Buccaneers Get Out of Their Rut

The winless Indianapolis Colts showed some fight, but not enough to stop Tampa Bay’s Karl Williams.

Williams, a second-year receiver, had two touchdowns, set up another score with a 63-yard punt return and put Tampa Bay in position for Michael Husted’s winning field goal with eight seconds left as the Buccaneers defeated the Colts, 31-28, Sunday.

“I’ve been struggling the past couple of weeks. Really, it’s just concentrating a little more,” Williams said. “It’s 11 guys doing the job. When you have 11 guys dedicated to winning, big plays seem to happen. It just so happens it was special teams and a couple offensive plays. That’s all it took.”

That’s also all it took to keep the Colts (0-9) the only NFL team without a victory this season despite several chances to put the game away. The Buccaneers (6-3) ended a losing streak at three games.

With backup quarterback Paul Justin joining injured Jim Harbaugh on the sideline, third-stringer Kelly Holcomb made his NFL debut and rallied the Colts to a 28-21 lead early in the fourth quarter.

The Buccaneers benefited from two third-down penalties by Indianapolis on the next series and tied the score on a 24-yard pass play from Trent Dilfer to Williams.

The Colts had a chance to take the lead, but again hurt themselves with a turnover.

An interference penalty on Tampa Bay and a 12-yard run by Zack Crockett helped Indianapolis reach the Tampa Bay 5 with three minutes to go, but Holcomb fumbled and Chidi Ahanotu recovered for the Buccaneers.

The Colts got the ball back a minute later, but had to punt with 52 seconds left. This time, Williams returned the punt 21 yards to the Colt 45. Dilfer completed three consecutive passes to the 18 to set up Husted’s game-winning 36-yard field goal.