Buccaneers Finally Defeat the Panthers

CHARLOTTE, N.C. —  Tired of getting beaten over and over again by a bitter rival, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers did everything possible to end the streak.

They were physical. Used tough defense. Focused on tackling. Ran the ball right up the gut.

Everything the Carolina Panthers had done to them in five straight losses.

This time the Buccaneers came out on top, riding Carnell “Cadillac” Williams in a 20-10 victory over the Panthers on Sunday to pull into a tie with Carolina for first place in the NFC South.

“We talk about outplaying our opponents’ defense every week and the past five times we played these guys we definitely haven’t done that,” said Ronde Barber, who became the first NFL cornerback to notch 20 sacks and 20 interceptions with one of each against Carolina.

“Without a doubt, we can say we did that this time.”

Williams ran for 112 yards and two touchdowns to put the Buccaneers back in first place with a rare win over a quality opponent.

“I think this kind of showed everybody that we’re for real,” Williams said. “We’re just looking for a chance.”

Both Tampa Bay (9-4) and Carolina (9-4) have NFC South rivals Atlanta and New Orleans remaining, and the Falcons (7-5) are 1 1/2 games out of the lead heading into tonight’s game against the Saints.

“We put ourselves in a situation where we’ve got to work for three more weeks,” Carolina safety Mike Minter said. “We’ve got to go out and take care of these next three weeks like it’s the playoffs.”

Had the Panthers played that way against the Buccaneers, they’d have control of the division.

Instead, Tampa Bay used stingy defense to hold Carolina to 276 yards and end a five-game losing streak that had gotten under Coach Jon Gruden’s skin.

“We lost five in a row -- but now they’ve got a one-game losing streak,” Gruden said. “You can go ask them about that streak.”