Buccaneers...17 Cardinals...10

TAMPA, Fla. -- An old, trusty ally has shown up in support of Tampa Bay’s bid to get back to the playoffs.

Stingy defense was the team’s hallmark for most of the last decade, and it was the key as the Buccaneers surpassed their victory total for last season with a 17-10 win over the Arizona Cardinals.

Jeff Garcia threw a 37-yard touchdown pass to Joey Galloway, while Earnest Graham scored on a two-yard run and had his first 100-yard rushing performance as a pro for the Buccaneers (5-4), whose 4-12 record a year ago was the franchise’s worst since 1991.

Arizona, averaging 337.3 yards per game, finished with a season-low 195 but still had a chance to force overtime with 2:39 to go.

The hopes for a comeback ended when Kurt Warner’s deep sideline throw was intercepted by Jermaine Phillips, who appeared to only get one foot down before going out of bounds.

The Cardinals (3-5) were out of timeouts, though, and couldn’t challenge the play.

Quoteworthy: “We keep fighting and finding ways to do it. It doesn’t look pretty.” -- Jeff Garcia, Buccaneers quarterback