Buccaneers vs. Kansas City Chiefs 
WON - Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30 Kansas City Chiefs 27
Tampa Bay Buccaneers got off to a slow start as Kansas City took the opening drive 69 yards for a touchdown. On Tampa Bay's first play from scrimmage, Earnest Graham fumbled and the Chiefs recovered. The turnover led to another Kansas City touchdown, and a 14–0 lead.
Early in the second quarter, Tampa Bay drove into the red zone, and scored a field goal. On the following drive, the Chiefs executed a flea-flicker play and quarterback Tyler Thigpen caught an improbable 37-yard touchdown pass. Late in the second quarter, the Chiefs added a field goal, to stretch the lead to 24–3. On the ensuing kickoff, Clifton Smith scored a 97-yard kickoff return touchdown, the second such in franchise history. The Buccaneer defense held the Chiefs to a 3-and-out, and the offense took over with 1:08 to go. As time expired in the half, Matt Bryant's second field goal trimmed the deficit to 24–13.
Neither team scored in the third quarter, and all drives ended in punts. Early in the fourth quarter, Jeff Garcia again drove Tampa Bay into the red zone. Clifton Smith caught a pass, but fumbled at the 13. Kansas City recovered at their own 10. On the very next play, Jamaal Charles fumbled away a pitch in the backfield, and Tampa Bay recovered inside the 3. In a trick play, Jeff Garcia handed off to Earnest Graham, who passed to Alex Smith for a touchdown. A two-point conversion failed, and the score trimmed to 24–19.
With 3:34 to go, the Buccaneers drove to the Kansas City 3, and Earnest Graham appeared to be heading for a potential game-tying score. The ball was fumbled, however, and the Chiefs took over on a touchback. The Buccaneer defense forced a punt, and they took over with 1:50 to go. Jeff Garcia quickly drove the Buccaneers to a 25-yard touchdown, and a two-point conversion catch by Alex Smith sent the game to overtime.
In the overtime period, Tampa Bay won the coin toss. They drove to the Kansas City 15-yard line, and Matt Bryant won the game on a 34-yard field goal. The victory marked the largest comeback (from 21 points behind to win) in franchise history.
With the win, the Buccaneers went into their bye week at 6–3.
GAMEDAY BRIEF
OFFICALS
- REFEREE: Ed Hochuli
- UMPIRE: Chad Brown
- HEAD LINESMAN: Mark Hittner
- LINE JUDGE: Tim Podraza
- SIDE JUDGE: Mark Weatherford
- FIELD JUDGE: Tom Sifferman
- BACK JUDGE: Bill Schmitz
- REPLAY OFFICIAL: Al Jury
- VIDEO OPERATOR: not documented
SCORING
- CHIEFS: 08:19-1Q Bowe 7 pass from Thigpen (Barth kick)
- CHIEFS: 04:47-1Q Smith 1 run (Barth kick)
- BUCCANEERS: 13:04-2Q Bryant FG25
- CHIEFS: 10:12-2Q Thigpen 37 pass from Bradley (Barth kick)
- CHIEFS: 02:13-2Q Barth FG39
- BUCCANEERS: 02:01-2Q Smith 97 kick return (Bryant kick)
- BUCCANEERS: 00:00-2Q Bryant FG43
- BUCCANEERS: 13:36-4Q A.Smith 3 pass from Graham (2pt conversion failed)
- CHIEFS: 07:38-4Q Barth FG28
- BUCCANEERS: 00:19-4Q A.Bryant 24 pass from Garcia (A.Smith pass from Garcia)
- BUCCANEERS: 10:24-OT Bryant FG34
STARTERS OFFENSE
- WR: #89 A. Bryant
- LT: #70 D. Penn
- LG: #76 J. Zuttah
- C: #52 J. Faine
- RG: #75 D. Joseph
- RT: #65 J. Trueblood
- TE: #81 A. Smith
- WR: #80 M. Clayton
- QB: #07 J. Garcia
- FB: #33 J. Cookn
- RB: #34 E. Graham
STARTERS DEFENSE
- LE: #93 K. Carter
- DT: #95 C. Hovan
- DT: #71 J. Haye
- RE: #90 G. Adams
- CB: #25 A. Talib
- MLB: #51 B. Ruud
- ROLB: #55 D. Brooks
- LCB: #31 P. Buchanon
- RCB: #20 R. Barber
- SS: #21 S. Piscitelli
- FS: #36 T. Jackson
SUBSTITUTIONS
- 3 Bryant, 9 Bidwell, 19 Hilliard, 22 Smith, 26 Allen, 29 Bennett, 43 Mack, 48 Economos, 54 Hayes, 57 Hayward, 58 Black, 59 June, 79 Mahan, 84 Galloway, 86 Stevens, 87 Clark, 88 Gilmore, 91 White, 97 Wilkerson, 98 Sims
DID NOT PLAY
- 12 McCown, 77 Lee, 96 Peterson
INACTIVE
- 8 Griese, 10 Jackson, 11 Johnson, 23 Phillips, 28 Dunn, 35 Askew, 78 Sears, 85 Stovall
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING
- BUCCANEERS: Graham 19-62, C.Smith 3-17, Bennett 2-1, Clayton 1-1.
- CHIEFS: Charles 18-106, Smith 10-46, Thigpen 6-22, Savage 2-9.
PASSING
- BUCCANEERS: Garcia 43-31-339-1-1, Graham 1-1-3-0-1.
- CHIEFS: Thigpen 25-14-164-0-1, Bradley 1-1-37-0-1.
RECIEVING
- BUCCANEERS: A.Bryant 8-115, Hilliard 6-55, Graham 5-29, Clayton 4-57, Gilmore 4-40, A.Smith 2-12, Galloway 1-22, Cook 1-9, C.Smith 1-3.
- CHIEFS: Gonzalez 7-62, Bradley 4-65, Bowe 2-29, Thigpen 1-37, Cottam 1-8.
INTERCEPTIONS
- BUCCANEERS: none.
- CHIEFS: Carr 1-35.
KICK RETURNS
- BUCCANEERS: C.Smith 6-232, Clark 1-22.
- CHIEFS: Savage 4-72.
PUNT RETURNS
- BUCCANEERS: C.Smith 2-27.
- CHIEFS: Savage 2-9.
SACKS
- BUCCANEERS: Ruud 1-0.
- CHIEFS: none.
