Buccaneers 20, Panthers 7
Josh Freeman threw two touchdown passes, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers took advantage of two turnovers to beat the Carolina Panthers 20-7 on Sunday at Bank of America Stadium.
Tampa Bay's defense held the Panthers to 273 total yards and kept DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart to a combined 97 yards on 25 carries. Williams had averaged 121.5 yards per game in his last four games against Tampa Bay and Stewart had averaged 115 yards in his last three games against the Bucs.
Freeman threw touchdown passes to Earnest Graham and Mike Williams to give the Buccaneers a 14-7 halftime lead. Connor Barth hit field goals from 24 and 33 yards for the only scoring in the second half.
Rookie Jimmy Clausen relieved Carolina quarterback Matt Moore in the fourth quarter and drove the Panthers (0-2) to the 1, but Stewart was stopped for a loss on fourth-and-goal.
Moore threw for 125 yards on 6-of-16 passing. He threw a 37-yard touchdown pass to Steve Smith, but also threw an interception. Clausen completed 7 of 13 passes for 59 yards and was picked off once.
Freeman completed 12 of 24 passes for 178 yards for the Buccaneers, who are 2-0 for the first time since 2005.