Recap: Tampa Bay vs. New England
Sports Network | August 17, 2008
Tampa, FL (Sports Network) - Luke McCown went 7-for-10 with 79 yards and a touchdown as the Tamp Bay Buccaneers downed the New England Patriots, 27-10, in preseason action.
Earnest Graham had a one-yard touchdown run while Michael Bennett added 57 rushing yards on eight carries for the Buccaneers (2-0). Matt Bryant hit a pair of field goals and all three extra-point attempts.
Tom Brady, who was expected to start, sat out the game with a foot injury and didn't make the trip with the team. Matt Cassell started under center and went 6-for-10 with 57 yards for the Patriots (0-2). Heath Evans scored the lone touchdown for New England on a one-yard score.
New England receiver Randy Moss made his preseason debut and caught two passes for 25 yards.
Graham capped a 17-play, 80-yard drive that ate up almost 10 minutes of the clock to give Tampa Bay a 7-0 lead.
Bryant hit a 34-yard field goal and McCown hit Byron Storer on a one-yard score with a bit over one minute left in the first half to give the Bucs a 17-0 lead.
Stephen Gostkowski's 53-yard field goal as time expired in the first half got the Patriots on the board.
An errant shotgun snap on the first play of the second half was picked up by Sabby Piscitelli and he rumbled into the end zone from 24 yards out to make it a 24-3 contest.
Bryant later hit a 23-yard field goal with 7:38 left in the third quarter.
Evans' one-yard score in the fourth quarter accounted for the final score of the contest.
Also on the injury front, Tampa Bay starting quarterback Jeff Garcia has sat out both preseason contests after missing most of training camp with a sprained right calf.
