Connor Barth kicked a game-winning 31-yard field goal with one second left as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers rallied for a 24-21 victory over the host Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.
Earnest Graham had a touchdown run for the Buccaneers (3-1), who intercepted Carson Palmer twice in the fourth quarter. The second, by Sabby Piscitelli, led to the game-winning field goal.
Piscitelli intercepted Palmer and returned it 37 yards. Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman then hit Mike Williams for 14 yards to the Cincinnati 14-yard line. The sideline catch was reviewed and upheld.
The Bengals tried to ice Barth, who promptly split the uprights with for the victory.
Palmer's 1-yard touchdown pass to rookie tight end Jermaine Gresham and the ensuing two-point conversion gave the Bengals a 21-14 lead with 12:19 left.
But the Bengals couldn't put away Tampa Bay. The Buccaneers' rally began when Aqib Talib intercepted Palmer at the Cincinnati 38-yard line. Five plays later, Freeman hit Williams for a 20-yard touchdown and Barth’s extra point tied it at 21 with 1:21 left.
Cedric Benson ran for a season-high 144 yards on 23 carries and Terrell Owens had seven receptions for 102 yards and a touchdown for the Bengals (2-3), who couldn’t overcome three interceptions from Palmer.
Palmer finished 21 of 36 for 209 yards.
Tampa Bay | Cincinnati | |
Earnest Graham | Player | Cedric Benson |
3 | Attempts | 23 |
65 | Yards | 144 |
21.7 | Avg Yards | 6.3 |
1 | Touchdowns | 0 |
61 | Long | 22 |
Tampa Bay | Cincinnati | |
Mike Williams | Player | Terrell Owens |
7 | Receptions | 7 |
99 | Yards | 102 |
14.1 | Avg Yards | 14.6 |
1 | Touchdowns | 1 |
37 | Long | 43 |
Yards | Scoring | Defense | ||||||
Team | Tot | Rus | Pas | TD | FG | INT | Sck | FF |
Tampa Bay | 391 | 125 | 266 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0.0 | 0 |
Cincinnati | 358 | 149 | 209 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3.0 | 2 |