NFL
Buccaneers Make Season-Ready Showing Against Lions Despite 33-30 Loss
TAMPA BAY, Fla. (FNN SPORTS) – The Tampa Bay Buccaneers returned to Raymond James Stadium for their first preseason home game of the preseason against the Detroit Lions. A late thunderstorm with lightning slowed things down a bit, delaying the game by an hour with an 8:59pm kickoff. However, the fans remained loyal, despite the rain.
The Lions entered Friday’s game with no wins this preseason, but they were looking to center Wesley Johnson to make a difference. For the Buccaneers’ part, they entered the game without 13 players, including Kendell Beckwith, Justin Evans, Vita Vea, Ali Marpet, Donovan Smith and Charles Sims III, who was placed on injured reserve this week.
FIRST HALF
Peyton Barber was the Bucs’ running man in the first quarter, taking the Bucs 66 yards to the game’s first touchdown with a 14-yard touchdown carry within the first four-and-a-half minutes.
Despite the Bucs defense, Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford made a significant 36-yard pass play on their third down before Chris Conte could make the tackle, getting them in the red zone and bringing them back to first down.
On the Lions’ next third down, Stafford tried to make a touchdown pass, but Tampa’s Hargreaves broke it up, forcing Matt Prater to kick a 24-yard field goal to make sure the Lions were on the board. The score was 7-3 with 5:25 left in the quarter.
On the Bucs’ next run, Ronald Jones II completed the 37-yard pass straight out of the gate, sending the crowd into a roar. Quarterback Fitzpatrick had a close call on the third down, though–he was open for a sack for a good fifteen seconds while searching for a passing target before tossing the ball to O.J. Howard to get the first down.
On the next second down, Fitzpatrick was sacked by Sylvester Williams, costing the Bucs seven yards. On the third down, Fitzpatrick passed to Mike Evans, who completed the pass, but was flagged for a double play. In an interesting reaction, Evans remained on the ground for a few minutes, appearing to be injured, but once approached for help, he stood up fully intact and cursed the penalty call.
On the Lions’ next run, the Bucs kept the pressure on, stopping the run as much as possible. However on the third down, Tampa Bay’s Jordan Whitehead was hit with a pass interference penalty, giving the Lions an automatic first down within 20 yards of the goal. After a total of 13 plays, the Lions got on the board with another field goal, shrinking Tampa’s lead to one point: 7-6.
On the Bucs’ next scoring drive, Winston subbed in for Fitzpatrick. With four minutes left in the half, Winston made a successful 10-yard touchdown pass to Chris Godwin, bringing their lead to 13-6.
The most epic play of the first half came on the Lions’ final fourth down of the half with just seven seconds left. The Lions attempted a 63-yard field goal, which Tampa Bay’s Adam Humphries returned for a 109-yard touchdown, closing out the half with a score of 20-6.
SECOND HALF
In the Bucs first drive out of halftime, Ryan Griffin completed a 19-yard touchdown pass to Freddie Martino, spreading the Bucs lead to 27-6.
With less than four minutes left in the third quarter, Detroit’s Theo Riddick ran the ball 10 yards for the team’s first tocuhdown of the game, bringing the score to 27-13.
With 1:15 left in the third quarter, the Lions attempted a 53-yard field goal, which hit the left goalpost. However, the Bucs were hit with an illegal formation penalty, allowing the Lions to replay their fourth down, and that’s all it took. The Lions made a one-yard carry for the first down and continued their scoring drive until the end of the third quarter.
The Lions scored their next touchdown in the red zone in the fourth quarter with QB Matt Cassel’s three-yard touchdown toss to Bradley Marquez. Tampa Bay’s Cameron Lynch was close enough to break up the pass, but wasn’t quick enough to make a move. The Lions were at that point one touchdown away from tying the game. However, the Buccaneers extended the lead with their first field goal of the game, making the score 30-20.
With five minutes left in the game, the Lions’s Powell took a page from Humphries’ book, making an 80-yard touchdown punt return, making the score 30-26. The Lions attempted a two-point conversion, but the pass was incomplete.
The Detroit Lions turned the tables near the end, blindsiding the Bucs with a touchdown to snatch the lead, making the final score 33-30.
The Bucs next host the Jacksonville Jaguars Thursday, August 30 at 7:30pm.
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Mellissa Thomas is Editor for Florida National News. | mellissa.thomas@floridanationalnews.com
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Florida National News) – The Jacksonville Jaguars (9-7) shutout the Carolina Panthers (2-14) 26-0 in their final home game at EverBank Stadium today. The Jaguars had lost four games in a row prior to today’s victory. But with today’s win, the Jaguars secured their second consecutive winning season for the first time since 2004-05. QB Trevor Lawrence missed his first NFL game after starting 51 in a row before today, because of a sprained throwing shoulder. Lawrence left early in three of his last four games with injuries. C.J Beathard made his first start at quarterback in three years.
QB C.J. Beathard. Photo credit: Mike Brodsky (Florida National News)
Beathard looked comfortable leading the Jaguars downfield on the first drive of the game, which ended in a 35 yard K Brandon McManus field goal to put the Jags up 3-0, which remained the score of the end of the first quarter.
Midway through the second quarter, McManus added a 26 yard field goal, extending the Jags lead to 6-0. Soon after, LB Josh Allen sacked Panthers QB Bryce Young to tie Calais Campbell for the Jaguars’ franchise single season record of 14.5 sacks. Late in the second quarter, McManus kicked a 24 yard field goal, to put the Jags ahead 9-0. Shortly afterwards, Allen added another sack of Bryce Young, to claim sole possession of the team record at 15.5 sacks. The Jaguars defense continued to hold the Panthers scoreless, limiting the team to 34 yards in total for the first two quarters, as the score remained 9-0 at halftime.
LB Josh Allen sets Jags’ single season sacks record. Photo credit: Mike Brodsky (Florida National News)
In the third quarter, RB Travis Etienne Jr. ran for a 62 yard touchdown, his tenth of the year. McManus added the extra point, as the Jags led 16-0. Beathard had an impressive 19 yard run midway through the third, but was taken out of the game by officials because he looked a little wobbly getting up, and went to the medical tent for evaluation. 33 year old QB Matt Barkley, who was signed earlier this week, warmed up for the Jaguars. Panthers LB Marquis Haynes Sr., who tackled Beathard, was badly injured on the play, and had to be taken off the field on a golf cart. Barkley led the Jaguars for one play, but Beathard was able to return to the field on the next down. That drive ended with a 34 yard McManus field goal, extending the lead to 19-0, which remained the score at the end of the third quarter.
Early in the fourth quarter, Allen added his third sack of the game, taking down Young, and extending his single season record to 16.5 sacks. Etienne added a one yard run for a touchdown on a play that was initially called a fumble, but was reversed on review and ruled a TD. With the XP from McManus, the Jaguars were up 26-0. Jaguars rookie S Antonio Johnson had an impressive interception of a Bryce Young pass late in the game. On the next drive, the Jaguars put in QB Matt Barkley to finish the game, and avoid any risk to C.J. Beathard’s health.
C.J. Beathard finished with 178 yards. Travis Etienne Jr. led the Jaguars’ rushing with 102 yards and 2 touchdowns. Evan Engram was the leading receiver with 60 yards.
The Jaguars head to Tennessee to face the Titans on Sunday, 1/7, for their final game of the regular season. Kickoff time has not yet been scheduled. The Jaguars are trying to make the playoffs in consecutive years for the first time since 1998-99. A victory against the Titans will give the Jaguars the AFC South division title. Be sure to follow www.FloridaNationalNews.com for more.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (FNN) – The Jacksonville Jaguars (8-4) lost to the Cincinnati Bengals (6-6) 34-31 in the Jags’ first Monday Night Football game in 12 years. The Jaguars created a “Light Up The Bank” light show during player introductions to hype up the crowd for this prime time game watched by a national audience, but several injuries proved to be too much for the team to overcome.
On the second play of the game, the Jaguars’ CB Tre Herndon left the game for concussion protocol. Just minutes later, the Jaguars’ WR Christian Kirk suffered a groin injury which kept him out of the rest of the game. Despite these injuries, the Jags were the first to score tonight, as RB Travis Etienne Jr. ran 4 yards for a touchdown, followed by the extra point from K Brandon McManus. The Bengals’ K Evan McPherson (University of Florida alum) attempted a 57 yard field goal, but hit the crossbar and missed. At the end of the first quarter, the Jaguars were ahead 7-0.
Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence completed a 22 yard touchdown pass to TE Evan Engram, for his first TD of the season. Photo by Roman Garay / Florida National News
In the second quarter, the Jaguars’ FS Andre Cisco left the game with a shoulder injury. Two plays later, the Bengals’ HB Joe Mixon ran 6 yards for a touchdown, and McPherson added the extra point, tying the game 7-7. Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence later completed a 22 yard touchdown pass to TE Evan Engram, for his first TD of the season. McManus added the XP, to put the Jags ahead 14-7. Andre Cisco was able to return to the game, but Mixon scored a touchdown soon after for the Bengals, running 2 yards into the end zone, followed by McPherson’s extra point, tying the game 14-14 heading into halftime.
In the third quarter, Bengals QB Jake Browning completed a 76 yard touchdown pass to WR Ja’Marr Chase, and McPherson added the XP to put the Bengals up 21-14. The Jaguars responded with a 14 yard Lawrence to WR Parker Washington touchdown pass, and XP by McManus, tying the game 21-21. The Jaguars’ LB Josh Allen intercepted a Bengals’ WR Tyler Boyd pass intended for Joe Mixon. The Jaguars capitalized on that interception with a touchdown run by Trevor Lawrence to end that scoring drive, and with McManus’ extra point, the Jags were ahead 28-21 at the end of the third quarter.
The Bengals scored on a 1 yard Jake Browning touchdown run, and McPherson added the XP, to tie the game 28-28. Another injury followed for the Jaguars soon after, as Trevor Lawrence had to be helped off the field after what looked like a painful ankle injury that kept him out for the remainder of the game, as he was replaced with QB C.J. Beathard. McManus attempted a 48 yard field goal, which went wide to the right. Soon after, McPherson kicked a 54 yard field goal to put the Bengals ahead 31-28. The Jaguars’ next scoring drive ended with a 40 yard McManus field goal, tying the game 31-31, with just 26 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. The Bengals were unable to score before the clock ran out, and the game went into overtime.
The Jaguars won the coin toss and elected to receive. A holding call against the Jaguars reversed what could have been a 43 yard Beathard pass to WR Calvin Ridley. P Logan Cooke punted two plays later. The Bengals scoring drive ended with a 48 yard McPherson field goal, as the Bengals defeated the Jaguars 34-31.
The Jaguars’ last Monday night game was 12/5/2011 when they lost to the San Diego Chargers 38-14. The Jaguars now have an all-time record of 8-8 on Monday nights. Cincinnati is now 4-20 in road Monday Night Football games. Before tonight’s win, their last victory in a MNF road game was in 1990.
Trevor Lawrence finished with 258 yards and 2 touchdowns. Travis Etienne Jr. led the Jaguars’ rushing with 45 yards and 1 touchdown. Evan Engram was the leading receiver with 82 yards and 1 touchdown.
Tonight’s attendance was 67,951. The Jaguars head to Cleveland to face the Browns on Sunday, 12/10. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. The Jaguars return to “The Bank” to face the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday night, 12/17 at 8:15 p.m. Be sure to follow www.FloridaSportsChannel.com and www.FloridaNationalNews.com for more.
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