Tampa Bay entered Sunday's game
at Houston with a four-game
winning streak and designs on
clinching the title in a
mediocre NFC South division. But
the Texans were apparently not
impressed.
Sage Rosenfels passed for
three touchdowns and Andre Davis
returned the second-half kickoff
97 yards for a score as the
Texans snapped a two-game losing
streak of their own with a
relatively easy victory at
Houston.
With Carolina losing at
Jacksonville and falling to 5-8,
Tampa Bay (8-5) is still in
command in the NFC South, and
may be in a position to clinch
next week with a victory over
the Falcons.
Backup
quarterback Sage Rosenfels
passed for 209 yards and three
touchdowns to lead the Houston
Texans over Tampa Bay 28-14. The
Buccaneers ...
Pregame Previews, Storylines,
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BUCS:
The Bucs attack may vary
depending on whether Jeff Garcia
can start at QB. Either way,
look for coach Jon Gruden to be
very aggressive in his
play-calling. QB Luke McCown had
the hot hand last week at New
Orleans, completing 15 straight
passes. He will spend more time
in the pocket than Garcia, who
likes to keep plays alive with
his feet. The Bucs will try to
stretch the field with Joey
Galloway and create some running
room for RB Earnest Graham.
Defensively, the Bucs will
try to put pressure on backup QB
Sage Rosenfels, but stopping the
run is always job one for the
Bucs, which means slowing down
RB Ron Dayne, who leads the
Texans with 601 yards. DE Gaines
Adams has improved each week...FULL
STORY
TEXANS: Offensively, the
Texans look to continue to
establish that running game.
They have done a solid job of it
lately, and run defense isn't
the Bucs' strong suit. They rank
16th in the league against the
run -- as compared to fourth in
the league against the pass. The
Texans will also try to clean up
their second-half performances.
They have been starting slow and
steering quickly away from the
run game. Expect more running in
the third quarter. Despite being
in two close games in the third
quarter the past two weeks, the
Texans have carried the ball
only four times in the last two
third quarters.
Defensively, the Texans must
try to rattle the quarterback
against a stout offensive line,
which has only allowed 11 sacks
this season. They must also
shore up their run defense. They
have given up too many yards on
the ground, especially in the
second half in the last two
weeks. The defensive line needs
to return to the level it was
playing at earlier in the
season...FULL
STORY
Bucs Move One Step Closer
Centre Daily Times, PA
The Buccaneers
and Texans have met just once in
a meaningful game, a 16-3 Tampa
Bay home win during the 2003
season. The Bucs will be
traveling to Houston ...
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