365 days after their last home win the Tampa Bay Buccaneers held on to beat the Miami Dolphins in a nail=biting 22-19 victory on Monday Night Football.
For the first time this year, the Bucs put together four quarters of real football. Rookie quarterback Mike Glennon’s stat line may not be great, he was 11 out of 21 for 139 yards with one touchdown and one interception. However, at the end of the day it added up to a Bucs win, and Glennon made enough big plays when he needed to, in order to get the Bucs that victory.
Running back Mike James came out of the gate strong, and sit seeemed like he did not miss a beat after last weeks breakout performance. He picked up 41 rushing yards on his first five carries of the game. Unfortunately, James was carted off the field in the first quarter. He reportedly suffered a fractured ankle. James is out indefinitely and there is fear his season, like Doug Martin’s, could be over.
In James’ absence running backs Brian Leonard and Bobby Rainey stepped up in a big way. With their over 100 combined rushing yards it allowed the Bucs to stick to the gameplan and continue to pound the rock at the Miami defense.
In a surprising moment, Bucs left tackle Donald Penn, lined up at tight end at the goal line, and came through catching a TD pass. What was more impressive was the 6 ft 5, 340 lb man dunking the football over the goal post.
“It was rough. It was scary, I’m not going to lie. It looked like last week. The guys, like Lavonte (David) and a bunch of us just said we’re tired of it, we can’t do it again, and everybody just started stepping up and making plays.” Bucs linebacker Adam Heyward after the game.
The unsung hero of the game was the Bucs defense. The D held Miami to just two rushing yards, had multiple sacks, a beautiful interception from Darrelle Revis, and even picked up points with a safety.
Earlier, I said the Bucs could win this game and they did. It may not have been a pretty win or the most dominant performance, but in the NFL a win is a win. A record of 1-8 sounds a lot better than 0-9. I’m also glad the team took chances and pulled out some trick plays as the message at 0-8 should be to do whatever it takes to just win.
As happy as I am for the Bucs and their fans this still doesn’t change anything. At the end of the season the Bucs need to fire Coach Schiano. Hey I congratulate him on finally getting a win this season. But its too late, unless he can pull off at lest five more wins this season or at the very least show he’s will willing to change he needs to go.
Even then I don’t know, there might be too much bad blood for Bucs fans. At the end of the day its not the fans decision its the owners. Getting a win on Monday Night Football, while everyone’s watching. You have to think some coach somewhere is thinking, I could do something with this team.
Many people will say the Bucs won because of all the negative distractions going on in Miami. Hey they might be right. But the Bucs almost beat Seattle, and they went toe-to-toe with Miami and were the better team on this night. So to those who say the Bucs just got lucky, I would say check the game film and stats. The Bucs have a very talented though under-performing and inconsistent team.
There are still plenty of problems in Tampa, but the Bucs succeeded in getting the 0-16 monkey off their back. The question then becomes. Can they continue to pull themselves together, and finish this season strong? None of us know the answer, but I was recently reminded that can’t should never be in a man’s vocabulary. So I won’t say they can’t, in fact I’m going to say they can win at least three more games.
On another note, the 2002 Super Bowl Champion Buccaneers where at the game Monday Night, watching Hall Of Famer Warren Sapp being inducted into the Bucs Ring Of Honor. I just wanted to add how personally annoyed I was that ESPN recycles and repeats the Incognito/Martin story over and over without any new information instead of showing Sapp’s halftime ceremony. Now maybe I’m being unfair. Understandably not everyone whats to see Sapp at halftime. But I’m getting tired of the same recap during half times. Sundays are one thing, I like seeing the highlights of the other games. Venting over.
In closing, the Bucs stepped up and finished a game. On Monday Night Football they made a statement,they will not go quietly into the night. Watching Twitter as the game came to a close, you could easily see the joy the Bucs fans felt. Like I said, it had been 365 days since their last home win. Fans can only hope this isn’t a fluke but the beginning. #ItsABucsLife #FireSchiano
And yes the Buccaneers and Jaguars won in the same week.
Last but certainly not least, last night was not just Monday Night Football. It was also Veterans Day. To all the veterans past, present and future. We thank you for your service and sacrifice.
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