Buccaneers win close one with Cardinals to preserve NFC South lead

It was a tight contest, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Arizona Cardinals 20-17 on Sunday, maintaining a slim lead over the NFC South after the Carolina Panthers beat the Los Angeles Rams.

The Bucs' offense and defense had some lapses, but overall, they made enough plays to get the win. Here's how it went down in Tampa Bay:

No team scores in the first quarter

The Buccaneers had the ball first, but two false starts and a drop by Emeka Egbuka on third down caused them to punt back to the Cardinals on their first offensive drive. The Cardinals led a huge drive that took up most of the first quarter soon after, but quarterback Jacoby Brissett threw a ball that got tipped by Jamel Dean and picked off by Antoine Winfield Jr. to get the Bucs the ball back.

The Bucs couldn't do anything with the turnover, though, and they were set to punt the ball away to the Cardinals at the end of the first quarter.

Bucs get it going in the second quarter

The Cardinals went three-and-out to start the second quarter, and the Bucs led a commanding drive that took up 5:13 of clock, but Chris Godwin dropped a touchdown pass from Baker Mayfield in the red zone that forced the Bucs to settle for three, going up 3-0 on the Cardinals.

The Cardinals went three-and-out again, and the Buccaneers led another long drive that took almost the entirety of the half. Amazingly, Baker Mayfield found Tristan Wirfs for a touchdown pass, getting Wirfs his first catch and his first touchdown as an NFL player. That put the Bucs up 10-0, and the Cardinals used the remaining minute and a half to march down the field and kick a field goal to make it 10-3.

Buccaneers stay out in front in third quarter

The Cardinals started off on the wrong foot, turning the ball over to the Bucs on a fumble to start the second half, but the Bucs went three-and-out in response. The Cardinals took a long drive, but they ended up missing a field goal at the 33-yard line to keep the score 10-3.

The Buccaneers responded with a 3:50 drive that ended when Bucky Irving ran 13 yards for a score to put the Buccaneers up 17-3. The Cardinals struck back though, leading a 3:25 drive that ended with running back Zonovan Knight catching a touchdown pass from Brissett to put the score at 17-10.

The Buccaneers had the ball when the third quarter ended, looking to widen the gap.

Buccaneers hold on in the fourth

The Cardinals led a long drive once again, but they went for it on 4th & 1 after burning five minutes off the clock and couldn't convert, giving the ball back to the Buccaneers offense. The Buccaneers couldn't get a touchdown in response, but they did kick a 57-yard field goal to make the score 20-10.

The Cardinals retaliated, driving down the field and capping their drive with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Trey McBride. That narrowed the lead 20-17, and the Bucs had the chance to put the game within 10 once again on their next offensive drive.

They could not, punting back to the Cardinals with exactly two minutes left in the game. The Cardinals couldn't do anything with that final drive, though, throwing incomplete on a third down they needed, so the Bucs ran the clock out and went home with the win.

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