Buccaneers vs. Cincinnati Bengals 
WON - Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24 Cincinnati Bengals 21
Coming out of their bye week, the Buccaneers traveled to Cincinnati to face the Bengals.
The Bengals took an early 7–0 lead after Carson Palmer threw a 43-yard touchdown pass to Terrell Owens. At the end the first quarter, the Buccaneers pinned the Bengals back at their own 6-yard line. One the first play of the second quarter, Cody Grimm intercepted Palmer, and returned the ball 11 yards for a touchdown for a 7–7 tie. A Mike Nugent 31-yard field goal gave the Bengals a 10–7 halftime lead.
In the third quarter, Tampa Bay drove 80 yards for their second touchdown, and a 14–10 lead. the Bengals replied with a field goal, to trim their deficit to 14–13. Micheal Spurlock fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and the Bengals recovered deep in Tampa Bay territory.
In the fourth quarter, the Bengals capitalized on the turnover. Palmer found Jermaine Gresham for a 1-yard touchdown pass (along with a successful Cedric Benson 2-point conversion run) to take a 21–14 lead. The teams traded possession twice, and with 2:28 remaining, the Bengals faced 3rd down & 8 at their own 43-yard line. Tampa Bay had no timeouts, and a first down would secure the win for Cincinnati. Palmer was intercepted by Aqib Talib at the 50-yard line. Five plays later, Josh Freeman completed a 20-yard touchdown pass to Mike Williams.
With 25 second left, the Buccaneers again intercepted Palmer. Sabby Piscitelli returned the ball to the Cincinnati 34-yard line. With 5 seconds left in regulation, Connor Barth made a 31-yard field goal to win the game 24–21.
GAMEDAY BRIEF
OFFICALS
- REFEREE: Scott Green
- UMPIRE: Bruce Stritesky
- HEAD LINESMAN: Tom Stabile
- LINE JUDGE: Tom Barnes
- SIDE JUDGE: Larry Rose
- FIELD JUDGE: Dyrol Prioleau
- BACK JUDGE: Scott Helverson
- REPLAY OFFICIAL: Carl Madsen
- VIDEO OPERATOR: not documented
SCORING
- BENGALS: 04:09-1Q Owens 43 pass from Palmer (Nugent kick)
- BUCCANEERS: 14:32-2Q Grimm 11 interception return (Barth kick)
- BENGALS: 00:33-2Q Nugent FG31
- BUCCANEERS: 05:28-3Q Graham 1 run (Barth kick)
- BENGALS: 01:29-3Q Nugent FG35
- BENGALS: 12:12-4Q Gresham 1 pass from Palmer (Benson run)
- BUCCANEERS: 01:26-4Q M.Williams 20 pass from Freeman (Barth kick)
- BUCCANEERS: 00:01-4Q Barth FG31
STARTERS OFFENSE
- WR: #19 M. Williams
- LT: #70 D. Penn
- LG: #68 K. Vincent
- C: #52 J. Faine
- RG: #75 D. Joseph
- RT: #65 J. Trueblood
- TE: #82 K. Winslow
- WR: #17 A. Benn
- QB: #05 J. Freeman
- RB: #24 C. Williams
- TE: #88 J. Gilmore
STARTERS DEFENSE
- LE: #94 K. Moore
- DT: #93 G. McCoy
- DT: #90 R. Miller
- RE: #91 S. White
- MLB: #51 B. Ruud
- WLB: #54 G. Hayes
- CB: #31 E. Biggers
- LCB: #25 A. Talib
- RCB: #20 R. Barber
- SS: #26 S. Jones
- FS: #35 C. Grimm
SUBSTITUTIONS
- 9 Bryan, 10 Barth, 11 J Johnson, 18 Stroughter, 21 Piscitelli, 27 Blount, 32 Huggins, 33 Mack, 34 Graham, 41 Lynch, 44 Lorig, 48 Economos, 53 Koutouvides, 56 Watson, 57 Hayward, 58 Black, 71 Bennett, 76 Zuttah, 77 Lee, 81 Spurlock, 86 Stevens, 92 Price, 96 Crowder
DID NOT PLAY
- none.
INACTIVE
- 12 Carpenter, 23 Lewis, 28 Lumpkin, 45 Pressley, 62 Larsen, 85 Stovall, 87 Parker, 98 Sims
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING
- BUCCANEERS: Graham 3-65, C.Williams 11-33, Freeman 3-20, Huggins 1-4, Blount 4-3.
- BENGALS: Benson 23-144, Scott 2-4, Palmer 1-3, Leonard 2-(-2).
PASSING
- BUCCANEERS: Freeman 33-20-280-1-1, Johnson 2-2-4-0-0.
- BENGALS: Palmer 36-21-209-3-2.
RECIEVING
- BUCCANEERS: M.Williams 7-99, Winslow 6-75, Stroughter 3-39, Spurlock 3-35, Benn 2-25, Gilmore 1-11.
- BENGALS: Owens 7-102, Caldwell 4-33, Gresham 4-24, Ochocinco 3-20, Benson 2-19, Leonard 1-11.
INTERCEPTIONS
- BUCCANEERS: Piscitelli 1-31, Grimm 1-11, Talib 1-0.
- BENGALS: Joseph 1-11.
KICK RETURNS
- BUCCANEERS: Spurlock 4-80.
- BENGALS: Scott 3-48, Hall 1-30, Jones 1-24.
PUNT RETURNS
- BUCCANEERS: Spurlock 2-17.
- BENGALS: Jones 2-27.
SACKS
- BUCCANEERS: none.
- BENGALS: Crocker 2-8, Maualuga 1-10.
