Panthers keep Bucs winless with 28-21 victory Roy Cummings, The Tampa Tribune, published 19 October 2009 A lot has changed within the Bucs organization since the team last faced the Carolina Panthers. One thing that hasn't is the defense's inability to keep the Panthers from running the ball down its throat. The very thing that sparked the Bucs' seemingly never-ending losing streak was the very thing that kept them from seizing what may have been their best opportunity yet to break it. After rallying from 14 points down to tie the game in the fourth quarter, the Bucs could not stop a Panthers running game that gouged them for 76 yards and a touchdown on an 80-yard drive, resulting in a 28-21 loss Sunday at Raymond James Stadium. For the game, the Panthers ran through the Bucs for 267 yards, just 32 fewer than in Tampa Bay's devastating 38-23 loss at Carolina 10 games ago. The Bucs vowed in the wake of that loss to build a stronger, tougher defense, one that could stop a vaunted downhill attack like Carolina's. But Sunday's loss was just the latest indication their mission is far from accomplished. "That last drive was more of that Giants-type of physicality where you get beat up and you get overpowered," Bucs coach Raheem Morris said, referring to the 24-0 Week 3 loss in which the Bucs surrendered 226 rushing yards. "We either need to get better up front or we need to get better people," he said. "We've got to find a way to stop the run when it counts, and that last drive was one of the times it counted." That last drive counted because the Bucs finally got some of the big plays that mostly had eluded them during the first five games of this season. They got a 20-yard touchdown run from Cadillac Williams for an early 7-0 lead and a blocked field goal late in the second quarter to keep it tied at 7 at halftime. They got a 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown from backup returner Sammie Stroughter late in the third quarter and a 26-yard interception return for a touchdown from Tanard Jackson midway through the fourth. Those two scores not only erased a 14-point Carolina lead, but also shifted momentum to the Bucs. Tampa Bay's best chance yet for a victory seemed to be at hand. On the Panthers' first play from scrimmage after Jackson's touchdown, however, DeAngelo Williams ran off right guard for 5 yards. Then he ran off left end for 7 yards and a first down. Of Carolina's 15 runs on their final drive, only four gained fewer than 5 yards, and three of those came inside the Bucs' 5-yard line. Williams ran in from a yard out to produce the game-deciding score with 29 seconds left. "I want to know what the percentages are of teams that block a field goal, run back a touchdown on a kickoff and return an interception for a touchdown and lose the game," Bucs center Jeff Faine asked rhetorically. To have all of those cards stacked in our favor and still not be able to get it done and win the game, you've just got to give a lot of credit to Carolina, I guess." That's what Morris did. He was wowed by the play of the Panthers offensive line, which never stopped creating holes for its backs, no matter what defensive front the Bucs used. "We were in eight-man fronts and they were still able to run it right at us," Morris said. "Eight-man fronts, blitzes, whatever - they were able to move it. We've got to be able to beat a man physically and win there." That the Bucs weren't able to win on this particular Sunday was not solely the result of the poor play of their rush defense. The Bucs offense had a little something to do with it, too. For the second time in three weeks, first-year starting quarterback Josh Johnson opened the second half by throwing an interception that the opponent eventually turned into a score, this one a touchdown. The Bucs also missed yet another field goal try, their fifth of the year, a 43-yard attempt that fell short after a skidding snap appeared to throw off kicker Shane Andrus' timing. The Bucs also struggled with missed tackles, including one by linebacker Geno Hayes on a 20-yard touchdown run by Williams in the second quarter. Most of the misses, however, came late in the game, on a final drive in which Carolina attempted only one pass, largely because the Bucs never forced them to throw. "It wasn't the calls," Morris said after fielding a question about the number of run blitzes the Bucs tried during the game's last critical drive. "We just got physically overpowered there. "How did it happen? They wore us down. Some of (changing that) is about getting a little bigger. Some of it's about getting more physical. We did play better than we did (the last time we faced Carolina). But not enough."