Tampa Bay Buccaneers Embarrassed Again
Oct 12, 2014; Tampa, FL, USA; Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Torrey Smith (82) runs with the ball as Tampa Bay Buccaneers strong safety Mark Barron (23) defends at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Manning-USA TODAY Sports
It took a little over three hours to become official but it was realistically over after just 15 minutes.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers gave up 28 points in the first quarter and never recovered as they were hammered 48-17 by the Baltimore Ravens at Raymond James Stadium Sunday afternoon.
Joe Flacco tossed 15 and 9-yard touchdowns to Torrey Smith within the first six minutes before connecting on a 17-yard score with Kamar Aiken. Flacco then threw a 19-yard touchdown to Michael Campanaro with one second left in the quarter to effectively end the game.
It took just 51 seconds into the second quarter to make it 35-0 as Steve Smith hauled in a 56-yard score. Justin Tucker made it 38-0 Baltimore (4-2) with a field goal midway through the quarter.
Flacco threw for a career high five touchdowns while completing 21-of-29 passes for 306 yards. Despite the Bucs (1-5) defensive line getting a good pass rush, the Bucs secondary woes continued as they were outmatched in every facet of the passing game.
The Bucs fought back a little in the third quarter as Patrick Murray kicked a 47-yard field goal before Mike Glennon threw a 17-yard score to Mike Evans.
However, Bernard Pierce scampered in from 4 yards out with seven seconds left in the quarter to push the lead to 45-10.
Louis Murphy caught a touchdown early in the fourth quarter before Tucker added another field goal to complete the scoring.
Glennon was under siege all game as the Bucs offensive line was shredded by the Ravens elite pass rush. Glennon was sacked five times, hit 15 times and had little to no time to go through his reads.
The second year pro wound up throwing for a career high 314 yards but it doesn’t show how absent the Bucs offense was in the first half when they had just 101 yards of offense.
He also threw an interception on the Bucs’ first drive as he was being hit that was intercepted by Jimmy Smith and led to the Ravens’ second touchdown of the game.
Doug Martin and Bobby Rainey combined for 87 yards on the ground while Murphy had a team high 72 receiving yards.
The Bucs front seven never got to Flacco for a sack but had five tackles for loss. While the Bucs’ secondary couldn’t stop the passing game, the front seven struggled to stop the running game as Justin Forsett ran for 111 yards.
Lavonte David had a game high 14 tackles and the returning Mason Foster had eight.
The Buccaneers have next weekend off due to their bye week.