Captain Fear
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- Mar 20, 2019
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The Buccaneers and Panthers went to halftime tied at 17 and it looked like we might be in for a shootout in Carolina.
Only one team kept firing after halftime. The Buccaneers scored the first six times they had the ball in the second half and ran out the clock the seventh time in a 46-23 win that comes a week after their worst performance of the season.
The Bucs are now 7-3 with the Rams and Chiefs coming to Tampa before they hit their bye week.
Ronald Jones had the biggest individual highlight of the game. He broke free for a 98-yard touchdown in the third quarter that put the Bucs up by nine and helped his side start to run away with the game. Teddy Bridgewater was intercepted on the next drive and the Bucs extended their lead to 15 points.
Jones finished with 23 carries for 192 yards and Tom Brady added a rushing touchdown later in the second half. Brady also completed 28-of-39 passes for 341 yards and three touchdowns in a big rebound from last week’s loss to the Saints.
Mike Evans caught six passes for 77 yards and a touchdown, which should quiet concerns about his connection with Brady. Antonio Brown caught 7-of-8 passes thrown his way and picked up 69 yards while Chris Godwin paced the team with 92 receiving yards. Rob Gronkowski also caught a touchdown and the whole mix was impossible to stop once it got rolling.
Bridgewater was sharp in the first half, but struggled in the second before being knocked out of the game on a Jason Pierre-Paul sack. He hurt his right knee — not the one he hurt while in Minnesota — and P.J. Walker played out the final minutes in his NFL debut.
The quarterback’s status will be a key factor as the Panthers prepare to face the Lions in Week 11. The 3-7 squad will be trying to snap a five-game losing streak.