Josh Freeman found Micheal Spurlock with a 33-yard touchdown strike with 6:45 remaining in the fourth quarter to propel the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a 17-14 victory over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.
Carnell Williams rushed for 75 yards and Freeman threw for 182 yards and two scores for the Buccaneers (1-0).
Tampa Bay trailed 14-3 before Freeman connected with rookie Mike Williams down the middle for a 3-yard touchdown with 18 seconds remaining in the first half.
Neither team made much headway on offense in the second half before Freeman drove the Buccaneers 47 yards on six plays in the fourth quarter, capped by the touchdown throw to Spurlock.
The Jake Delhomme era did not get off to a great start in Cleveland, as the veteran quarterback completed 20-of-37 passes for 227 yards, one touchdown and a pair of interceptions for a 59.2 rating. Mohamed Massaquoi had two receptions for 46 yards, including a 41-yard touchdown.
The Browns (0-1) got the ball back with 2:16 left in the game, but managed to gain just 11 yards before turning it over on downs after six plays.
Freeman finished 17-of-28 for 182 yards and two touchdowns.
Cleveland | Tampa Bay | |
Jerome Harrison | Player | Cadillac Williams |
9 | Attempts | 22 |
52 | Yards | 75 |
5.8 | Avg Yards | 3.4 |
0 | Touchdowns | 0 |
39 | Long | 20 |
Cleveland | Tampa Bay | |
Evan Moore | Player | Michael Spurlock |
3 | Receptions | 2 |
87 | Yards | 49 |
29.0 | Avg Yards | 24.5 |
0 | Touchdowns | 1 |
49 | Long | 33 |