Tampa Bay Buccaneers Tickets - Rookie Qb Leads Bucs Past Green Bay 38-28

Rookie Josh Freeman threw for 205 yards and three touchdowns and helped the Tampa

Bay Buccaneers defeat the Green Bay Packers 38-28, ending the league's longest losing streak at 11 games. Get Tapa Bay Buccaneers tickets and see Freeman throw a TD pass.

Wearing one of those ghastly creamsicle throw-back jerseys, Freeman stepped back to pass and found Sammie Stroughter for a 7-yard TD pass on fourth-and-4 for the go-ahead score. The 21-year-old Freeman said he felt relaxed, also stating, "I just played within myself, and when we had opportunities I took them." Freeman became the youngest QB to open a game for the Bucs, a team that has had 10 different players start at the position since winning the Super Bowl in 2003. He's the third quarterback to start for Tampa Bay this year.

Freeman went 14-of-31 with just one pick. A.J. Hawk could have had an interception for Green Bay (4-4), but he was called for illegal contact and the penalty wiped out the play during the Bucs' go-ahead drive. Three plays later, Freedman connected with Michael Clayton for a 29-yard TD strike. Tampa Bay (1-7) is the last team in the NFL to win its first game of the season, snapping a losing streak that was the franchise's longest since 1976-77, when they lost an NFL-record 26 in a row. Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers threw for 266 yards and two touchdowns, but also threw three interceptions. One of those picks was returned for a TD, which put the game out of reach in the final minute.

Rodgers, the NFL's top-rated passer, was also sacked six times. The quarterback expressed his frustration when he said, "I think our offense and special teams put our defense in a tough position." The Bucs trailed 21-17 at the break, but Freeman came out in the second half and threw two touchdown passes, one to Kellen Winslow and the second to Stroughter, who was wide open in the right corner of the end zone with 4:14 left of the game. Freeman's two-point conversion pass to Clayton put Tampa Bay up 31-28. The Bucs' defense, which had all its sacks in the second half, sealed the game when Tanard Jackson picked off Rodgers and sprinted 35 yards for the clinching TD.

Rodgers hooked up with James Jones for a 74-yard touchdown pass. The quarterback then led an 11-play, 69-yard march capped off with a 3-yard TD run by Ryan Grant. At that time, Green Bay led the game 14-7. Cornerback Elbert Mack, who was burned on Jones' long touchdown, returned one of Tampa Bay's interceptions 36 yards to the Packers' 8. Freeman then threw his first NFL touchdown pass to Derrick Ward.

Trailing 14-7, the Buccaneers' Geno Hayes blocked a punt and Ronde Barber picked up the ball before he ran 31 yards for his 14th career touchdown. Freeman marched his team downfield and set up a 74-yard field goal to cut Tampa Bay's deficit 21-17 at the half. Rodgers probably thought he had the game wrapped up after he scrambled 12 yards on third-and-goal to extend the lead 28-17 for the Packers, but Clifton Smith returned the ensuing kickoff 83 yards to set up Freeman's seven-yard TD pass to Winslow and ignited a comeback.

by: Brent Warnken

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