Bucs continue poor form losing 19-38 to NFC South rivals Panthers – NFL Recap
Tampa Bay Buccaneers continued their poor run into December as well, losing their sixth straight game 38-19 against fellow National Football Conference South strugglers Carolina Panthers.
Panthers rookie quarterback Cam Newton set the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida alight with a brilliant performance that helped his team win two games in a row for the first time this season.
Newton scored three rushing touchdowns and in the process broke a 35-year record for the most rushing touchdowns scored in a single season by a quarterback. The rookie also capped a wonderful performance after covering 204 passing
yards and completing 12 out of 21 attempted passes.
He, however, is not the only one to hog the limelight and thanked his teammates for helping him throughout every game saying
"It does mean something to me. I'm not going to sit up here and say it doesn't mean something," Newton said of the record. "I'm not focusing on individualism in this game. It's still 11-on-11. I don't think I could've done anything
without those other 10 guys."
Tampa Bay Buccaneers, on the other hand, had nothing to be proud of as their season’s collapse continued. Coach Raheem Morris was furious with his side’s performance and panned his players for a very shabby performance as Bucs
gave away nine penalties during the game.
“The foolish things that happened in that game, as far as penalties, some of the things that we caused, are just unacceptable. We are not playing like a smart football team right now."
It was a winnable game for Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but the team never looked to have a chance as Panthers ripped them apart right from the first whistle.
Bucs desperately missed regular quarterback Josh Freeman, who is out due to a shoulder injury, and were not able to even come close to Panthers. Substitute quarterback John Johnson making just his fifth professional start, had
a fine yet inadequate performance throwing for a single touchdown and an interception for 229 yards.
Panthers were on the move straight from the start with Cam Newton scoring his first rushing TD of the match at 11:21 with a one-yard run. Running back Jonathan Stewart scored his own one-yard touchdown six minutes later to double
Panthers advantage. Bucs kicker Connor Barth scored a 50-yard field goal a minute from the end of the first to peg back Panthers to 14-3.
Barth made it 14-6 in the second period with a 47-yard field goal at 10:52 but three minutes later Panthers increased their advantage by 21-6 as Legedu Naanee took a brilliant 19-yard pass from Cam Newton to score the game’s first
passing TD. Tampa Bay struggling for yards relied on Connor Barth to keep them in the game as the kicker scored two touchdowns from 46 and 44 yards respectively to bring the score to 21-12.
The second half of the game saw Newton take the match completely away from the hapless Bucs. Newton scored his second rushing TD with six minutes left in the third to make it 31-12 and his final rushing TD with nine minutes left
in the fourth quarter to make it 38-12 and sealing victory. Tampa Bay Buccaneers scored their only TD with six minutes left in the fourth as John Johnson sent a 23 yard pass to Dezmon Briscoe to make the final score 38-19.
Tags: