Howard finally finds bigger offensive role, end zone. Eduardo Encina, Tampa Bay Times, published 11 November 2019 O.J. Howard finally found the end zone. When he scored his first touchdown of the season Sunday in the first quarter of the Bucs' 30-27 win over the Arizona Cardinals, the Bucs tight end looked at fans in the corner end zone and flexed his muscles. As Howard returned from his two-game absence due to a hamstring injury, he began to build on what's been a frustrating 2019 season. Jameis Winston targeted Howard a season-high seven times, and Howard matched his season-high with four catches, including the Bucs' second touchdown. "Yeah it was huge,” Howard said. "Sitting out two weeks, seeing my guys play hard, I just felt like it was time for me to come back and give it everything I had. I had some great opportunities, so great looks this game and made the most of it." Winston found Howard twice as the Bucs drove 75 yards just before halftime, connecting with him on a 26-yard throw over his back shoulder, and on a 10-yard touchdown pass that gave the Bucs a 17-13 lead. "O.J. stepped up," coach Bruce Arians said. "He's getting better. He's getting back in the swing of things. It's good to see him get a touchdown ball. He can still block a little better, but he's playing good." Howard entered the day with just 13 catches on 18 targets for 176 yards while watching his yards per catch average drop from 16.6 over his first two seasons to 13.5 this year. "You can just see his passion and how much he misses being out there,” Winston said. "He showed up.