The Buccaneers dominated the fourth quarter Sunday and scored an important victory over the Chargers, 28-21.
After trailing 14-10 at halftime, the Buccaneers took their first lead on a Lavonte David interception return in the third quarter, then scored the only 11 points of the fourth quarter. Safety Keith Tandy had an interception in the end zone with 3:04 left, and the Bucs successfully killed the clock to lock up their fourth straight win.
At 7-5, the Bucs are now tied with the Falcons atop the AFC South. The teams split their season series.
The Bucs took the lead for good with 9:01 left when Jameis Winston hit tight end Cameron Brate on a 12-yard touchdown. Winston found Mike Evans, who otherwise had a quiet day, for a two-point conversion to make it 28-21.
The Chargers only got the ball one more time and got into Tampa Bay territory before Tandy’s interception.
Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers followed David’s touchdown by throwing a 40-yard pass to Tyrell Williams for a touchdown to put the Chargers back in the lead, 21-17. It seemed the stage was set for a wild finish, but the Bucs made the biggest plays from there.
The Chargers fall to 5-7 and are probably going to miss the playoffs. All of the Chargers’ games seem to come down to the final minutes, but this time the Bucs delivered in the end.
Winston threw for 280 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Rivers threw for 225 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.