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Scott Smith, Buccaneers.com, published 25 October 2004
Does a dominating, 19-7 victory over the 1-5 Chicago Bears mean the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have come a long way from their early-season struggles? Maybe, maybe not. But they certainly had to go a long way to get the win over their former Black-and-Blue division rivals. The Buccaneers scored 10 first-half points on consecutive 93-yard drives, then turned a fumble on the opening kickoff of the half into another field goal.
From there, the Bucs coasted to the 12-point victory, though a fumble in the third quarter led to Chicago’s only touchdown and some tense moments. The Bucs gained the necessary breathing room in the fourth quarter on an 11-yard drive following CB Ronde Barber’s first interception of the season.
Tampa Bay improved to 2-5 after winning for the second time in the last three weeks and picked up a game on NFC South-leading Atlanta (5-2), which was throttled by Kansas City, 56-10. It was a very physical game on a short week,” said Jon Gruden. “I thought the victory today showed the character of our football team.”
The first of the back-to-back 93-yard marches flamed out at the three, forcing the Bucs to settle for Martin Gramatica’s 22-yard field goal – the longest field goal drive in team history, which is not necessarily the record the Bucs wanted to break. The next one found the end zone, however, as rookie WR Michael Clayton continued his breakout season with a six-yard touchdown catch.
Both drives were sustained by some remarkable individual efforts. The field goal drive that spanned the first two quarters was built largely on Brian Griese’s 46-yard pass to RB Michael Pittman, with Griese firing a deep spiral perfectly on target as he fell backward from DE Alex Brown’s pressure. The touchdown drive almost stalled at the 25, but Pittman took a handoff on third-and-15 and dashed for 19 yards down to the six. Three plays earlier, Griese had again thrown off his back foot in a crowded pocket to hit WR Tim Brown for 13 yards on third-and-six.
Griese had his third consecutive impressive outing, completing 15 of 23 passes for 163 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions in his first start at Raymond James Stadium. Griese came into the game with a 106.6 passer rating through his first two games and put up a single-game rating of 100.5 on Sunday. And his favorite target was once again Clayton, who finished with six catches for 62 yards. Clayton came into the weekend as the NFL’s receiving leader among rookies, and he now has 37 receptions for 505 yards and two touchdowns on the season.
But the biggest offensive star of the day was Pittman, who had 116 combined rushing and receiving yards by halftime. Overall, he gained 109 yards on the ground (on 23 carries) and 55 through the air (on two catches) for his most productive outing of the season, 164 total yards. In the fourth quarter, he carried the ball three times after Barber’s interception and 23-yard return to Chicago’s 11, scoring on a three-yard run on third-and-two. Pittman recorded both his second 100-yard rushing game and second rushing touchdown (regular season only) as a Buccaneer.
Pittman was backed up ably by FB Mike Alstott, who gained 29 yards on seven carries and put the Bucs in position for their opening field goal with consecutive 11 and eight-yard runs. Unfortunately, Alstott was lost to a knee sprain in the third quarter, giving the game a bit of a sour aftertaste and continuing the team’s incomprehensible run of injuries. Amazingly, Pittman was also hurt late in the game, though unlike Alstott he was able to walk off the field. “We lost Mike Alstott,” said Gruden, who also said Pittman’s back was bothering him even before the game began. “We don’t know the exact severity of the injury but we’ll update you [on Monday]. We’re very disappointed; we just hope it’s not a severe injury.”
Tampa Bay’s defense was equally impressive against a Chicago offense that has admittedly struggled since the loss of starting QB Rex Grossman in Week Three. New starter Jonathan Quinn was sacked twice, allowed just five completions in nine attempts and repeatedly pressured into quick throws before being replaced in the second half by rookie Craig Krenzel. Krenzel didn’t fare much better, going down two more times and completing just nine of 19 aerials for 69 yards. Chicago had just 63 yards of offense by halftime and 167 by the end of the game.
That was doubly impressive, considering the Bucs were a bit short-handed up front. With defensive tackles Ellis Wyms and Damian Gregory landing on injured reserve during the week, Tampa Bay had no interior-line reserves. However, second-year end Dewayne White helped ease that problem with an impressive debut on the inside, even earning his first career sack on the Bears’ first third down of the game. He also pressured Quinn on the next third down, forcing a scramble, and broke up two of Chicago’s last four plays with a near-interception and a pressure on Krenzel on fourth down. Simeon Rice had two of the Bucs’ four sacks, marking his first two-sack game of the season but the 28th of his career. LB Shelton Quarles got the other sack on a third-quarter blitz.
Of course, the defensive numbers and the game’s outcome could have been different if the Bucs hadn’t come upon a piece of good fortune in the opening minutes. Chicago’s first play from scrimmage was a screen pass to former Bucs RB Thomas Jones that went 77 yards for a touchdown. The play was erased, however, by a pass-interference penalty on WR David Terrell on the opposite side of the field. Jones did predictably emerge as Chicago’s best weapon, gaining 52 yards on 13 carries, including a one-yard touchdown run in the third quarter after Pittman’s fumble and a 31-yard drive.
On that drive, which cut Tampa Bay’s lead to 13-7 in the third quarter, Jones carried the ball five times for 18 yards, ending it with a one-yard scoring run around left tackle. The Bucs answered, however, with Pittman’s touchdown after the turnover, then turned Chicago away on their final three drives. Joe Jurevicius played for the first time in 2004, starting at split end and catching two passes for 21 yards. His first grab converted a third down with a 13-yard gain.
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