Tampa Bay Buccaneers Worst vs Carolina Panthers
Sep 7, 2014; Tampa, FL, USA; Carolina Panthers wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin (13) catches the ball for a touchdown as Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Mike Jenkins (24) as he was called for defensive pass interference during the second half at Raymond James Stadium. Carolina Panthers defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20-14. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers season got off to a bad start Sunday with a 20-14 home loss to their NFC South rival Carolina Panthers.
In what was an overall poor performance, there were a number of players who failed to live up to expectations.
One reason the Bucs so badly wanted McCown to be their starter was because they wanted someone at quarterback who would take the safe option and not make boneheaded plays. Well yesterday McCown did the latter twice and it cost his team 14 points. The 35-year-old was intercepted twice on plays that should never have happened. The first pick came as he was being sacked and he decided to try and throw a pass to a receiver within his vicinity but instead got intercepted by Antoine Cason. The second interception came after he fumbled the snap, picked it up, tried to spin around and throw a screen pass. Unfortunately for McCown there were four Panthers defenders in the lane and Roman Harper came up with the pick. McCown was 22-of-35 for 183 yards and did throw two touchdowns in the fourth quarter as the Bucs rallied but overall McCown was poor in his first start for the Bucs.
https://vine.co/v/Oz7eFVYauBd
The Bucs’ starting running back was shutdown all game long. He picked up a measly nine yards on nine carries and caught one pass for seven yards. To make things worse he left the game with a leg injury but did not return and wasn’t effective. Martin was also poor in pass protection to cap off a miserable opening day for the former first rounder.
Jenkins was unable to suit up for any preseason games due to injury but started Sunday. However, he never looked comfortable and had a game to forget. He allowed Kelvin Benjamin to score a fourth quarter touchdown despite the fact that Jenkins was all over the rookie wideout. Jenkins failed to turn around and Benjamin took advantage by somehow hauling in Derek Anderson’s pass. If Jenkins had turned around, something a veteran should be expected to do, he very easily could have intercepted the pass as it appeared the ball would hit him in the chest. To make matters worse he left the game with a shoulder injury and did not return.