Chandler Catanzaro went from zero to hero as he nailed a 59-yard field goal attempt in overtime to give the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a victory over the Cleveland Browns.
First Quarter
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense began the game by forcing five straight punts from the Browns in new defensive coordinator Mark Duffner’s debut as defensive coordinator. The offense began the game slowly after allowing a safety on their first drive of the game, but finished the quarter with a 3-2 lead.
Second Quarter
The second quarter began with a touchdown run from DeSean Jackson. The defense continued to shut down the Cleveland offense as the Browns entered the locker room with no offensive points in the first half. Lavonte David preserved the first half shutout by forcing a Baker Mayfield fumble inside the Tampa Bay red zone on the final Browns possession. The Buccaneers led 16-2 heading into halftime.
Third Quarter
After the second half kickoff, Jameis Winston fumbled and the Browns recovered again near the Tampa Bay red zone. This time, David Njoku was able to put Cleveland’s offense on the scoreboard with a touchdown reception. The Buccaneers closed out the quarter strong though, adding two sacks and another touchdown. The touchdown came on a Ronald Jones two yard run, the first touchdown of his career and the first rushing touchdown by a Buccaneers running back this season.
Fourth Quarter
Cleveland made things interesting down the stretch. Nick Chubb barreled his way into the end zone from one yard away to reduce the Browns deficit to 16-23. On the next Browns possession after a Buccaneers punt, the Browns drove 75 yards, but fell just shy of the end zone on a fourth down quarterback sneak that would have tied the game.
Taking over inside their own one yard line, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers punted the ball back to the Browns after just three plays. Jabrill Peppers returned the punt to the Tampa Bay 16-yard line where. On the next play, Jarvis Landry capitalized for the touchdown to tie the game.
The Buccaneers began their final drive of the fourth quarter on their own 25-yard line. Jameis Winston led a 52-yard drive to put Catanzaro into field goal range. On the drive, Winston connected with three different receivers. Catanzaro missed the potential game winning field goal from 40 yards away to send the game into overtime.
Overtime
The Browns received the opening kickoff of overtime and punted it away after three plays. A few plays later, Jameis Winston threw an interception that gave Cleveland the ball back near midfield. Then, the Buccaneers defense stood tall to give the offense the ball back with a little over 4:00 remaining. The offense gained two yards and punted the ball away to Jabrill Peppers, who then fumbled the punt back to Tampa Bay with 3:12 to go near midfield.
Tampa Bay proceeded to go on a drive that netted seven yards. On fourth down at the Browns 42 yard-line, Catanzaro trotted out on the field to for an opportunity to win the game again. This time, he was able to make it from 59 yards away to push the Buccaneers record to 3-3 on the season.
Jameis Winston finished the game with 365 yards and one interception as well as a rushing touchdown. Mike Evans led the team with 107 receiving yards on seven receptions.
For Cleveland, Baker Mayfield finished with 215 yards and two touchdown passes. Jarvis Landry led the Browns in receiving yards with 97 yards and a touchdown.
Next Sunday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers travel to Cincinnati to take on the Bengals.
Cleveland travels to Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers.
