Bucs rely on defense to hold off Panthers

[September 13, 2019]  The Tampa Bay Buccaneers made enough defensive stops and kept the Carolina Panthers out of the end zone for the entire game in a 20-14 victory Thursday night at Bank of America Stadium at Charlotte, N.C.

The final defensive stand came with a fourth-and-1 stop of Christian McCaffrey's rushing attempt at the Tampa Bay 2-yard line with less than 1:30 to play.

With Carolina down to one timeout, the Buccaneers ran out the clock without giving the Panthers another possession.

After taking a 12-10 lead, Carolina's next four possessions resulted in a fumble, punt, failed fourth down and a punt.

The Buccaneers (1-1) followed with an 11-play possession that lasted more than 6 1/2 minutes, but they only managed Matt Gay's 32-yard field goal at the 2:30 mark for a 20-14 lead.

Carolina's last possession included 11 plays and 73 yards, but no points.

The Panthers (0-2) relied on four Joey Slye field goals, including boots from 54 and 51 yards, for all their points until a fourth-quarter safety allowed them to pull within 17-14. Linebacker Luke Kuechly tackled Peyton Barber in the end zone for the two points.

Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston completed 16 of 25 passes for 208 yards and a touchdown.

Cam Newton of the Panthers was 25-for-51 for 333 yards.

Tampa Bay's defense bottled up McCaffrey, who had 53 yards from scrimmage after more than 200 in Sunday's loss to the Los Angeles Rams. But Panthers tight end Greg Olsen made six catches for 110 yards.

Panthers quarterback Cam Newton (1) stretches for a first down against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the first quarter at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

Winston threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Chris Godwin with 1:25 to play in the second quarter.

Barber's 16-yard touchdown run in the third quarter gave the Buccaneers a 17-12 edge.

The game entered a weather-related delay with 8:31 remaining in the first quarter before either team had scored. The game ended after midnight on the East Coast.

Gay's 40-yard field goal opened the scoring for Tampa Bay with 5:40 left in the first quarter. Carolina pulled even on Slye's 32-yarder later at the 2:56 mark. Slye's 37-yarder in the second quarter gave the Panthers their first lead.

It was the first intra-division matchup between any NFC South teams this season.

--Field Level Media

[© 2019 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2019 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.