Buccaneers vs. San Diego Chargers 
LOSS - Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24 San Diego Chargers 41
Tampa Bay hosted San Diego, with both teams alive for playoff contention. With quarterback Jeff Garcia back in the lineup, the Buccaneers drove into San Diego territory early in the first quarter. At the 36-yard line, an Antonio Bryant fumble was recovered by San Diego. Philip Rivers quickly led San Diego down the field for their first score. On the ensuing kickoff, Clifton Smith returned the ball 72 yards to the San Diego 11-yard line. Four plays later, B. J. Askew tied the score at 7–7.
Trailing 17–7 late in the second quarter, Tampa Bay drove to the San Diego 31, where Matt Bryant kicked a field goal with 22 second left in the half. A quick 25-yard pass by Rivers, however, allowed Nate Kaeding to kick a 57-yard field goal, and take a 20–10 lead into halftime.
Tampa Bay took the second half kickoff, and Garcia led the Buccaneers on a long scoring drive. After a scramble to the 7, Garcia scrambled once more for a 7-yard touchdown run. On their next possession, Garcia connected deep to a wide-open Antonio Bryant for a 71-yard touchdown. The third quarter ended with Tampa Bay leading 24–20.
The fourth quarter saw Tampa Bay's hope fizzle. Two touchdowns by the Chargers, and a Garcia interception saw the Buccaneers trailing 34–24 with time running out. With less than 7 minutes to go, Garcia found himself scrambling again, this time for a 7-yard first down run. Quentin Jammer slammed into Garcia's helmet, and Garcia began to bleed visibly from him nose and forehead. Driving across midfield with just over 3 minutes to go, Garcia was intercepted by Antoine Cason, who returned the ball 59 yards for the game-icing touchdown.
With the loss, their first home defeat of the season, the Buccaneers failed to secure a playoff berth. A win in week 17 against the Raiders, coupled with a loss by Dallas, would have been required for Tampa Bay to qualify for the playoffs.
GAMEDAY BRIEF
OFFICALS
- REFEREE: Peter Morelli
- UMPIRE: Richard Hall
- HEAD LINESMAN: George Hayward
- LINE JUDGE: Darryll Lewis
- SIDE JUDGE: Greg Wilson
- FIELD JUDGE: Rob Vernatchi
- BACK JUDGE: Kirk Dornan
- REPLAY OFFICIAL: Howard Slavin
- VIDEO OPERATOR: not documented
SCORING
- CHARGERS: 05:04-1Q Manumaleuna 11 pass from Rivers (Kaeding kick)
- BUCCANEERS: 02:39-1Q Askew 1 run (M.Bryant kick)
- CHARGERS: 13:26-2Q Gates 15 pass from Rivers (Kaeding kick)
- CHARGERS: 05:32-2Q Kaeding FG28
- BUCCANEERS: 00:17-2Q M.Bryant FG49
- CHARGERS: 00:00-2Q Kaeding FG57
- BUCCANEERS: 07:41-3Q Garcia 7 run (M.Bryant kick)
- BUCCANEERS: 05:05-3Q A.Bryant 71 pass from Garcia (M.Bryant kick)
- CHARGERS: 14:53-4Q Gates 5 pass from Rivers (Kaeding kick)
- CHARGERS: 07:18-4Q Sproles 32 pass from Rivers (Kaeding kick)
- CHARGERS: 03:00-4Q Cason 59 interception return (Kaeding kick)
STARTERS OFFENSE
- WR: #89 A. Bryant
- LT: #70 D. Penn
- LG: #78 A. Sears
- C: #52 J. Faine
- RG: #75 D. Joseph
- RT: #65 J. Trueblood
- WR: #80 M. Clayton
- WR: #19 I. Hilliard
- WR: #84 J. Galloway
- QB: #07 J. Garcia
- RB: #28 W. Dunn
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: #21 S. Piscitelli
- FS: #36 T. Jackson
SUBSTITUTIONS
- 3 Bryant, 9 Bidwell, 12 McCown, 21 Piscitelli, 22 Smith, 24 Williams, 25 Talib, 26 Allen, 30 Nicholson, 33 Cook, 35 Askew, 43 Mack, 48 Economos, 57 Hayward, 58 Black, 71 Haye, 76 Zuttah, 79 Mahan, 81 Smith, 86 Stevens, 87 Clark, 88 Gilmore, 91 White, 98 Sims
DID NOT PLAY
- none.
INACTIVE
- 8 Griese, 10 Jackson, 11 Johnson, 50 McCoy, 56 Wilson, 77 Lee, 94 Chukwurah, 96 Peterson
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING
- BUCCANEERS: Garcia 6-45, Williams 8-27, Dunn 9-20, McCown 2-16, C.Smith 1-2, Askew 1-1.
- CHARGERS: Tomlinson 21-90, Sproles 2-3, Rivers 3-(-3).
PASSING
- BUCCANEERS: Garcia 34-21-232-2-1, McCown 1-0-0-0-0.
- CHARGERS: Rivers 31-21-287-0-4.
RECIEVING
- BUCCANEERS: A.Bryant 6-127, Hilliard 4-24, Dunn 4-19, Clayton 2-23, Stevens 2-21, C.Smith 1-9, Askew 1-5, Galloway 1-4.
- CHARGERS: Jackson 7-111, Gates 4-43, Sproles 3-46, Naanee 2-29, Chambers 2-27, Tomlinson 2-20, Manumaleuna 1-11.
INTERCEPTIONS
- BUCCANEERS: none.
- CHARGERS: Cason 1-59, Cooper 1-3.
KICK RETURNS
- BUCCANEERS: C.Smith 7-205.
- CHARGERS: Sproles 4-127.
PUNT RETURNS
- BUCCANEERS: C.Smith 1-8, Hilliard 1-8.
- CHARGERS: Sproles 2-45.
SACKS
- BUCCANEERS: Wilkerson 1-7.
- CHARGERS: Tucker 1-1, Phillips 1-0.
