LAST MEETING (REGULAR SEASON)
Tampa Bay 17, Washington 16
Sunday, December 12, 2010
LANDOVER – Battling through rainy, chilly conditions on the road against the Washington Redskins, Tampa Bay took advantage of opponent errors to secure its fifth fourth-quarter comeback of the season. The Buccaneers looked to be in a precarious spot early in the game, as the Redskins took two of their first three possessions deep into Tampa Bay territory. (Con’t after video)
Check out the video in True HD 720P by clicking HERE…
On each of those drives, however, Washington was held to field goal attempts, and K Graham Gano would miss both, leaving the game scoreless into the middle of the second quarter. Following the second missed kick, the Buccaneers converted a third-and- nine situation, but CB DeAngelo Hall forced and recovered a RB LeGarrette Blount fumble on the next play, giving the Redskins possession near midfield. QB Donovan McNabb then marched his team to the Tampa Bay one-yard line, where he hit TE Logan Paulsen on fourth down for the first score of the day, putting the Redskins up, 7-0. Tampa Bay wasted no time on its subsequent drive, as rookie WR Arrelious Benn made a huge grab on the first play with a career-long 64-yard pass from QB Josh Freeman that set up a 35-yard K Connor Barth field goal. With just over two minutes left in the first half, Washington moved the ball to the Tampa Bay five, but were held to a Gano field goal and settled for a 10-3 lead heading into halftime. In the second half, the Buccaneers came out strong. LB Adam Hayward recovered a Redskins fumble on the opening kickoff, giving Tampa Bay possession and leading to a 44-yard field goal by Barth. The Buccaneers defense then held the Redskins to a punt and, on the resulting possession, Barth made it a one-point game, 10-9, with his third field goal of the afternoon. It didn’t take long for Tampa Bay to get the ball back, this time traveling to the Washington one-yard line on a 43-yard pass from Freeman to Benn. But, on first-and-goal, G Derek Hardman accidentally knocked the ball from Freeman’s hands and it was recovered by LB London Fletcher, ending the Buccaneers’ scoring threat. The Tampa Bay defense kept Washington from capitalizing on the turnover, forcing a punt. The teams then traded punts before the Buccaneers took possession and put together an 80-yard scoring drive that culminated with a 41-yard touchdown reception by TE Kellen Winslow. Up by five points with just under four minutes left in the game, the Buccaneers successfully attempted a two-point conversion on Freeman’s quarterback draw to bring the score to 17-10. Needing a touchdown to tie the game, the Redskins drove the ball 75 yards and McNabb tossed a six-yard pass to WR Santana Moss on fourth-and-six to make the score 17-16, but a botched snap on the extra point sent the ball through the hands of the holder with only 13 seconds left to play. The Redskins attempted an onside kick, but the Buccaneers recovered the ball, and Freeman took a knee to allow the final seconds to expire.
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