CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Jameis Winston threw for 208 yards and a touchdown, Tampa Bay held Cam Newton in check and came up with a late goal-line stand and the Buccaneers beat the Carolina Panthers 20-14 on Thursday night to give Coach Bruce Arians his first victory with the team.
Chris Godwin had eight catches for 121 yards and a touchdown, Peyton Barber ran for 82 yards and a score and the Bucs won despite converting only 2 of 12 first downs in the game that was delayed 25 minutes in first quarter because of lightning in the area.
Newton finished with 324 yards passing, but was held without a touchdown for the second consecutive game. He also fumbled again.
Newton couldn't get the Panthers (0-2) into the end zone on the final drive despite numerous breaks. On fourth down play from the 2, the Bucs stopped Christian McCaffrey after he took a snap out of the Wildcat formation to take over on downs.
The Buccaneers (1-1) got plenty of pressure on Newton with three sacks coming from Shaquil Barrett. They also held McCaffrey to 53 total yards from scrimmage after he racked up 209 yards and two touchdowns in the season opener against the Los Angeles Rams.
The Panthers failed to reach the end zone, only scoring on Joey Slye's four field goals and a safety by Luke Kuechly. They are 0-2 for the first time since the 2013 season.
There were a few bizarre plays on the final drive, including a pass reception where D.J. Moore appeared to make a catch before the first-down marker. But when one official threw the ball to another to be spotted for the next play, the ball appeared to be moved ahead nearly a yard forward and the Panthers were given a first down without a measurement.
A short while later, Bucs cornerback Carlton Davis was flagged for a facemask penalty after a reception by Curtis Samuel, giving the Panthers a first down at the Bucs' 11.
And then the Bucs were called for a delay of game for calling two consecutive timeouts.
Despite all of that, the Panthers still couldn't score on a fourth and 1 from the 2. McCaffrey took the direct snap, faked a reverse to Samuel and raced to the outside looking for the end zone, but was shoved out of bounds.
"We felt good about the play, and at least picking up the first down," Panthers Coach Ron Rivera said.
After fielding plenty of questions about only attempting only one pass of more than 20 yards downfield in the season opener against the Los Angeles Rams, Newton connected on a 44-yard strike to Curtis Samuel late in the first quarter. It was one of a handful of deep balls the quarterback threw.
After fumbling his first two punt return attempts, Ray-Ray McCloud was greeted with jeers as he fielded his third punt cleanly. But the jeers quickly turned to cheers when McCloud raced up the middle of the field for a 39-yard return.
Panthers first round draft pick Brian Burns recorded his first career sack in the second quarter.
Tampa Bay 3 7 7 3 -- 20
Carolina 3 6 3 2 -- 14
First Quarter
TB--FG Gay 40, 5:36.
Car--FG Slye 32, 2:52.
Second Quarter
Car--FG Slye 37, 8:26.
TB--Godwin 20 pass from Winston (Gay kick), 1:20.
Car--FG Slye 54, :00.
Third Quarter
Car--FG Slye 51, 7:51.
TB--Barber 16 run (Gay kick), 4:20.
Fourth Quarter
Car--safety, 13:21.
TB--FG Gay 32, 2:26.
Attendance--71,101
TB Car First downs 16 20
Total Net Yards 289 352
Rushes-yards 31-100 19-39
Passing 189 313
Punt Returns 3-21 4-39
Kickoff Returns 0-0 1-21
Interceptions Ret. 0-0 0-0
Comp-Att-Int 16-25-0 25-51-0
Sacked-Yards Lost 3-19 3-20
Punts 6-49.2 5-50.6
Fumbles-Lost 1-0 3-1
Penalties-Yards 12-66 5-50
Time of Possession 33:53 26:07
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Tampa Bay, Barber 23-82, Winston 4-9, R.Jones 4-9. Carolina, McCaffrey 16-37, Samuel 1-2, Newton 2-0.
PASSING--Tampa Bay, Winston 16-25-0-208. Carolina, Newton 25-51-0-333.
RECEIVING--Tampa Bay, Godwin 8-121, Evans 4-61, Brate 2-10, Ogunbowale 1-9, Barber 1-7. Carolina, Moore 9-89, Olsen 6-110, Samuel 5-91, McCaffrey 2-16, Wright 2-15, Hogan 1-12.
MISSED FIELD GOALS--Tampa Bay, Gay 42.
THURSDAY’S GAME
Tampa Bay 20, Carolina 14
SUNDAY’S GAMES
All times Central
Seattle at Pittsburgh, noon
Indianapolis at Tennessee, noon
Arizona at Baltimore, noon
New England at Miami, noon
LA Chargers at Detroit, noon
Dallas at Washington, noon
Jacksonville at Houston, noon
San Francisco at Cincinnati, noon
Buffalo at NY Giants, noon
Minnesota at Green Bay, noon
Kansas City at Oakland, 3:05 p.m.
Chicago at Denver, 3:25 p.m.
New Orleans at LA Rams, 3:25 p.m.
Philadelphia at Atlanta, 7:20 p.m.
MONDAY’S GAME
Cleveland at NY Jets, 7:15 p.m.
Sports on 09/13/2019