Buccaneers vs. Indianapolis Colts

LOSS - Tampa Bay Buccaneers 14 Indianapolis Colts 33

The Buccaneers faced our former head coach Tony Dungy for the second time. The previous meeting between the two teams in 2003 saw the Colts erase a 21-point deficit in the final four minutes to win the game in overtime. Both teams entered the game with players sidelined by injuries. Marvin Harrison and Joseph Addai sat out for Indianapolis, while Carnell Williams and Luke Petitgout were placed on injured reserve for Tampa Bay.

The Colts controlled the tempo of most of the game, with a time of possession of over 38 minutes and 400 yards of offense. The Buccaneers were held to only 177 total yards and only 17 yards rushing. The first three Buccaneers possessions were three-and-outs. Meanwhile, Indianapolis pulled out to a 13–0 lead. In the second quarter, Tanard Jackson intercepted Peyton Manning and set up the Buccaneers' first scoring drive. During the drive, running back Michael Pittman left the game with an injured ankle. Two plays later Tampa Bay got on the board with a Jeff Garcia touchdown pass to Alex Smith, and narrowed the score to 13–7.

In the second half, Indianapolis continued to dominate both sides of the ball, and stretched their lead to 30–7. Garcia and Smith connected for a second touchdown pass with just over 9 minutes left in the fourth quarter, and made the score 30–14. Hoping to spark a comeback, Tampa Bay attempted a surprise onside kick, but it was called back by a penalty. Indianapolis then took the re-kick, and put three more points on the board with an Adam Vinatieri field goal. Bruce Gradkowski took over as quarterback for Tampa Bay, and subsequently threw an interception to seal the victory for the Colts.

The following day, on Monday, October 8, the Buccaneers announced that Michael Pittman would miss 6–8 weeks with a cracked fibula.

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GAMEDAY BRIEF

OFFICALS

• REFEREE: Johnny Grier
• UMPIRE: Ed Coukart
• HEAD LINESMAN: James Wilson
• LINE JUDGE: Jeff Bergman
• SIDE JUDGE: Doug Rosenbaum
• FIELD JUDGE: Eddy Powers
• BACK JUDGE: Scott Green
• REPLAY OFFICAL: Dick Creed
• VIDEO OPERATOR: not documentedd

SCORING

• BUCCANEERS: 10:06-1Q McCardell 74 pass from B.Johnson (Gramatica kick)
• BUCCANEERS: 06:00-1Q McCardell 57 fumble return (Gramatica kick)
• BUCCANEERS: 10:22-2Q Barlow 3 pass from B.Johnson (Gramatica kick)
• COLTS: 13:24-3Q Harrison 37 pass from Manning (Vanderjagt kick)
• BUCCANEERS: 01:20-3Q McCardell 15 pass from B.Johnson (Gramatica kick)
• COLTS: 12:20-4Q Williams 1 run (Vanderjagt kick)
• BUCCANEERS: 06:42-4Q Barber 29 interception return (Gramatica kick)
• COLTS: 04:15-4Q Mungro 3 run (Vanderjagt kick)
• COLTS: 03:02-4Q Harrison 28 pass from Manning (Vanderjagt kick)
• COLTS: 01:37-4Q Williams 1 run (Vanderjagt kick)
• COLTS: 03:52-OT Vanderjagt FG29

STARTERS OFFENSE

• WR: #19 K. Johnson
• LT: #72 R. Oben
• LG: #60 C. Coleman
• C: #76 J. Wade
• RG: #65 J. Whittle
• RT: #67 K. Walker
• TE: #85 K. Dilger
• WR: #87 K. McCardell
• QB: #14 B. Johnson
• FB: #40 M. Alstott
• RB: #32 M. Pittman

STARTERS DEFENSE

• RE: #97 S. Rice
• NT: #92 A. McFarland
• DT: #99 W. Sapp
• LE: #94 G. Spires
• SLB: #56 R. Nece
• MLB: #52 N. Webster
• WLB: #55 D. Brooks
• RCB: #20 R. Barber
• LCB: #25 B. Kelly
• SS: #47 J. Lynch
• FS: #26 D. Smith

SUBSTITUTIONS

• 7 Gramatica, 9 Tupa, 22 Jones, 23 Phillips, 27 Stecker, 30 Barnes, 31 Wansley, 35 Ivy, 38 Howell, 43 Cook, 57 Rudd, 58 Golden, 66 Benjamin, 71 Jenkins, 79 Mahan, 80 Yoder, 84 Barlow, 86 Williams, 89 Heller, 91 Darby, 95 Warner, 96 Wyms

DID NOT PLAY

• 10 King

INACTIVE

• 2 Simms, 13 Minnis, 53 Quarles, 61 Pinkney, 62 King, 74 Green, 83 Jurevicius, 90 White

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING

• BUCCANEERS: Pittman 16-106, Stecker 9-22, B.Johnson 3-8, Jones 2-2, Alstott 3-1.
• COLTS: Williams 13-56, Mungro 6-20, Rhodes 3-(-2).

PASSING

• BUCCANEERS: B.Johnson 39-26-318-1-3.
• COLTS: Manning 47-34-386-1-2.

RECIEVING

• BUCCANEERS: Dilger 6-63, McCardell 4-106, K.Johnson 4-62, Pittman 4-35, Alstott 2-25, Barlow 2-14, Jones 2-10, Cook 1-3, Stecker 1-0.
• COLTS: Harrison 11-176, Williams 7-38, Wayne 4-59, Clark 5-23, Walters 4-42, Pollard 2-44, Rhodes 1-4.

INTERCEPTIONS

• BUCCANEERS: Barber 1-29.
• COLTS: Doss 1-15.

KICK RETURNS

• BUCCANEERS: Stecker 3-48, Barlow 1-30, Williams 1-15.
• COLTS: Pyatt 5-177, Mungro 1-5.

PUNT RETURNS

• BUCCANEERS: Williams 3-28.
• COLTS: Pyatt 1-9.

SACKS

• BUCCANEERS: Wyms 1-5.
• COLTS: none.

Click here to view official GAMEBOOK & play-by-play highlights