Tampa Bay managed to keep pace with Carolina in the NFC South on Sunday, outlasting the Vikings for a 19-13 win. The Buccaneers (7-3) remain a game behind first place Carolina, as the two teams will meet on Monday night, December 8, in Charlotte. Hopefully it's more exciting than this game was. As for today's contest, Tampa Bay didn't get the early Christmas gift Jon Gruden was hoping for earlier in the week in Cadillac Williams, but it did get a rock-solid performance from quarterback Jeff Garcia, as the 38-year old veteran completed 23-of-30 passes for 255 yards. He also ran the ball six times for 21 yards.
It's good for Tampa Bay's sake that Gruden quickly realized he made a tremendous error in judgment earlier in the year, when he came to the conclusion that Brian Griese was a better option for his offense. Clearly, Garcia can still play a little bit, and the Buccaneers are a better team for it.
Other than that, not much else happened in this one except a lot of defense and a lot of field goals.
The Vikings went into the half with a 13-6 lead, thanks to a pair of Ryan Longwell field goals and a Gus Frerotte-to-Bobby Wade touchdown, only to watch Tampa Bay come out in the second half and score 13 unanswered points to take the win.
B.J. Askew scored from 1-yard out to tie the score at 13 in the third quarter, while Matt Bryant added a pair of field goals in the fourth quarter to seal the win for the Buccaneers.
Tampa Bay held the Vikings to just 99 yards rushing on 26 carries, as the Vikings offense was on the field for just eight plays in the fourth quarter. Tough to score when you're not on the field.
