Buccaneers vs. Carolina Panthers 
LOSS - Tampa Bay Buccaneers 17 Carolina Panthers 19
The first game for new Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Lovie Smith was against division rival Carolina Panthers.
A lackluster first three quarters saw the Panthers run out to a 17-0 lead, with Derek Anderson making his first start since 2010 in place of an injured Cam Newton. In the fourth quarter, the Buccaneers rallied, scoring late two touchdowns, and trimming the lead to 17-14 with 2:06 remaining. The Buccaneers defense forced a 3 & Out, and Carolina punted, giving the ball back to the Buccaneers offense with just under two minutes to go. On the first play of the drive, however, Bobby Rainey's catch was fumbled away, and Panthers recovered.
GAMEDAY BRIEF
OFFICALS
- REFEREE: Ronald Torbert
- UMPIRE: Carl Paganelli
- HEAD LINESMAN: Jim Howey
- LINE JUDGE: Michael Spanier
- SIDE JUDGE: Scott Edwards
- FIELD JUDGE: Barry Anderson
- BACK JUDGE: Greg Yette
- REPLAY OFFICAL: Bill Spyksma
- VIDEO OPERATOR: Not Documented
SCORING
- PANTHERS: 8:19-1Q Gano FG29
- BUCCANEERS: 5:54-1Q Evans 8 pass from McCown (Murray kick)
- PANTHERS: 1:14-1Q Gano FG49
- PANTHERS: 1:10-2Q Gano FG38
- BUCCANEERS: 0:02-2Q Murray FG48
- PANTHERS: 13:53-3Q Cotchery 2 pass from Anderson (Gano kick)
- PANTHERS: 8:31-4Q Gano FG45
- BUCCANEERS: 3:11-4Q McCown 16 run (Murray kick)
STARTERS OFFENSE
- WR: #83 V. Jackson
- LT: #69 D. Dotson
- LG: #70 L. Mankins
- C: #62 E. Dietrich-Smith
- RG: #66 P. Omameh
- RT: #75 O. Cousins
- TE: #64 K. Pamphile
- WR: #13 M. Evans
- QB: #12 J. McCown
- RB: #22 D. Martin
- WR: #88 L. Stocker
STARTERS DEFENSE
- LE: #56 J. Smith
- DT: #93 G. McCoy
- DT: #97 A. Spence
- RE: #90 M. Johnson
- SLB: #45 O. Lemon
- MLB: #51 D. Lansanah
- WLB: #54 L. David
- CB: #21 A. Verner
- CB: #27 J. Banks
- SS: #30 B. McDiugald
- FS: #38 D. Goldson
SUBSTITUTIONS
- 7 Murray, 9 Koenen, 18 Murphy, 25 James, 26 Butler, 29 Johnson, 32 Frey, 34 Sims, 37 Tandy, 39 Dixon, 43 Rainey, 48 DePaola, 50 Fletcher, 52 Williams, 57 English, 61 Allen, 72 Gilkey, 82 Myers, 84 Brate, 89 Shepard, 91 Bowers, 92 Gholston, 96 Fatinikun
DID NOT PLAY
- 8 Glennon
INACTIVE
- 10 Herron, 11 Patton, 31 Wright, 59 Foster, 73 Collins, 87 Sef-Jenkins, 98 McDonald
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING
- BUCCANEERS: Martin 14-96. Sims 7-34, McCown 2-21.
- PANTHERS: Stewart 22-73, Brown 1-17, Anderson 5-14, Whittaker 2-13, Tolbert 2-4.
PASSING
- BUCCANEERS: McCown 28-13-154-1-1.
- PANTHERS: Anderson 40-25-277-0-1.
RECIEVING
- BUCCANEERS: Jackson 6-70, Sims 3-45, Evans 2-13, Shephard 1-23, Martin 1-3.
- PANTHERS: Olsen 10-110, Benjamin 8-104, Cotchery 5-47, Brown 1-10, Stewart 1-6.
INTERCEPTIONS
- BUCCANEERS: none
- PANTHERS: Kuechly 1-0.
KICK RETURNS
- BUCCANEERS: Rainey 1-25.
- PANTHERS: Whittaker 3-59, Tolbert 1-2.
PUNT RETURNS
- BUCCANEERS: Rainey 0-0.
- PANTHERS: Bersin 2-18.
SACKS
- BUCCANEERS: Lansanah 1.5-2, David 1-4, Smith 0.5-2.
- PANTHERS: Ealy 1-7, Harper 1-0, Johnson 0.5-5.5, Addison 0.5-5.5.
