Cardinals 13, Buccaneers 10
TAMPA - The Cardinals overcame a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat Tampa Bay 13-10, handing the Buccaneers their third last-minute loss in a 0-4 opening month of the 2013 season.
Kicker Jay Feely hit a game-winning 27-yard field goal with 1 minute, 30 seconds left, capping off Arizona's final flurry. The Cardinals scored 10 points in the final four minutes, sparked by the first of two interceptions thrown by Buccaneers rookie quarterback Mike Glennon, who was making his first career NFL start.
Cornerback Patrick Peterson picked off Glennon deep in Bucs territory with just over three minutes left, returning it to the 13-yard line. One play later, quarterback Carson Palmer connected with Larry Fitzgerald for a touchdown, tying the game at 10-10.
After a punt, Palmer put Arizona in field goal range with a sideline pass to Jaron Brown, and an unsportsmanlike penalty on Bucs safety Dashon Goldson.
Glennon, the third-round pick out of North Carolina State, completed 24-of-43 passes for 193 yards and a touchdown, giving the Bucs a 10-point halftime lead, but his late-game blunders proved costly.
The Buccaneers' defense did its part, forcing three turnovers. Defensive tackle Gerald McCoy recovered a Rashard Mendenhall fumble on the second, setting up a Bucs score. Taking over on Arizona's 41-yard-line, Glennon led the Bucs on a 41-yard scoring drive, capped by an 8-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Mike Williams with just over six minutes left in the first quarter.
The Cardinals appeared focused on stopping Pro Bowl running back Doug Martin, who was held to just 45 yards on 27 carries. Glennon managed the game in the early going, leading the Bucs to 13 first-half first downs.
Backed up on his own 7-yard line with just under five minutes left in the half, Glennon moved the Bucs 61 yards in 13 plays, including key completions to Williams and tight end Tim Wright, setting up a 50-yard field goal by Rian Lindell, making it 10-0 with 32 seconds left in the half.
The Cardinals looked like they were going to battle back in the second half, but two interceptions by Palmer in Buccaneers' territory proved costly. The Cardinals put their best drive together in the third quarter, featuring three catches by Fitzgerald and 82 yards passing by Palmer, getting inside the Bucs 15-yard-line.
But Bucs rookie cornerback Johnthan Banks made a spectacular, leaping interception in the end zone, the first of his career, to thwart the threat. The Cardinals were again driving late in the third quarter, at the Bucs 33-yard line, when Darrelle Revis picked off a Palmer pass intended for Fitzgerald near the left sideline.
The Cardinals finally got on the scoreboard four minutes into the fourth quarter, with a 42-yard field goal by Feely, set up by a Martin fumble near mid-field.
NOTES: Bucs QB Josh Freeman, benched this week in favor of rookie QB Mike Glennon, was inactive for Sunday's game. ... S Mark Barron left the game with a hamstring injury and didn't return. ... Cardinals LB Vic So'oto left in the first half and was getting evaluated for a potential concussion. ... Cardinals DT Dan Williams missed the second straight game due to the death of his father. Cardinals S Rashad Johnson, who lost the tip of his left middle finger in last week's game, was inactive Sunday.
