Buccaneers vs. Detroit Lions

WON - Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24 Detroit Lions 20

With Buccaneers running back James Wilder nursing a bruised sternum, Nathan Wonsley rushed for 138 yards and two touchdowns. Wonsley became the first Buccaneer running back, other than Wilder, to rush for 100 yards since Nov. 29, 1981. He was the first Tampa Bay rookie to rush for 100 yards since Jerry Eckwood in 1979. Wonsley followed in the footsteps of his two older brothers, George and Otis, both backup NFL running backs who came off the bench to have breakout games while leading their respective teams to victory against the Lions.

To the delight of Buccaneers Fans, the constant Tampa Bay blitzes resulted in four sacks, two interceptions, and six forced fumbles. Although Lions quarterback Eric Hipple had a good statistical day, completing 31 passes for 318 yards, the Tampa Bay defense's pressure prevented him from converting his opportunities into points.

The win broke Tampa Bay's 19-game road losing streak.

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GAMEDAY BRIEF

OFFICALS

• REFEREE: Dick Jorgensen
• UMPIRE: Neal Gereb
• LINE JUDGE: Dick McKenzie
• HEAD LINESMAN: Ron Phares
• BACK JUDGE: Royal Cathcart
• FIELD JUDGE: Johnny Grier
• SIDE JUDGE: Dave Hawk

SCORING

• BUCCANEERS: 14:46-2Q Wonsley 22 run (Igwebuike kick)
• BUCCANEERS: 10:54-2Q Young 9 run (Igwebuike kick)
• LIONS: 00:03-2Q Murray FG41
• BUCCANEERS: 10:53-3Q Igwebuike FG33
• LIONS: 08:20-3Q Murray FG51
• BUCCANEERS: 04:36-3Q Wonsley 55 run (Igwebuike kick)
• LIONS: 08:15-4Q Jones 4 run (Murray kick)
• LIONS: 01:20-4Q Jones 2 run (Murray kick)

STARTERS OFFENSE

• WR: #89 K. House
• LT: #72 R. Taylor
• LG: #66 G. Yarno
• C: #60 R. Grimes
• RG: #62 S. Farrell
• RT: #73 R. Heller
• TE: #88 J. Giles
• WR: #87 G. Carter
• QB: #08 S. Young
• UB: #20 R. Springs
• RB: #46 N. Wonsley

STARTERS DEFENSE

• LE: #78 J. Cannon
• NT: #76 D. Logan
• RE: #90 R. Holmes
• LOLB: #57 K. Browner
• LILB: #58 J. Davis
• RILB: #52 S. Brantley
• ROLB: #51 C. Washington
• RCB: #23 J. Castille
• LCB: #22 R. Jones
• FS: #41 C. Swoope
• SS: #44 I. Sully

SUBSTITUTIONS

• 1 Igwebuike, 5 Garcia, 17 DeBerg, 21 McKeever, 26 Easmon, 31 Curry, 34 Boatner, 36 Futrell, 54 Randle, 56 Walker, 59 Murphy, 68 Mallory, 71 Nelson, 80 Williams, 81 Freeman, 82 Bell, 86 Magee, 98 Keys

DID NOT PLAY

• 67 Morgan, 74 Powell, 77 Maarleveld, 84 Harris

INACTIVE

• 32 Wilder

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING

• BUCCANEERS: Wonsley 18-138, Springs 17-63, Young 5-24, House 1-4.
• LIONS: Jones 15-51, Moore 6-31, James 1-6, Hipple 2-5.

PASSING

• BUCCANEERS: Young 15-6-39-0-0.
• LIONS: Hipple 46-31-318-2-0.

RECIEVING

• BUCCANEERS: Carter 2-19, Giles 2-14, Springs 1-4, Wonsley 1-2.
• LIONS: Bland 8-72, Moore 7-40, Chadwick 5-106, Jones 5-28, Lewis 3-34, Mandley 1-22, Thompson 1-9, James 1-7.

INTERCEPTIONS

• BUCCANEERS: Washington 1-12, Davis 1-0..
• LIONS: none.

KICK RETURNS

• BUCCANEERS: Futrell 1-23, Wonsley 1-15, Magee 1-11, Harris 1-0.
• LIONS: Hunter 5-115.

PUNT RETURNS

• BUCCANEERS: none.
• LIONS: Mandley 4-14.

SACKS

• BUCCANEERS: Cannon 1-10, Logan 1-8, Browner 1-8, Washington 1-6.
• LIONS: Cofer 1-15.

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