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5 Plays That Made A Difference

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 31, 2007

1. Joey Galloway wasn't in the lineup Sunday; he was one of the many regulars who got the day off. Four plays into the game, on a first-and-10 from the Carolina 43, the Bucs sent Galloway's replacement, Chad Lucas, deep down the right sideline on a go route. As he often did during the exhibition season, Lucas found an opening in the defense. He had to slow down and come back a bit for Luke McCown's throw, but he caught the ball at the 5-yard line for a 52-yard gain. That set up the Bucs' first score, a touchdown that came three plays later on a 3-yard McCown-to-Jerramy Stevens pass.

2. The Panthers moved down the field on their first drive of the day, pushing to the Tampa Bay 4, but the defense held and Carolina lined up for a field goal. However, Derrick Brooks was called for holding while the Panthers attempted the field goal and the call gave them new life at the Bucs 2. From there, it took them two plays to tie the game, the score coming on a 2-yard touchdown pass from Matt Moore to Christian Fauria.

3. The Bucs already had moved the ball 42 yards in seven plays when they lined up to run a first-and-10 play from their own 44 early in the third quarter. Luke McCown dropped back to pass. Finding no one open, he decided to sprint out of the pocket. With virtually nothing but green grass ahead of him, McCown kept on running until he stepped out of bounds to avoid a hit at the Panthers' 25. Two plays later, he threw a screen pass to Michael Bennett, who ran 23 yards into the end zone to cap off a 98-yard scoring drive, the longest in Bucs' history.

4. The Panthers wasted little time concocting an answer to that long Bucs scoring drive. On their next possession, they moved 68 yards in five plays to regain the lead. The big play in the drive was a 47-yard pass to wideout Drew Carter, who faked cornerback Sammy Davis into slowing down halfway through the route, then outjumped two defenders, including Davis, to make a catch at the 1. That play set up a 1-yard touchdown run by DeAngelo Williams, whose score gave the Panthers a 24-20 lead.

5. The Panthers were holding a one-point lead midway through the fourth quarter when they lined up to run a first-and-10 play from the Bucs' 32. They needed to make a significant gain to keep the ball moving and get into scoring range. They wound up getting all that and more. Taking a handoff from quarterback Matt Moore, DeAngelo Williams hesitated for a second, then burst through the line. He didn't stop until he reached the end zone, where he finished off a 32-yard run that sealed the Panthers' victory.

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