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About the Author: Eric Horchy

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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers arrived in Kansas City as a touchdown underdog but left with a huge 19-17 victory.

Neck and neck throughout the majority of the game, Tampa Bay got the separation it needed from an unlikely source. Clinging to a 12-10 lead late in the fourth quarter, quarterback Jameis Winston found rookie tight end Alan Cross for a 3-yard touchdown that proved to be the game winning score.

Cross entered the game with one career reception, a 5-yard gain in Week 5 against Carolina, but made his next catch count in a big way. His first NFL touchdown came with 5:42 remaining and the Tampa Bay defense made the nine-point advantage hold up.

Kansas City quarterback Alex Smith managed to get the Chiefs into the end zone with a 3-yard pass to wide receiver Albert Wilson, but the 78-yard drive took 12 plays and drained 3:59 off the clock.

About two and a half minutes remained on the clock when Tampa Bay got the ball back and Kansas City still had all three of its timeouts to kill. A three-and-out would have put the Bucs defense in a touch spot, but Winston delivered with one of his biggest plays of the day. Two Doug Martin runs ate up two of Kansas City’s timeouts but weren’t enough to move the chains. Facing third-and-3 from the Tampa Bay 30, Winston connected with receiver Mike Evans for a 14-yard first down at the 2-minute warning.

The Chiefs managed to force a punt but took over from their own 27 with just 8 seconds to play with.

Playing behind a beat-up offensive line for the second straight game, Winston managed to complete 24 of 39 passes for 331 yards, the touchdown to Cross, and threw no interceptions to the league’s best ball-hawking defense.

Evans served again as Winston’s top target, catching six passes for 105 yards, and Cecil Shorts III turned in his best game as a Buc with five receptions for 62 yards.

Martin and the Bucs ground attack found little room to run throughout much of the game, but Tampa Bay managed to grind out 116 yards on 34 rushing attempts. Martin finished with 24 carries for 63 yards, but also added three catches for 42 yards. Rookie Peyton Barber averaged over five yards a touch in limited action, gaining 22 yards on four carries.

The Bucs outgained Kansas City 442-343 and the defense locked down after allowing Smith and the Chiefs to open the game with a 14-play drive that culminated in a 22-yard Carlos Santos field goal.

Things didn’t look great when Tampa Bay squandered a long drive in response with a sack-fumble of Winston deep in Chiefs territory, but that would be the Bucs’ only turnover.

The biggest struggle of the day was maximizing scoring opportunities. Tampa Bay gained nearly 450 yards and converted 11 of 16 third downs but couldn’t punch drives into the end zone. Prior to the fourth-quarter Cross touchdown, the Bucs had to settle for four Roberto Aguayo field goals.

Three of those Aguayo kicks came in the first half and Tampa Bay hit the halftime break trailing 10-9. The rookie kicker would put the Bucs up for good when he drilled a 36-yarder midway through the third quarter.

That lead was in danger of swinging in Kansas City’s favor early in the fourth quarter. Leading 12-10, Smith set up another Chiefs scoring opportunity with a 44-yard connection to tight end Travis Kelce. Smith found a target in the end zone two plays later, but it was Bucs safety Chris Conte. A week after stepping up with a pick-6 against Chicago, Conte took the interception out of the end zone and returned it 53 yards to the Bucs 48. That clutch moment jumpstarted a nine-play, 52-yard drive that included three third-down conversions, with the final one going three yard to Cross in the end zone.

Tampa Bay’s victory evens its record to 5-5 and puts the Bucs a game behind NFC South leading Atlanta. The Falcons are on a bye this week and host the Arizona Cardinals next Sunday. The Bucs come back to Raymond James Stadium for another big challenge next Sunday when they host the Seattle Seahawks.

Bucs Fs Chris Conte - Photo By: Cliff Welch/PrChiefs Rarely Turn The Ball Over
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