TAMPA BAY BEATS BRONCOS, 24-17 

At least they made it interesting at the end.  

The Denver Broncos scored the final two touchdowns to close to within 24-17
in the final minute, but failed to recover the onside kickoff and the
Buccaneers were able to run out the clock to preserve a victory they had in
hand at 24-3 earlier in the fourth quarter. Tampa Bay won its first game of
the year to move to 1-2 in the NFC West, while Denver fell to 0-3 in the AFC
East.  

Totally dominated for most of the game, the Broncos got off the carpet with a
7-yard touchdown pass from Brian Griese to Dwayne Bowe with just under nine
minutes remaining in the game to close the score to 24-10. The touchdown
ended a fine 11-play drive of 71 yards engineered by Brian Griese, with the
QB completing 5 of 7 for 45 yards on the march. Four Ricky Williams runs
gained 31 yards on the drive.  

After forcing a Tampa Bay punt with four minutes left, the Broncos were able
to march 73 yards in 16 plays, with Griese finding secondary receiver Nate
Washington from five yards out for the score with just 37 seconds left to cut
the Tampa lead to 24-17. Griese completed 7 of 10 on that final Bronco
possession, for 50 yards. The remaining 23 yards came on six runs by Lendale
White, who finished with 64 yards on the ground.  

For most of the game, the Broncos were stifled when it counted, with Tampa
Bay jumping to a 21-0 first half lead as Kerry Collins carved them up in the
passing game. Collins completed 20 of 23 for the contest, throwing touchdown
passes of two and nine yards to tight end Jeff King. The Buccaneers other
touchdown came on a five yard run by Stephen Jackson, the MVP of the contest
with 12 rushes for 70 yards and seven receptions for another 55 yards.  

Two Griese passes picked off by the Tampa Bay defense in the first half led
directly to 14 points for the Bucs. The Broncos first drive was ended when
Griese was picked off at the Buc 23 yard line, denying the Broncos even a
field goal attempt. Jackson's five yard touchdown run ended the ensuing Tampa
Bay drive of 45 yards. The Broncos second possession was ended by star inside
linebacker Patrick Willis, who picked off Griese at the Tampa Bay four yard
line, ending the Broncos best drive until the fourth quarter after nine plays
and 64 yards. The Buccaneers then drove 96 yards in 13 plays to take a 21-0
lead late in the first half.  

Post Game Notes: Dwayne Bowe caught 10 passes for exactly 100 yards to lead
both teams in receptions and yardage. Ricky Williams had 64 yards from
scrimmage, the same total as backfield mate Lendale White, but Ricky did it
with 42 on the ground and another 22 on receptions. Griese completed 27 of 35
for 276 yards but the two picks were crucial in deciding the outcome. Willis
starred on defense for the Bucs, with 14 tackles, a pass defensed, and a
stuff in addition to the big interception in the second quarter. For the
Broncos, linebackers Ernie Sims and Will Witherspoon did the bulk of the
heavy lifting, as each had 11 tackles in the contest. The Broncos won most of
the stats of the game, with nearly one hundred more yards than Tampa Bay, but
losing the turnover battle cost the Broncos a chance at a win. Three rookie
receivers for the Broncos have contributed 20 receptions in the first three
games to the Broncos cause, with H-Back Tom Santi (9-90) leading the group.
Wideout Devin Thomas has caught seven for 65 and scored once, while
Jermichael Finley (4-39) probably has the biggest upside of the three, as he
is extremely talented but also more than a little immature at just 21. If the
Broncos can harness his talent, they could have a dominating talent for the
next ten years.