SportsDirect Inc. staff
Sep 18, 2011
LeGarrette Blount found the end zone with 31 seconds left and finished with 71 yards and two touchdowns as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers dominated the second half to pull out a 24-20 victory over the host Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.
Josh Freeman completed 22 of 31 passes for 243 yards and a score for the Buccaneers, who bounced back from a season-opening loss in Week 1.
Trailing 20-17 with 4:12 left, Tampa Bay (1-1) got the ball back on its own 39-yard line and needed nine plays to take the lead. Freeman completed 5 of 6 passes on the drive before turning around and handing it to Blount for the last 4 yards.
Adrian Peterson finished with 120 yards on 25 carries for Minnesota (0-2).
The Vikings took a 17-0 lead into the half thanks to a pair of rushing touchdowns by Peterson and a defensive effort that limited the Buccaneers to 53 yards before the break.
Tampa Bay turned those numbers around in the third quarter, allowing Minnesota a total of one yard over its first two drives while cashing in on offense with Blount’s 27-yard touchdown run and a 36-yard field goal that cut it to 17-10 heading to the fourth.
The Vikings got on the board again with a field goal early in the fourth, but Freeman’s 25-yard hookup with Arrelious Benn brought Tampa Bay within three.
Donovan McNabb was 18 of 30 for 220 yards for Minnesota.