the 2nd half.  On their first possession, the Bucs marched 80 yards on 4 plays and it culminated in a Freeman 19-yard TD pass to Vincent Jackson.  Doug Martin had a catch and run of 42 yards to set up the touchdown.  That gave the Bucs a 14-3 lead.  Then, the Bucs defense made the play of the game which broke it wide open.  With the Chiefs driving, Ronde Barber takes the ball off a deflection and takes it 78 yards for a touchdown to make it 21-3 Tampa Bay.  Including the playoffs, Barber now has 9 defensive touchdowns in his career.

The 4th quarter began with a bizarre play.  Deep in his own territory, Bucs punter Michael Koenen had his punt blocked by Shaun Draughn.   As Koenen tried to recover, Edgar Jones, brought the fumble back 11 yards for a touchdown to make it 21-10 Bucs.  But the Bucs came right back down the field, thanks to a 62-yard catch and run by Tiquan Underwood.  That led to a 27-yard FG by Barth to make it 24-10 Tampa Bay.   Bucs blew it open later when Freeman hit Jackson on a 17-yd TD pass to make it 31-10 Tampa Bay.  Late in the game, LeGarrette Blount added a 12-yard TD run to make it 38-10 Bucs.

 

 

News & Notes:

  • Josh Freeman overcame an early interception and had some misfires to post some terrific numbers.  Freeman tossed for 328 yards, 3 TDs and one INT.
  • Vincent Jackson and Mike Williams came up big.  VJax had 4 catches for 66 yards and two scores while Williams finished with 4 receptions for 113 yards and a TD.
  • Doug Martin ran hard for 76 yards on 13 carries.  He also caught two passes for 55 yards. 
  • Aqib Talib began serving his 4-game suspension today.  He was disciplined yesterday after testing positive for a banned substance.  He’s eligible to return on November 5th.  E.J. Biggers started in his place. 
  • Jamon Meredith got the start at RG for the Bucs, ahead of Ted Larsen and Jeremy Trueblood.
  • The Bucs defense did a terrific job in holding Jamaal Charles to just 40 yards on 12 carries.  Charles was the NFL’s leading rusher coming into the game.
  • The Bucs host the Saints next Sunday at 1pm at Raymond James Stadium.  Our coverage begins at 9am on 620 WDAE, home of the Bucs.