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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
PONTIAC, Mich. (AP) -- Everybody in the NFL knows what the Tampa
Bay Buccaneers want to do. Stopping them is another matter.
|  | | Tampa Bay fullback Mike Alstott rushed for 68 yards and one touchdown on 21 carries as the Bucs romped past Detroit. |
The Buccaneers did exactly what they wanted, without much
resistance, in their 31-10 victory over the Detroit Lions on
Sunday. Just as they did in their 41-0 win over Chicago at home
last week.
Tampa Bay, undefeated after three games for just the second time
since 1979, rushed for 120 yards and limited the Lions (2-1) to 17
yards on the ground. Shaun King threw a touchdown pass and rushed
for a score. Warren Sapp led the harassment of Detroit's Charlie
Batch with three of Tampa Bay's seven sacks.
The Buccaneers want to run the ball right at teams while mixing
in a pass here or there. On defense, they want to shut down the run
so teams are forced into obvious passing situations.
That was the formula for success in the Buccaneers' run to the
NFC Championship game last season, and they're hoping it will lead
them to the Super Bowl.
"We don't try to trick teams, we just want to beat them,"
safety John Lynch said. "A lot of teams try to be deceptive with
new schemes each week, but then they end up fooling themselves
because they're not fundamentally sound with what they want to
do."
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TOM DONAHOE'S BREAKDOWN |
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This was an absolutely impressive performance by Tampa Bay. The Bucs gave up a gift touchdown at the end of the first half on a "Hail Mary" type pass. But if you take that away, you can see the domination of Tampa Bay -- it really was a 31-3 game.
The Bucs have improved offensively. They're still not a juggernaut, but they're a better offense. They've shown they're capable of moving the ball and scoring points. Because of that, they're becoming a complete football team.
Their defense, if it's not the best in the league, is in the top three. And when you couple that with an offense led by a still-developing young quarterback in Shaun King, a good rushing attack with Mike Alstott and Warrick Dunn, and a receiver like Keyshawn Johnson, you've got the makings of a team with few weaknesses. This was Keyshawn's best game, and you can see that he's getting more comfortable in the offense.
It's a disappointing loss for Detroit; the Lions are tough to beat in the Silverdome. They beat some quality teams last year at home and thought they had a chance against the Bucs.
But what hurt was the Lions' inability to get their running game going. James Stewart had just 13 yards on eight carries, and that put too much pressure on Charlie Batch in only his second game back from a knee injury. Batch still isn't as sharp as he'll be later in the season.
But give credit to Tampa Bay. The Bucs have established themselves after three weeks as one of the premier teams in football and certainly one of the teams to beat in the NFC.
When you look at last year's NFC Championship Game teams, the Bucs have made more strides on offense than the Rams have on defense. Last year, the clear strengths for each team were the Rams' offense and the Bucs' defense. They're both still strong. But on the other side of the ball, the Bucs have improved more by far.
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Tampa Bay beat Detroit in the Silverdome for only the second
time in eight visits. King was 18-of-30 for 211 yards. Mike Alstott ran for 68 yards
and a touchdown on 21 carries. Keyshawn Johnson caught eight passes
for 84 yards.
Batch, in his second game of the season, was 26-of-36 for 277
yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. James Stewart
gained just 13 yards on eight carries, while Germane Crowell had
six receptions for 93 yards.
"We knew it was going to be physical, and we just weren't up to
it," Batch said. "They physically dominated us all game. You
can't let a team like that dictate what you are going to do. We
couldn't run, and they just teed off on us."
Desmond Howard's returns and the Lions' stingy defense weren't
enough this week, as they were in the first two.
"I apologize to our fans -- they deserve better than that,"
Detroit coach Bobby Ross said. "That was just an old-fashioned
butt-kicking."
Special-teams plays led to the first two scores of the game.
Detroit's Jason Hanson kicked a 38-yard field goal on the first
possession of the game. Howard set up the score with a 63-yard
kickoff return.
King gave Tampa Bay a 7-3 lead on a 6-yard draw. Four plays
earlier, Karl Williams returned a punt 42 yards to Detroit's 18.
"I thought it was big holding them to a field goal," Tampa Bay
coach Tony Dungy said. "Then our offense came back and was able to
answer right away. That's something we haven't been able to do up
here."
The Bucs built a 14-3 lead on their next drive. Alstott scored
on a 4-yard run after running over safety Kurt Schulz at the 3.
Randall McDaniel, an offensive guard playing fullback, caught a
2-yard pass from King to give the Buccaneers a 21-3 lead with 2:16
left in the half, the first touchdown of his 13-year career.
"It's been in the books ever since training camp," McDaniel
said.
The Lions' offense produced a touchdown for the first time this
season as time expired in the first half. Batch heaved a 50-yard
pass to Crowell, who leaped to catch the ball in front of Brian
Kelly at the goal line.
"We were still up 11 points at the time," Sapp said. "They
still were three scores away from us and you just knew that wasn't
going to happen."
Tampa Bay went ahead 24-10 on its first possession of the second
half during a bizarre drive, which lasted 19 plays and 9:31 and
ended with Martin Gramatica's 24-yard field goal.
Warrick Dunn added a 1-yard touchdown run with 5:39 remaining.
Game notes
Detroit lost three starters to injury. Pro-Bowl linebacker
Stephen Boyd left for the second straight week with a back injury,
and cornerback Terry Fair missed the last three quarters with a
hyperextended right knee. Both players will be re-evaluated during
the week, while offensive lineman Aaron Gibson (concussion) is
expected to be fine. ... Before missing a 34-yarder in the second
quarter, Hanson hadn't missed a field goal of less than 40 yards
since late in the 1997 season. He is 133-of-138 in his career from
inside 40 yards, but four of the five misses have come against
Tampa Bay. ... Tampa Bay's 72 points against Chicago and Detroit
are the biggest two-game total in team history. ... Gramatica left
briefly after being injured while tackling Howard, but quickly
returned.
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ALSO SEE
NFL Scoreboard
Tampa Bay Clubhouse
Detroit Clubhouse
Week 3 wrap-ups
Week 3 infirmary report
TJ's Take on Week 3
Week 3 stats leaders
Prime Time Players
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Keyshawn Johnson says the Bucs were able to convert on third down.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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