Defense Clamps Down On Panthers Runners
Anwar Richardson, The Tampa Tribune, published 11 December 2005

From the looks of the Carolina Panthers' first five plays, it appeared running against the Bucs wouldn't be that difficult. Panthers running back DeShaun Foster had 30 yards on four carries, and even though his team eventually punted, the Bucs seemed to be making a major defensive withdrawal on the road at Bank of America Stadium. Just when it seemed like the Bucs defense was about to be punished, they put the Panthers' running game in time out for the entire afternoon.

Tampa Bay (9-4) held Foster to 14 carries for 46 yards, while Stephen Davis did not fare much better with 23 yards on four carries, as the defensive unit guided the team to a 20-10 victory. The win avenged Tampa Bay's only divisional loss and moved it into a tie atop the NFC South. "We had some good adjustments after the opening series. Our guys pounded the rock today. They played hard and we're talented there," Bucs coach Jon Gruden said. "We have players over there who can tackle, read schemes and hit the run pretty good and we did that."

Those players held the Panthers (9-4) to 82 yards on 20 rushing attempts, plus only two of 11 successful third-down conversions. Tampa Bay also successfully established a defensive presence with several punishing hits against Carolina - including free safety Will Allen's devastating hit against Panthers receiver Steve Smith - as the Bucs dictated the tempo from beginning to end.

Ellis Wyms pressured Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme in the first quarter and caused a fumble by knocking the ball out his hands. The Panthers recovered, but it became evident the Bucs defense could limit the Carolina offense. "They came in and beat us, plain and simple. They played better than us today," Delhomme said. "We started off well. The first drive was nice. We were going. We got down there and didn't get any points off of it. We never got anything mustered after that. We were awful on third down today and I think that was the key. We were pathetic."

Tampa Bay showed its defensive prowess on Carolina's first possession in the third quarter. On the second play of that drive, Delhomme threw a 7-yard pass to Foster, who was drilled by safety Jermaine Phillips. Foster left the game in pain and was replaced by Davis, who made noise with 20 yards on his carry before eventually being silenced by Bucs nose tackle Chris Hovan.

The Panthers faced third-and-2 on Tampa Bay's 39 when Davis took a handoff and was stopped for no gain by Hovan. Carolina decided against punting and went for it on fourth down, but Hovan once again stopped Davis. "We calmed down and just ran our defense," said Hovan, a first-year Buc who was a five-year starter for Minnesota. "That's the veteran leadership of this team. I've never been around a group of guys like this who stepped up to the occasion. I can't say enough about our coaches and our defensive unit. We had a different mentality in this game [than the first Carolina game] and believed we were going to win. Guys are making plays when afforded the opportunity and that is what championship teams do."