Instant Recap: Tampa Bay Buccaneers Finish Preseason with Win at Houston
Outside of the opening offensive series, most things went well for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the starters on the field in the preseason finale against the Houston Texans.
When it was all said and done, the Bucs finished on top 23-16 but Tampa Bay jumped out to a 13-0 lead with starting quarterback Tom Brady still in the game.
Brady, who played three drives, finished 11-for-14 with 154 passing yards and one touchdown. Brady hit wide receiver Chris Godwin for a 24-yard touchdown pass, which capped off a seven-play, 91-yard drive in the first quarter. The veteran quarterback went a perfect 7-for-7 on the drive as well.
Brady wasn't the only Bucs quarterback to have a perfect passing drive. Later in the game, rookie quarterback Kyle Trask converted his first career touchdown in the NFL finding tight end Codey McElroy on a 20-yard touchdown with five minutes left in the third quarter. On the scoring drive, Trask completed all four passes for 74 yards.
It wasn't just the quarterback play that had success against Houston either. Tampa Bay's defensive forced a total of five turnovers, including three total interceptions from Herb Miller and Dee Delaney, who snagged two by himself on the night.
Following the first touchdown drive that put Tampa Bay up 6-0 after a blocked extra point, the Bucs followed it up with a similar drive that went eight plays for 93 yards. Tampa Bay running back Ronald Jones scored his first touchdown of the preseason on a 13-yard run. The 93-yard drive led by Brady marked the longest drive of the preseason for the Bucs.
Up 13-0 early in the second quarter, Brady's night would end as he finished with just three incompletions. Bucs quarterback Blaine Gabbert was the second quarterback to see the field for Tampa Bay but struggled. Gabbert finished 4-of-10 for just 26 yards and threw one interception.
On his second drive that started inside the Bucs' 10 yardline, Gabbert had to jump on a fumble by rookie offensive lineman Robert Hainsey as he was tackled inside the endzone resulting in a safety. Tampa Bay led 13-2 with less than five minutes remaining in the first half.
Gabbert bounced back on his third drive of the game, which resulted in a Bucs' field goal following the interception forced by Delaney. Tampa Bay went 24 yards in 53 seconds before halftime as rookie kicker Jose Borregales nailed a 36-yard field goal putting the Bucs up 16-2 at the half.
In the second half with the majority of the starters out, Houston would outscore Tampa Bay 14-7. Trask opened the third quarter as the Bucs' quarterback but would fumble the ball deep inside Bucs' territory.
Taking advantage of the field position, Houston would score with one single play, an 11-yard pass from Davis Mills to Nico Collins. Trask rebounded on his second drive of the game as he went on to complete his first touchdown pass in the NFL. The rookie quarterback finished the game completing 12-of-14 passes for 146 yards and the score.
Rookie linebacker K.J. Britt totaled eight tackles, five of which were solo, while first-round pick Joe Tryon-Shoyinka forced a strip-sack midway through the fourth quarter showing off why the Bucs selected him with the 32nd overall pick. Tryon-Shoyinka had two quarterback hits to go along with five total tackles.
Although Tampa Bay only outgained Houston 353 yards to 324 yards, Tampa Bay's defense came up big multiple times on fourth down. The Texans finished the game converting only 2-of-6 fourth-down attempts. In the red zone, Houston only converted two-out-of-four times as well.
With the preseason wrapped up, Tampa Bay will now shift its focus to week one. The Bucs open the 2012 NFL regular season in just over a week at home vs. the Dallas Cowboys on Sept. 9.
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