It was more of the same from the Buccaneers on Sunday against the Carolina Panthers. A strong and decent first half was overshadowed by their usual second half ineptness on their way to a 19-17 loss and dropping to 2-12 on the season.
Carolina opened the game with a 12-play drive that went for 75 yards and ran off nearly seven minutes. That drive was a small sample of Carolina’s ability to sustain drives as they controlled the time of possession battle 37:31 to 22:29.
Carolina quarterback Derek Anderson once again had a good game against the Bucs defense. He finished 25-for-40 for 277 yards and one touchdown. His favorite target of the afternoon was tight end Greg Olsen who finished with 10 receptions for 110 yards. Rookie wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin also had a good game making several catches for first downs. He ended the day with eight catches for 104 yards.
The Buccaneers defense had no answer for stopping the Panthers’ offense as they totaled 28 first downs.
Tampa Bay’s lack of offensive production was evident once again Sunday afternoon. The Bucs seemed to be starting out strong when running back Doug Martin ripped off a 63-yard run on the second play of their first drive and ended the drive with a touchdown reception by rookie wide receiver Mike Evans. However, if you remove Martin’s big run, the offense totaled 224 yards on the afternoon. Yet again, lots of that was a result of yet another bad game by the offensive line.
Quarterback Josh McCown finished a poor showing 13-for-28 for 154 yards with one touchdown and an interception. He also ran in a touchdown in the fourth quarter.
It was a bad Sunday for the Bucs as they lost defensive tackle Gerald McCoy in the first quarter with a knee injury — the same knee he injured last week in Detroit. The severity of the injury is not yet know.
The Bucs now fall to 2-12 on the season and play host to the Green Bay Packers next Sunday.