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Bucs Grind Out 16-6 Win Over Texans In Preseason Finale

Tribune photo by CLIFF MCBRIDE

Maurice Stovall (L) and Derrick Brooks celebrate with Dexter Jackson (R) after his 83-yard punt return for a TD.

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By AARON KNOX | TBO.com

Published: August 28, 2008

Updated: 08/28/2008 10:23 pm

Rookie Dexter Jackson's 83-yard touchdown on a punt return helped the Bucs to a 16-6 win over the host Houston Texans in their preseason finale tonight at Reliant Stadium.

Jackson, the speedy second-round pick from Appalachian State, fielded a punt from Matt Turk, broke toward the left sideline and raced untouched to the end zone with 13:49 left in the second period.

Matt Bryant, who missed two first-half field goal attempts, hit three in the second half. One from 40 yards out to give the Bucs a 10-6 lead with 13:28 left in the teams' final preseason game, then drilled another from 29 yards with 9:10 to play. His 31-yarder with 1:01 left concluded the scoring.

Still, Bryant was just 7-of-12 on field goal attempts during the preseason. Thursday night's first field goal was his longest of the non-counting games.

It capped a 10-play, 55-yard drive that was engineered by rookie quarterback Josh Johnson. Johnson was 3-of-5 for 43 yards, including a 29-yard completion to tight end Ben Troupe that put the Bucs in scoring position.

Johnson moved the Bucs 57 yards in seven plays to set up the second kick. He finished 8-of-13 for a team-high 85 yards and showed good poise in the pocket.

Eleven different receivers caught passes for the Bucs (3-1 in preseason), led by Troupe with four catches for 52 yards. Jackson had two catches for 17 yards and also gained 13 yards on a reverse.

The Bucs defense played well for the fourth straight preseason game, holding the Texans to 253 yards of total offense, including just 58 on the ground. Houston was just 2-of-12 on third-down conversion attempts in the contest.

The Texans (2-2) got a 53-yard field goal from Kris Brown on their opening possession to take a 3-0 lead, and Brown added a 41-yarder on the final play of the first half to pull the Texans within 7-6.

Brown's first field goal capped a nine-play, 47-yard drive for the Texans. Sage Rosenfels completed his first three passes, for 39 yards, on Houston's first drive.

Luke McCown started at quarterback for the Bucs in place of Jeff Garcia, who looked rusty in his only preseason appearance last week after straining a calf muscle during training camp.

Receiver Joey Galloway and fullback B.J. Askew also remained on the sidelines. Neither played a snap in a preseason game.

Bryant camp up short on a 54-yard field goal attempt after the Bucs' first possession, with the ball barely skimming under the crossbar with 6:40 left in the first quarter. He was wide right on another attempt in the second quarter, from 36 yards out with 5:25 left in the first half.

McCown was 5-for-5 for 52 yards in the first quarter. Chris Simms replaced him on the Bucs' first offensive possession of the second period. Johnson took over with 2:50 left in the third quarter.

Simms finished 9-of-15 for 71 yards.

Michael Spurlock, battling for a roster spot at the Bucs' fairly deep receiver position, fumbled the punt following Jackson's TD return.

The Bucs recovered but Spurlock, who had the first kickoff return touchdown in team history last season, did not help himself as the Bucs look to trim down to their 53-man roster on Saturday.

Safety Sabby Piscetelli, who scored on a fumble recovery in the Bucs' preseason opener against New England and played well in training camp, suffered a knee injury in the thid quarter and was taken to the locker room with a ice pack on the wounded knee.

Linebacker Geno Hayes, from Florida State, intercepted a pass from Alex Brink with 5:56 to play, tiptoeing along the sideline to keep his feet inbounds on the play.

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