Dolphins Left Standing In Slugfest With Tampa Bay

NFL News - November 15th, 2009 - Written by John

Josh Freeman almost pulled off another improbable comeback in his second-career start, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' defense came up short in a 25-23 loss to the inter-state rival Miami Dolphins.

The Bucs took their first lead of the game with 1:14 left when Cadillac Williams finished off his team's final drive with a one-yard touchdown that made it 23-22. But Miami answered right back, driving the length of the field to set up a Dan Carpenter chip-shot to clinch the game.

Chad Henne had his second aha moment to set up the score. He directed a 77-yard drive in the last 1:10 to win the game.

It was the first time in the last four meetings that the Miami Dolphins beat Tampa Bay. They needed Ricky Williams' first 100-yard performance of the season, and four field goals from Carpenter to do it. Williams was able to take the bulk of the carries after Ronnie Brown became one of several key players in the NFL to leave a game with an injury.

What started as a relatively low-scoring, grinder of a game turned into an explosion of offense in the fourth quarter. The Bucs only scored six points in the first half and fell behind 19-6 at halftime. Meanwhile, the wildcat offense was off to another good day for the Dolphins early when Brown took a snap at the one-yard line and plunged it in to make it 6-3.

Later in the second quarter, Henne finally got on the board when Jason Taylor came up with a big play on defense, intercepting a Freeman pass when wideout Michael Clayton bobbled the catch. Henne took advantage of the good field position, hitting Kory Sperry for a five-yard touchdown to make it 16-6.

But the Bucs stormed back in the fourth quarter when Freeman stuck Maurice Stovall with a dart and sent him on his way to a 33-yard touchdown that cut the lead to 19-16. On the Dolphins' ensuing drive, Quincy Black stepped in front of a Henne pass to put the ball at the 26, eventually leading to Williams' one-yard plunge.

To discuss this and other NFL related stories be sure to check out our new forum at:
https://www.usaplayers.com/forums