Buccaneers vs. Denver Broncos 
LOSS - Tampa Bay Buccaneers 13 Denver Broncos 16
The Buccaneers traveled to Denver for the first time since 1996, and lost their second game of the 2008 season. Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler threw for 227 yards and one touchdown.
After trading possessions twice to start the game, Tampa Bay drove 65 yards on 7 plays, taking the lead 3–0. On the next possession, Denver managed to tie the score with a 55-yard field goal.
Later in the second quarter, Denver made a 9-play drive, capped off by a field goal, and a 6–3 lead. Tampa Bay took over with 2:21 left in the half. Brian Griese drove the Buccaneers in 11 plays to the Denver 11-yard line. As time ran out in the half, Matt Bryant kicked another field goal, and the game was tied 6–6 at halftime.
Tampa Bay took the second half kickoff, but was forced to punt. Josh Bidwell pinned the Broncos at their own 4-yard line. On the first play of the drive, however, Cutler connected with Tony Scheffler for 33 yards, and dug themselves out of the hole. The resulting good field possession allowed Denver to punt, and pin Tampa Bay at their own 11. Brian Griese threw an incompletion, and suffered an injured shoulder on the play. Jeff Garcia took over at quarterback.
With a short field, Denver drove 47 yards on only five plays, and took the lead again with a 10-yard touchdown pass by Cutler. They followed up with a field goal early in the fourth quarter, and held a 16–6 lead.
Late in the fourth quarter, Jeff Garcia drove the Buccaneers 90 yards in 13 plays. The drive was capped off with a 7-yard touchdown pass to Ike Hilliard. The touchdown trimmed the deficit to 16–13. Rather than an onside, Tampa Bay elected to squib kick, and Denver recovered. The Broncos managed two first downs, and ran out the clock to secure the victory.
GAMEDAY BRIEF
OFFICALS
- REFEREE: Walt Anderson
- UMPIRE: Butch Hannah
- HEAD LINSMAN: Phil McKinnely
- LINE JUDGE: Byron Boston
- SIDE JUDGE: Laird Hayes
- FIELD JUDGE: Gary Cavaletto
- BACK JUDGE: Terrence Miles
- REPLY OFFICIAL: Dale Hammer
- VIDEO OPERATOR: not documented
SCORING
- BUCCANEERS: 04:28-1Q Bryant FG33
- BRONCOS: 14:56-2Q Prater FG55
- BRONCOS: 02:21-2Q Prater FG40
- BUCCANEERS: 00:00-2Q Bryant FG31
- BRONCOS: 05:41-3Q Stokley 10 pass from Cutler (Prater kick)
- BRONCOS: 12:24-4Q Prater FG27
- BUCCANEERS: 02:02-4Q Hilliard 7 pass from Garcia (Bryant kick)
STARTERS OFFENSE
- LT: #70 D. Penn
- LG: #78 A. Sears
- C: #52 J. Faine
- RG: #75 D. Joseph
- RT: #65 J. Trueblood
- TE: #88 J. Gilmore
- TE: #81 A. Smith
- WR: #89 A. Bryant
- QB: #08 B. Griese
- RB: #34 E. Graham
- FB: #44 B. Storer
STARTERS DEFENSE
- LE: #93 K. Carter
- DT: #95 C. Hovan
- DT: #71 J. Haye
- RE: #90 G. Adams
- SLB: #59 C. June
- MLB: #51 B. Ruud
- WLB: #55 D. Brooks
- LCB: #31 P. Buchanon
- RCB: #20 R. Barber
- SS: #23 J. Phillips
- FS: #36 T. JAckson
SUBSTITUTIONS
- Bryant, 7 Garcia, 9 Bidwell, 10 Jackson, 19 Hilliard, 25 Talib,26 Allen, 28 Dunn, 29 Bennett, 43 Mack, 48 Economos, 50 McCoy, 54 Hayes, 57 Hayward, 58 Black, 71 Haye, 79 Mahan, 85 Stovall, 86 Stevens, 88 Gilmore, 91 White, 97 Wilkerson, 98 Sims
DID NOT PLAY
- 76 Zuttah
INACTIVE
- 11 Johnson, 12 McCown, 21 Piscitelli, 35 Askew, 69 Davis, 77 Lee, 84 Galloway, 96 Peterson
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING
- BUCCANEERS: Dunn 11-74, Graham 10-59, Garcia 1-6.
- BRONCOS: Pittman 6-39, Young 10-38, Cutler 5-16, Hall 5-13.
PASSING
- BUCCANEERS: Griese 19-13-88-0-0, Garcia 17-13-93-1-1.
- BRONCOS: Cutler 34-23-227-0-1.
RECIEVING
- BUCCANEERS: Bryant 7-58, Graham 5-21, Hilliard 4-29, Clayton 3-26, Dunn 3-13, Gilmore 1-12, Smith 1-11, Stovall 1-9, Bennett 1-2.
- BRONCOS: Stokley 6-52, Scheffler 4-65, Marshall 3-25, Royal 3-23, Pittman 2-22, Hall 2-17, Martinez 1-12, Graham 1-10, Young 1-1.
INTERCEPTIONS
- BUCCANEERS: none.
- BRONCOS: Thomas 1-11.
KICK RETURNS
- BUCCANEERS: Jackson 1-16.
- BRONCOS: Hall 2-47, Martinez 1-0.
PUNT RETURNS
- BUCCANEERS: Jackson 4-19.
- BRONCOS: Royal 3-31, Martinez 2-9.
SACKS
- BUCCANEERS: none.
- BRONCOS: Ekuban 1-8, Dumervil 1-5, Williams 1-0.
