Buccaneers vs. Miami Dolphins 
WON - Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27 Miami Dolphins 13
Tampa Bay returned to their winning ways, but quarterback Brian Griese was lost for the season with a knee injury.
With the win, the Buccaneers advance to 5-1. They remain in first place of the NFC South with the top record in the NFC overall. “We know where we are,” said Head Coach Jon Gruden. “We’re very realistic about how we got here and we respect how much work is still to be done.”
Michael Pittman ran for 127 yards on 15 carries, including a 57-yard third-quarter touchdown on third-and-one. Chris Simms, handling the second half after Griese’s second-quarter knee sprain, completed six of 10 passes for 69 yards and led two scoring drives. Between them, Griese and Simms had a quarterback rating of 102.9. “I thought our team rallied around Chris and made some plays to help us win this game,” said Gruden. “They deserve the credit.”
The Buccaneers offense gained 342 yards despite throwing no passes in the fourth quarter while protecting a big lead. The Dolphins gained 307 yards, but 168 of them came in the last period.
That Tampa Bay defense had a safety duo of Will Allen and rookie Kalvin Pearson for most of the game. After Pittman’s breakaway, DE Greg Spires sacked QB Gus Frerotte, creating a fumble that Allen recovered returning 33 yards for a touchdown for a 27-6 lead with six seconds left in the third quarter. Pearson broke up two passes, with one in the end zone in the closing seconds. “I think what energized our defense was our offense scoring a touchdown on the first possession,” said Gruden. “They like playing with the lead.”
GAMEDAY BRIEF
OFFICALS
- REFEREE:Ed Hochuli
- UMPIRE: Steve Wilson
- HEAD LINESMAN: Mark Hittner
- LINE JUDGE: Tom Symonette
- SIDE JUDGE: Al Riveron
- BACK JUDGE: Tom Sifferman
- FIELD JUDGE: Scott Helverson
- REPLAY OFFICIAL: Lloyd McPeters
- VIDEO OPERATOR: not documented
SCORING
- BUCCANEERS: 09:05-1Q Galloway 7 pass from Griese (Bryant kick)
- DOLPHINS: 05:16-1Q Mare FG47
- BUCCANEERS: 01:10-1Q Bryant FG36
- DOLPHINS: 11:46-3Q Mare FG53
- BUCCANEERS: 04:32-3Q Bryant FG32
- BUCCANEERS: 01:32-3Q Pittman 57 run (Bryant kick)
- BUCCANEERS: 00:06-3Q Allen 33 fumble return (Bryant kick)
- DOLPHINS: 09:56-4Q Brown 8 run (Mare kick)
STARTERS OFFENSE
- WR: #84 J.Galloway
- LT: #69 A. Davis
- LG: #72 D. Buenning
- C: #76 J. Wade
- RG: #79 S. Mahan
- RT: #67 K. Walker
- TE: #88 A. Becht
- WR: #80 M. Clayton
- QB: #08 B. Griese
- RB: #32 M. Pittman
- FB: #40 M. Alstott
STARTERS DEFENSE
- LE: #94 D. Spires
- NT: #95 C. Hovan
- DT: #92 A. McFarland
- RE: #97 S. Rice
- SLB: #56 R. Nece
- MLB: #53 S. Quarles
- WLB: #55 D. Brooks
- LCB: #25 B. Kelly
- RCB: #20 R. Barber
- SS: #26 W. Allen
- FS: #34 D. Jackson
SUBSTITUTIONS
- 2 Simms, 3 Bryant, 9 Bidwell, 19 Hilliard, 21 Bolden, 27 Cox, 33 Graham, 39 Pearson, 43 Cook, 44 Razzano, 46 Adams, 51 Ruud, 58 Cooper, 75 Steussie, 77 Terry, 81 Smith, 83 Moore, 85 Lawrie, 86 Shepherd, 89 Jones, 90 White, 91 Bradley, 96 Wyms
DID NOT PLAY
- none.
INACTIVE
- 12 McCown, 23 Phillips, 24 Williams, 28 Nicholson, 61Colmer, 64 Bryant, 74 Jackson, 87 Russell
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING
- BUCCANEERS: Pittman 15-127, Graham 17-50, Clayton 1-2, Griese 1-1.
- DOLPHINS: Chambers 3-25, Brown 9-22, Frerotte 1-9, Williams 5-8.
PASSING
- BUCCANEERS: Griese 16-12-120-0-1, Simms 10-6-69-0-0.
- DOLPHINS: Frerotte 43-21-267-0-0.
RECIEVING
- BUCCANEERS: Galloway 9-96, Clayton 2-27, Hilliard 2-19, Smith 2-0, Alstott 1-23, Becht 1-13, Pittman 1-11.
- DOLPHINS: Williams 6-22, Welker 3-97, Chambers 3-50, McMichael 3-20, Brown 2-44, Morris 2-18, Booker 1-12, Gilmore 1-4.
INTERCEPTIONS
- BUCCANEERS: none.
- DOLPHINS: none.
KICK RETURNS
- BUCCANEERS: Cox 1-23.
- DOLPHINS: Welker 6-130.
PUNT RETURNS
- BUCCANEERS: Jones 3-20.
- DOLPHINS: Welker 4-70.
SACKS
- BUCCANEERS: Rice 1-8, Spires 1-7, White 1-6, Brooks 1-3.
- DOLPHINS: Bell 1-14, Thomas 1-10, Carter 1-3.
