won their first opening day game since 2005. Week 2: at Carolina Panthers The Buccaneers took a 7–0 lead after a 14-yard touchdown pass from Josh Freeman to Earnest Graham. Carolina tied answered with Matt Moore completing a 37-yard touchdown pass to Steve Smith. Tampa Bay scored a 35-yard touchdown pass to Mike Williams to take a 14–7 lead into half time. Connor Barth scored two field goals in the second half, and Tampa Bay won 20–7. The Buccaneers defense dominated Carolina, holding Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams to 43 and 54 yards rushing, respectively. Matt Moore completed only 6 of 16 passes with one interception, while being sacked four times. Moore was benched in favor of rookie Jimmy Clausen, who was unable to rally the Panthers. Josh Freeman passed for 178 yards and two touchdowns. With the win, Tampa Bay improved to 2–0. Week 3: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers Tampa Bay took an early 3–0 lead with Connor Barth's 40-yard field goal. However, Pittsburgh dominated the remainder of the game. Mike Wallace caught two touchdown passes of 46 yards and 41 yards, respectively. The Steelers rushed for 201 yards, and routed Tampa Bay 38–13. Week 5: at Cincinnati Bengals Coming out of their bye week, the Buccaneers traveled to Cincinnati to face the Bengals. The Bengals took an early 7–0 lead after Carson Palmer threw a 43-yard touchdown pass to Terrell Owens. At the end the first quarter, the Buccaneers pinned the Bengals back at their own 6-yard line. One the first play of the second quarter, Cody Grimm intercepted Palmer, and returned the ball 11 yards for a touchdown for a 7–7 tie. A Mike Nugent 31-yard field goal gave the Bengals a 10–7 halftime lead. In the third quarter, Tampa Bay drove 80 yards for their second touchdown, and a 14–10 lead. the Bengals replied with a field goal, to trim their deficit to 14–13. Micheal Spurlock fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and the Bengals recovered deep in Tampa Bay territory. In the fourth quarter, the Bengals capitalized on the turnover. Palmer found Jermaine Gresham for a 1-yard touchdown pass (along with a successful Cedric Benson 2-point conversion run) to take a 21–14 lead. The teams traded possession twice, and with 2:28 remaining, the Bengals faced 3rd down & 8 at their own 43-yard line. Tampa Bay had no timeouts, and a first down would secure the win for