Jaguars edge Bucs in Tampa

The Jacksonville Jaguars overcame the loss of their starting quarterback, David Garrard, last week to post another road victory, this time against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Bucs lost their second game in a row, and their second consecutive loss to a team that was statistically overmatched except in the turnover department.

The Bucs made a number of mistakes, including a pass interception returned for a touchdown in the first half (posting Jacksonville to a 17-3 lead), and the Jaguars' edge in big plays ended up earning them the win.

Offense:
The offense, save for the interceptions, was impressive against Jacksonville. The Bucs ran the ball effectively, and had a number of opportunities for big plays. The Bucs have traditionally struggled to run against the Jaguars, who boast a stout defensive front four.:

Defense:
The pass rush still isn't getting the job done, but some of that was because Jacksonville hardly threw the ball. Gaines Adams registered half a sack, sharing it with fellow defensive end Greg White. The Jaguars ran the ball pretty well on the Bucs in the first half, but the by the second half could not move the ball consistently on the ground. Jacksonville Quinn Gray looked inaccurate throwing the ball but he ended up doing enough to get the win, going 7-for-16 with one touchdown and no interceptions. Gray was sacked twice, once on an end zone fumble that he managed to move out to the 1 yard line.

Special teams:
Two plays contributed to the loss for the Bucs: A short kickoff taken by an up-man (I think he was a lineman) up past the 50, and a long punt that sailed over Joey Galloway's head from the 7 yard line of Jacksonville to the 17 yard line of the Bucs. That was huge for field position. Matt Bryant was great on field goals, and Maurice Stovall partially blocked a punt.
The Bucs are working some inexperienced players in on special teams, so these struggles are not surprising.

Cornerback Phillip Buchanon pretty much summed up the game:

It’s a tough, hard game for us because we felt like we had the game, even though Jacksonville is a good team. Things just didn’t go our way today and they made some plays and we didn’t make enough plays.
(Buccaneers.com)

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