Tampa Bay 38, Jacksonville 31
When: 1:00 PM ET, Sunday, October 11, 2015
Where: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida
Temperature:
84°
Head Official:
Jerome Boger
Attendance:
58490
By The Sports Xchange
TAMPA -- Everything came together for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who got three touchdowns from Doug Martin, mistake-free football from rookie Jameis Winston and reliable kicking from Connor Barth on the way to a 38-31 win Sunday over the Jacksonville Jaguars at Raymond James Stadium.
Tampa Bay ended an 11-game home losing streak with their first home win under coach Lovie Smith, while the Jaguars lost their 12th straight road game.
"It was an amazing game, a team effort," said Martin, who rushed for 123 yards, giving him back-to-back 100-yard games for just the second time in his career. "It was something that the fans had a long time coming. Special teams made it, defense pulled in in the end and the offense stayed consistent throughout the whole game."
The Jaguars (1-4) had rallied from a 20-7 deficit with 17 straight points for a 24-20 lead, but the Bucs (2-3) answered with 18 straight, including a defensive touchdown when defensive end Jacquies Smith recovered a fumble forced by defensive end George Johnson for the lead.
"Changed the whole game," Johnson said. "That's our main goal is to try to score on defense, and we actually did that. It feels good to finally get a home win. We haven't had one in so long. We said before the game we're going to start a new tradition and start winning games at home."
Jacksonville converted a fourth-and-18 with a 59-yard pass, setting up Blake Bortles' fourth touchdown pass of the day to cut the lead to a touchdown with 1:05 left in the game. Receiver Vincent Jackson recovered the Jaguars' onside kick to seal the win.
"You can't be discouraged when the results don't always come out the way you want," said tight end Julius Thomas, who made his Jaguars debut. "You've seen this team continuously do things back-to-back weeks. It's the bounce of the ball a couple times."
The Bucs led 20-14 at the half, matching their best first-half scoring output in 21 games under Lovie Smith. Tampa Bay got a strong first half from Martin, who rushed for 93 yards on 13 carries and a touchdown, with another score on a 10-yard pass from Winston.
The Bucs led 20-7 with 2:26 left in the half, but let the Jaguars back in the game, as Bortles drove the team 78 yards in 1:50, throwing a 13-yard touchdown pass to receiver Allen Robinson to cut the lead to 20-14.
Jacksonville got a field goal on the first drive of the third quarter, then took the lead as Bortles found rookie running back T.J. Yeldon for a 4-yard score. That made it 24-20 for Jacksonville after 17 straight points.
"We just have to eliminate some of our mistakes down the stretch," said receiver Allen Robinson, who caught two of Bortles' four touchdowns. "I think we moved the ball well, did some good things, just a few minor things we have to eliminate and I think we will be fine."
Barth went 3-for-3 on field goals and 3-for-3 on extra points in his season debut, signed this week after rookie Kyle Brindza was cut after missing five field goals in the previous two games.
One week after throwing four interceptions, Winston was in control, with zero turnovers and a steady diet of dumpoffs to running backs and tight ends. Of his first 13 completions, only four went to receivers.
Bortles was 23 of 33 for 303 yards and a career-high four TDs. Winston completed 13 of 19 passes.
NOTES: The Buccaneers have a bye week to rest up and get healthy -- six players missed Sunday's game with injuries -- and return Oct. 25 at Washington. … Bucs RB Doug Martin has consecutive 100-yard games for the first time since Week 7 and Week 8 of 2012. He rushed for 106 yards against the Panthers last week.
Top Game Performances
Rushing
Jacksonville |
|
Tampa Bay |
T.J. Yeldon
|
Player |
Doug Martin
|
11 |
Attempts |
24 |
32 |
Yards |
123 |
2.9 |
Avg Yards |
5.1 |
0 |
Touchdowns |
2 |
10 |
Long |
39 |
Receiving
Jacksonville |
|
Tampa Bay |
Allen Hurns
|
Player |
Charles Sims
|
5 |
Receptions |
4 |
116 |
Yards |
85 |
23.2 |
Avg Yards |
21.2 |
1 |
Touchdowns |
0 |
59 |
Long |
56 |
Team Stats Summary
|
Yards |
Scoring |
Defense |
Team |
Tot |
Rus |
Pas |
TD |
FG |
INT |
Sck |
FF |
Jacksonville
|
325 |
55 |
270 |
4 |
1 |
0 |
2.0 |
0 |
Tampa Bay
|
369 |
183 |
186 |
4 |
3 |
1 |
6.0 |
1 |
Upcoming Games
-
Tampa Bay will play their next game on the road against Washington. The Buccaneers have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .667 after a loss.
-
Jacksonville will play their next game at home against Houston. The Jaguars have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .333 after a loss.