NFL: Titans Dominate Buccaneers in Preseason Matchup

TAMPA, Fla. (FNN SPORTS) – The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tennessee Titans benched their starters in their preseason matchup at Raymond James Stadium Saturday, leaving room for newer players to get much-needed reps on the field. In short, Tennessee overpowered Tampa.

First Quarter

During the Buccaneers’ second possession, quarterback Blaine Gabbert got sacked on the third down for a loss of eight yards.

Tennessee got the first score of the night with quarterback Matt Barkley’s five-yard touchdown pass to running back Mekhi Sargent with less than 20 seconds left in the first quarter, bringing the score to 7-0.

Following the Titans’ touchdown and extra point, the Buccaneers subbed in quarterback Ryan Griffin for Blaine Gabbert.

The Titans fared better in the first quarter with 68 passing yards to the Bucs’ 25 and two minutes more ball time, despite no third down conversions.

Second Quarter

Tennessee kicker Sam Ficken’s 48-yard field goal within the first few minutes of the second quarter widened the Titans’ lead to 10-0.

With 7:42 left in the first half, Bucs’ Patrick O’Connor returned the sack to Tennessee, knocking quarterback Matt Barkley back eight yards on the third down.

With 3:27 left in the first half, the Bucs finally got on the board with Ryan Succop’s 49-yard field goal on 4th down for a 10-3 score.

The Titans covered much ground in the next possession, with wide receiver Chester Rogers running the ball 81 yards. Tampa punt kicker Bradley Pinion stopping Rogers, else he would’ve made the touchdown.

To close out the half, Tennessee’s Sam Ficken successfully kicked a whopping 58-yard field goal, leaving a 13-3 score at halftime.

At halftime, the Titans continued to have a better showing, with eight first downs to Tampa’s three, 17 minutes of possession to Tampa’s 13, and 131 total yards to Tampa’s 80. The Titans were 14 of 18 on passes compared to the Bucs’ 9 of 17.

First Half Game Leaders

Between Tampa quarterbacks Gabbert and Griffin, Griffin led in the first half, being 6 of 11 on passes for 45 yards. In rushing, Tennessee’s Mekhi Sargent led with nine carries for 50 yards. Ke’Shawn Vaughn led for Tampa with six carries for 13 yards. Tennessee wide receiver Mason Kinsey led with 4 receptions for 30 yards. OJ Howard led the Bucs with 3 receptions for 24 yards.

Third Quarter

The Titans flipped the script on the Bucs at the start of third quarter. Bucs rookie quarterback Kyle Trask completed the 26-yard pass to Tanner Hudson. Tennessee safety Bradley McDougald caused Hudson to fumble the ball. cornerback Briean Boddy-Calhoun recovered the ball and ran it 42 yards for a touchdown. Even after review, the ruling on the field stood, giving Tennessee a 20-3 lead over Tampa after the extra point. Bucs head coach Bruce Arians had a heated exchange with the referee, throwing in a few colorful words when the ruling stood.

The Titans all but secured their victory with another touchdown in the final two minutes of the third, with quarterback Logan Woodside’s 23-yard deep left pass to wide receiver Dez Fitzpatrick for the score. The Titans towered over the Bucs at 27-3 after the extra point.

Fourth Quarter

In the fourth quarter, Tampa rookie quarterback Kyle Trask fumbled the ball in an attempt to scramble for yardage. Wide receiver TJ Simmons Jr. recovered the ball, but that play cost the Bucs ten yards. To make matters worse, on third down, Tennessee safety Clayton Geathers intercepted Trask’s pass and carried it 30 yards to Tampa’s 23-yard line.

On the next play, Tennessee pulled even further ahead with Barkley’s 20-yard touchdown pass to Kinsey, making the score 34-3 after the extra point.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers remained scoreless for the rest of the fourth, ending the game with 34-3 score.

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Mellissa Thomas is Editor for Florida National News, part of the FNN News Network. | mellissa.thomas@floridanationalnews.com