Washington Commanders vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers Match Player Stats On Aug 31, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Aug 31, 2017

Josh Harvey-Clemons returned an interception 41 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter and Dustin Hopkins kicked two field goals as the Washington Redskins defeated the host Tampa Bay Buccaneers 13-10 on Thursday.

The Bucs had not had a touchdown pass in the preseason and had reached the end zone only twice entering Thursday's game.

But that bleak streak was snapped when Sefo Liufau tossed a 10-yard touchdown pass to Bernard Reedy late in the fourth quarter to cut the Redskins' lead to a field goal.

Tampa Bay's Bobo Wilson caught a 40-yard pass from Liufau, fell to the ground and raced another 20 yards to the end zone in the third quarter. But after a replay review, it was ruled Liufau had been touched down by the Redskins.

Nate Sudfeld, a second-year pro from Indiana, got the start at quarterback for the Redskins ahead of Kirk Cousins and Colt McCoy and played the entire game. He was 23 of 33 passing for 228 yards.

Tampa Bay did not dress 37 players Thursday, including quarterback Jameis Winston and receivers Mike Evans and DeSean Jackson.

Bucs backup quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick started the game and played most of the first half. But he was consistently pressured and finished 2-of-7 passing for only 6 yards. He scrambled once for 3 yards.

Tampa Bay's defense didn't fare much better. The Bucs were outgained 194-40 and the Redskins had a 12-2 edge in first downs before halftime.

Tampa Bay got on the board on a 47-yard field goal by Zach Hocker with 8:33 remaining.

The Redskins provided the only scoring in the first half when Hopkins connected on a 53-yard field goal with 2:56 remaining. A touchdown run by Matt Jones was nullified by a holding penalty. Hopkins also connected from 50 yards.

Meanwhile, Tampa Bay did not cross midfield until just over 11 minutes were left in the third quarter. The drive was aided by a facemask penalty, but it ended when Hocker missed a 56-yard field goal attempt that was short and wide right.

Both teams sputtered to start the second half. Bucs linebacker Cameron Lynch forced a fumble by Redskins running back Mack Brown to end one drive near midfield.