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Season 12 - Preseason Week 3
After dropping their first two preseason games in Philadelphia and Jacksonville, the Buccaneers went back home and played host to the Cleveland Browns. Similar to the first game, the star who got action in the first quarter was Jameis Winston and he was only in for one series. He went 2-3 for 27 yards.
The first quarter was mainly the Browns on offense as they drove into the red zone but Tampa's starting defense held them to a field goal. Unluckily for the Buccaneers, rookie linebacker Davonte Bond dislocated his hip on that drive and will be out for 8 weeks. Then when the Buccs' offense took over the combo of Winston and Charles Sims III led them into enemy territory and set the second stringers up with good field position. Unfortunately T.J. Yates could not get the job done and Tampa settled for a field goal to tie the game. T.J. Yates, the former North Carolina Tar Heel, was signed after Mike Glennon went down in week 1 with a fractured foot.
Yates had every opportunity to prove he's a formidable backup to Winston in this game as they left him for the majority of the game. He did not impress though. Yates only completed 38% of his passes for 59 yards while tossing a pick as well.
One of the young guys who did impress was their second round pick, defensive end Noah Spence. Spence had a sack on the day as well as a 28 yard fumble recovery for a touchdown to put the Buccaneers up 9-3 before the half. Peyton Barber, the undrafted rookie out of Auburn, also had a good day. On 6 carries Barber totaled 90 yards and 2 touchdowns. One of his touchdown runs was a 48 yarder where he ran through 2 defenders and busted into the open field for the score. A very impressive run from the rookie who might of secured his spot on the roster with that performance.
In the 4th quarter the Browns managed to make it a one possession game but linebacker Micah Awe stepped up and made a huge play in the open field when he laid a huge hit on Duke Johnson and forced a fumble. Cornerback Josh Robinson then picked it up and ran 56 yards to the end zone to seal the deal for the Buccaneers. Micah Awe was another one of the rookies who impressed. He was all over the field making plays and picked up 8 tackles on the day along with that forced fumble. The coaching staff has noticed they might have a solid young player in Awe and have been giving him some reps with the starters in practice.
Tampa Bay ended up defending their home field and winning this one 30-20 to pick up their first preseason win. They're now 1-2 on the preseason and they'll be staying in Tampa for week 4 as the Washington Redskins come to town for the final preseason game.
Here are highlights of the game:
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