TAMPA – Minnesota makes its living winning the battle of the trenches, but today Tampa Bay owned the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball in the Bucs’ 19-13 victory over the Vikings at Raymond James Stadium. The Buccaneers, now 7-3 and just a game behind 8-2 Carolina, received great performances from their offensive and defensive linemen.

The vaunted Vikings defensive line, which features three Pro Bowlers in tackles Pat Williams and Kevin Williams and defensive end Jared Allen, did not record a sack and rarely came close to touching quarterback Jeff Garcia, who finished the game 23-of-30 for 255 yards and rushed for 21 critical yards. The play of center Jeff Faine and left tackle Donald Penn keyed the offense in generating 363 yards, moving the ball almost at will – except for the red zone.

But what else is new? The Bucs, who are one of the worst red zone teams in the NFL, had five trips inside the red zone, but only came away with one touchdown, settling for four Matt Bryant field goals on the other occasions.

The offense was efficient – only punting the ball once – and played an effective game of keep-away in the second half, winning the time of possession battle 20:38 to 9:22. That limited the opportunities for Pro Bowl running back Adrian Peterson, who finished with 85 yards rushing as Tampa Bay held Minnesota to only 210 yards of total offense. After rushing for 71 yards on 13 carries (5.5 avg.) in the first half, Peterson was held to 14 yards on six carries (2.3 avg.) in the second half by a swarming Buccaneers defense that made the right halftime adjustments. 

Tampa Bay’s defense had come under fire for only getting four sacks in the past five games, but cornerback Ronde Barber and middle linebacker Barrett Ruud, who led the Bucs with eight tackles, sacked Frerotte on consecutive plays to force a punt after a three-and-out on the Vikings’ first possession. The defense wound up with a season-high five sacks with defensive linemen Kevin Carter, Chris Hovan and Jimmy Wilkerson also dropping Frerotte.

Wilkerson also came up big in the fourth quarter on Minnesota’s last drive as he stripped Chester Taylor of the ball. Barber recovered the ball at the Minnesota 28 yards with 1:14 left and the game was over.

Although the Bucs won, they lost running back Earnest Graham on the first carry of the game to an ankle injury. Graham was already nursing a knee injury he suffered against Kansas City.

Running back Warrick Dunn picked up the slack, rushing for 53 yards on 20 carries (2.7 avg.), but also contributing 65 receiving yards on four catches. Fullback B.J. Askew was called upon near the goal line where Graham typically excels and scored his first NFL touchdown in the third quarter to tie the game at 13-13.

Tight end Jerramy Stevens came up big for the Buccaneers, catching a season-high six passes for 84 yards, including a 31-yarder down to the Minnesota 1 that set up Askew’s score.

The Vikings were able to get on the scoreboard first on their next possession, though. After opening the game with five straight passing plays, the last of which resulted in the first completion for Minnesota – a 23-yard pass to tight end Visanthe Shiancoe – Peterson finally touched the ball. He rushed for 18 yards on three carries and got the Vikings into scoring territory before the drive stalled. With 6:53 left in the first quarter, Minnesota took a 3-0 lead thanks to a 43-yard field goal by Ryan Longwell.

Tampa Bay answered on its next possession, capping off a nine-play, 58-yard scoring drive with a 39-yard field goal by Bryant. Garcia was 3-of-4 on the drive with completions to wide receiver Antonio Bryant, who finished the game with five catches for 59 yards, and fullback B.J. Askew for nine and seven yards, respectively. But the big play came on third-and-4 when Garcia scrambled to his right and found Dunn downfield for 36 yards. But a costly 15-yard penalty on right tackle Jeremy Trueblood set up Tampa Bay with a third-and-17 situation at the Minnesota 30 instead of a third-and-2 at the 15-yard line. A screen pass to Dunn only picked up nine yards and Bryant trotted out for the field goal on fourth down. With 2:48 left in the first quarter, the score was tied at 3-3.

Minnesota took the lead on its next series thanks to Peterson, who rushed for 36 yards on the drive, including a 22-yarder down the left sidelines.

The Vikings’ drive was aided by two defensive penalties. The first was called on defensive end Jimmy Wilkerson who was flagged for a blow to the head of Frerotte. That, combined, with a 16-yard catch by Bernard Berrian set the Vikings up at the Tampa Bay 13. Two plays later, Barber was flagged for defensive holding on Shiancoe that resulted in a first down at the 8-yard line. On third down, Frerotte hit Bobby Wade for a 3-yard touchdown on a wide receiver screen. With 13:33 left in the second quarter, Minnesota was up 10-3.

The Bucs were able to respond with a score, but only a 26-yard field goal from Bryant due to Tampa Bay’s red zone woes. Garcia found Bryant for a gain of 12 yards on first down, followed by two catches for 25 yards by Stevens. A 12-yard catch by Dunn put Tampa Bay down at the Minnesota 23. Two Minnesota penalties – a defensive holding penalty on linebacker Ben Leber and a roughing the passer penalty on Ray Edwards set up Tampa Bay at the Minnesota 3. But on first down, Dunn was nailed for a 4-yard loss on a sweep. Garcia’s pass to Clayton on second down was incomplete and after a 1-yard loss by Clifton Smith on a shovel pass, Bryant was called on to nail a 26-yard field goal. After driving 76 yards in eight plays, the Bucs could only cut the Vikings’ lead to 10-6 with 7:51 left in the second quarter.

Minnesota drove down the field right before halftime to increase its lead. Peterson picked up 17 yards, but Frerotte hit Berrian for an 11-yard gain to convert a third down, and an 18-yard pass to Shiancoe did the most damage and got the Vikings into Buccaneers territory. On third-and-9 from the Tampa Bay 25, a screen pass to Chester Taylor only picked up four yards. With 1:47 left before halftime, Longwell’s 37-yard field caused Minnesota’s lead to increase to 13-6.

Tampa Bay had to overcome some monumental odds on its first possession in the second half. After passes to Bryant of 24 yards and nine yards advanced the ball past mid-field, Michael Clayton picked up 15 yards on two catches to aid the Bucs in getting the ball down to the Minnesota 25. On third-and-1, Smith picked up nine yards down to the 16-yard line. But on second-and-10, Stevens was flagged for holding, which negated a first down run by Dunn. On second-and-20 from the 27, Garcia scrambled and threw a touchdown pass to Bryant. But that score was called back due to a holding call on right guard Davin Joseph. On second-and-30 from the 37, the Vikings were flagged for offsides. On the fourth consecutive second down, this time from the 32, Garcia threw a 31-yard pass down the seam to Stevens, who was tackled at the Minnesota 1. On the next play, B.J. Askew scored a 1-yard touchdown on a fullback dive to cap off an 11-play, 80-yard scoring drive. With 9:33 left in the third quarter, the score was tied at 13-13.

The Vikings tried to go for it on fourth-and-1 at the Minnesota 49, but after Barber narrowly missed a sack on Frerotte, but the quarterback was able to fire off a pass to Peterson down the seam. But linebacker Derrick Brooks had great coverage and broke up the pass. Tampa Bay took over and advanced the ball to the 30, but Smith fumbled as he was hit by safety Cedric Griffin. The loose ball was recovered by Minnesota linebacker Ben Leber at the Vikings’ 28-yard line, which killed the Bucs’ drive.

But on Minnesota’s next possession, Tampa Bay’s defensed stiffened just as the Vikings crossed mid-field. Safety Tanard Jackson rocked Peterson for a 3-yard loss. Nose tackle Chris Hovan sacked Frerotte on the next play, followed by a sack by Kevin Carter on third-and-19. After advancing to the Tampa Bay 29, the Vikings had to punt from the 39.

Tampa Bay embarked on a 13-play, 69-yard drive on its next possession. Dunn picked up 20 yards on four carries and added eight yards on a reception, while Clayton added an 8-yard catch and Stevens contributed a 14-yard reception. Garcia scrambled twice for a total of 13 yards, but on third-and-1, Dunn got stuffed for a 1-yard loss at the Minnesota 10. A 29-yard field goal by Bryant gave Tampa Bay its first lead of the day. With 5:36 left in the fourth quarter, Tampa Bay led 16-13.

The Bucs added another score on their next possession after special teams captain Will Allen stripped return man Maurice Hicks of the ball. Wide receiver Brian Clark recovered for the Buccaneers at the Minnesota 26. But after driving to the 10-yard line, the Bucs could only pick up two yards in three plays and had to settle for another field goal. With 3:30 left in regulation, Bryant’s 26-yard field goal increased Tampa Bay’s lead to 19-13.

The Bucs stopped the Vikings on fourth-and-3 on Minnesota’s next possession and took over at the Minnesota 28. But after running three plays, the Bucs settled for a 46-yard field goal attempt, but Bryant suffered his first miss of the day and Minnesota took over at its own 26.

The Vikings’ final drive was doomed as Wade was flagged for offensive pass interference on first down from the Minnesota 36. On first-and-20 from the 26, Wilkerson came through with a sack for eight yards, then forced Taylor’s fumble on the next play.

PEWTERREPORT.COM PLAYERS OF THE GAME
Tampa Bay’s offensive line did a phenomenal job against Minnesota’s defensive line. Pro Bowl defensive end Jared Allen was held to two tackles and no sacks by left tackle Donald Penn. Guards Arron Sears and Davin Joseph and center Jeff Faine did a remarkable job against Pro Bowl defensive tackles Kevin Williams and Pat Williams, who were held to two tackles and one tackle, respectively. Right tackle Jeremy Trueblood held off defensive end Ray Edwards, who was the most productive defensive linemen for Minnesota. Edwards had four tackles and three quarterback hurries.

Yes, Trueblood and Joseph committed costly penalties – a personal foul and a holding penalty, respectively – and yes Tampa Bay could have blocked better on a couple of third-and-1 situations, but their play against Minnesota’s front four was outstanding for the most part. Behind the play of the offensive line, the Bucs racked up 363 yards, controlled the clock in the second half and held a powerful defense at bay. For its effort, Tampa Bay’s offensive line is this week’s PewterReport.com Players of the Game.

IT WAS OVER WHEN…
With Tampa Bay up 16-13 with 5:41 left in regulation after Matt Bryant’s 29-yard field goal, special teams captain Will Allen stripped Vikings return man Maurice Hicks of the ball on the Minnesota 26-yard line. Wide receiver Brian Clark recovered the ball for Tampa Bay at the 26. Although the Bucs were unable to get a touchdown despite great field position, the offense chewed up over two minutes of game clock and forced Minnesota to burn a timeout before Bryant’s 26-yard field goal pushed the Bucs’ lead to 19-13 with 3:32 left. With Minnesota needing a touchdown to win the game, Tampa Bay’s defense would stiffen on the Vikings’ last two possessions as they did not get past their own 30-yard line.

STATS THAT COUNT
Bucs cornerback Ronde Barber recorded the second sack of the season and the 23rd of his career on Sunday. … Fullback B.J. Askew scored his first career NFL touchdown against Minnesota. … Nose tackle Chris Hovan had his first sack of the season against the Vikings. … Defensive end Kevin Carter had the third sack of the season and career sack number 103.5 against Minnesota. … Middle linebacker Barrett Ruud led the Bucs with eight tackles and posted the third sack of the season, which is a career-high. … Tampa Bay is a perfect 5-0 at Raymond James Stadium, marking the best start at home in franchise history. The previous best start was 4-0 in 1981 and in 1998. … Bucs head coach Jon Gruden became the team’s all-time winningest coach with his 57th victory, which came at Kansas City last week. But on Sunday against Minnesota, Gruden won his 55th regular season game, which moved him past Tony Dungy (54) for first in team history. … Jon Gruden is now 8-3 as a head coach in games following a bye week. … For the ninth time in 10 games, the Bucs defense has held an opposing team without a 100-yard rusher and a rushing touchdown. … Kicker Matt Bryant was 4-of-5 on field goals, which tied his career high for most field goals made in a game and set a new career-high with five attempts. Bryant is now perfect 24-of-24 (100 percent) on field goals inside 45 yards. Overall, Bryant is 24-of-27 (88.9 percent) on field goals this year.

SUNDAY’S STARTING LINEUPS
The announced Tampa Bay starting lineup for Sunday’s game was as follows:

BUCS STARTING OFFENSE
WR Antonio Bryant
LT Donald Penn
LG Arron Sears
C Jeff Faine
RG Davin Joseph
RT Jeremy Trueblood
TE John Gilmore
WR Michael Clayton
FB B.J. Askew
RB Earnest Graham
QB Jeff Garcia

BUCS STARTING DEFENSE
LE Kevin Carter
NT Chris Hovan
UT Jovan Haye
RE Gaines Adams
MLB Barrett Ruud
WLB Derrick Brooks
LCB Phillip Buchanon
RCB Ronde Barber
CB Aqib Talib
FS Tanard Jackson
SS Sabby Piscitelli

MISSING IN ACTION
Here is a list of Tampa Bay’s inactives for the Bucs game:

TE Alex Smith
SS Jermaine Phillips
OL James Lee
RB Cadillac Williams
DT Greg Peterson
WR Dexter Jackson
QB Brian Griese
QB Josh Johnson (emergency quarterback)

BUCS INJURIES
On his first carry, running back Earnest Graham injured his ankle around the 13:00 mark in the first quarter and did not return. With 5:29 left in the fourth quarter, linebacker Geno Hayes went out with a knee injury. Tight end John Gilmore was hurt with 3:47 left in the game but returned.

KICKOFF CONDITIONS
The announced attendance for the Buccaneers vs. Vikings game at Raymond James Stadium was 65,278. The temperature at kickoff was 62 degrees with 43 percent humidity under sunny skies.

UP NEXT
The Buccaneers (7-3) travel to Detroit to take on the winless Lions (0-10) at Ford Field next Sunday, November 23. Kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m.

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