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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- Shaun King stared into the bright lights of
Monday Night Football and didn't blink.
As he promised, Tampa Bay's rookie quarterback was cool, calm
and collected in his first NFL start, leading the Buccaneers to a
24-17 victory over the Minnesota Vikings in a setting almost too
good to be true.
|  | | Tampa Bay cornerback Brian Kelly upends Vikings running back Leroy Hoard. |
King grew up in nearby St. Petersburg, a 25-minute drive from
Raymond James Stadium, where 65,741 filled every seat in
anticipation of the home-grown talent's coming-out party.
"It was good. This was for the fans and all the people in
Tampa," said the rookie, who last year guided Tulane to its first
unbeaten season in 67 years. "This was our biggest game in a long
time, and it was great to get a win."
The streaking Bucs (8-4) won for the fifth straight time and
regained a share of first place in the NFC Central with the Detroit
Lions, who travel to Tampa Bay next Sunday.
The Vikings (7-5) lost for the first time since Jeff George
replaced Randall Cunningham at quarterback six weeks ago and
dropped a game behind the division co-leaders with Green Bay.
King, a second-round draft pick pressed into duty because of
injuries to Trent Dilfer and Eric Zeier, threw second-half
touchdown passes to Jacquez Green and Dave Moore to overcome a 14-10 halftime deficit.
George rallied the Vikings from a 10-0 deficit in the second
quarter, throwing a 1-yard TD pass to Cris Carter and using a
fumble by King to get Minnesota into the end zone on Leroy Hoard's
1-yard run.
Carter caught a touchdown pass for the seventh straight game,
tying a Vikings record set last year by Randy Moss. But with
Minnesota trailing 24-14, all George could produce was Gary
Anderson's 34-yard field goal with 5:50 remaining.
Donnie Abraham returned one of his two a 55-yard interception
return for Tampa Bay, which forced four turnovers, including a
fourth-quarter fumble on a punt return that set up King's 1-yard TD
pass to Moore for a 10-point lead.
George finished 26-of-45 for 271 yards, one touchdown and two
interceptions. He moved the Vikings from his own 30 to the Tampa
Bay 25 before the drive stalled with 16 seconds to go.
During the five-game winning Tampa Bay snapped, Minnesota
averaged 30 points.
"When a top offense meets a top defense, if you don't do a lot
of things right, the defense will win," Minnesota coach Dennis
Green said. "That's the kind of game it was."
King was 11-of-19 for 93 yards, two TDs, an interception and a
fumble.
"Shaun did a good job of taking what was available," Bucs
coach Tony Dungy said. "He's one of the most composed guys on the
team. He missed a couple of reads, but he's not going to get
rattled."
The Bucs led 7-0 before King got on the field, scoring on
Abraham's fourth interception in three games and the second he's
returned for a touchdown.
That was just the start of the Vikings' problems against Tampa
Bay's defense, which caused 18 turnovers in their last five games
after only forcing six in the first seven weeks of the season.
Hoard fumbled on Minnesota's second possession at the Bucs 33,
and Anderson's 46-yard field goal attempt sailed wide right after
George marched from his 23 to the Tampa Bay 27 the third time the
Vikings had the ball.
Abraham's second interception, on a badly underthrown ball
intended for Moss in the end zone, stopped another promising drive
with the Bucs clinging to the 10-0 lead they took on Martin
Grammatica's 20-yard field goal early in the second quarter.
That turned out to be Tampa Bay's last hurrah, though the
defense was hardly to blame.
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GAME NOTES |
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Shaun King became the eighth rookie to start a game in his rookie season for Tampa Bay. He's the second to win in his debut, joining Steve Young.
The crowd of 65,741 was a record for the Bucs' two-year-old stadium.
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Chris Doleman sacked King, forcing a fumble that John Randle recovered at the Bucs' 22 to set up Minnesota's first touchdown, a 1-yard run by Hoard.
Tampa Bay challenged both plays under the NFL's instant replay
rule, arguing that King's arm was moving forward before he was hit
and that Hoard was stopped short of the end zone before stretching
the ball out over the goal line.
Both appeals were denied, costing the Bucs two timeouts and
fueling Minnesota's momentum. Seven minutes later, Tampa Bay's Karl
Williams muffed the catch on a punt return and Antonio Banks
recovered to set up Carter's TD for a 14-10 halftime lead.
King made his pro debut at Seattle last week, replacing Dilfer
after the starter broke his right collarbone. He ended the Bucs'
drought of eight quarters without an offensive touchdown against
the Seahawks, but couldn't get his team into the end zone against
the NFL's 30th-ranked defense until a 29-yard TD pass to Green
midway through the third quarter.
"I just got great protection from the offensive line. ... I
just threw it up and Jacquez made a great catch," King said. "We
tried to smash it in, but we couldn't do it. So, we went to the
passing game and he made a great catch."
Tampa Bay rushed for 246 yards in handing the Vikings their only
regular season defeat a year ago. But with Warrick Dunn sidelined
by a sprained left ankle, Mike Alstott carried the entire load this time, finishing with 95 yards on 23 carries.
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ALSO SEE
NFL Scoreboard
Minnesota Clubhouse
Tampa Bay Clubhouse
Rookie QB is King of Tampa Bay
Bucs RB Dunn doesn't play against Vikings
Week 13 wrap-ups
Week 13 infirmary report
TJ's Take on Week 13
PrimeTime Players
Week 13 stats leaders
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Shaun King is happy about his performance.
wav: 77 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Hardy Nickerson knows the Bucs are playing well.
wav: 123 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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