Bucs defense makes Russell Wilson’s nightmares come true in 14-5 win

The Seattle Seahawks came into their game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium as one of the hottest teams in the NFL. They came out on the losing end of a 14-5 defensive showdown.

Perhaps a sign of how the game would go happened on the Buccaneers’ first drive. They drove 78 yards on 14 plays for a touchdown, and Mike Evans had three catches and 39 yards, including the score. Evans did it on the second drive as well, becoming just the fourth player with two touchdown catches in a single quarter against the Seahawks since Pete Carroll’s arrival in 2010.

Evans had a total of eight receptions for 104 yards and two touchdowns to finish the afternoon.

But the real story was the Bucs’ defense. The Seahawks’ offensive line struggled all afternoon. In the first half, Russell Wilson was just 3 of 8 passing with 20 yards and an interception, and was sacked four times. Before the end of the half, Seahawks coaches replaced starting right tackle Garry Gilliam with Bradley Sowell.

The second half wasn’t any better for Wilson, who was sacked two more times and also threw an interception when making a last-ditch effort to get into the end zone after the two-minute warning. In total, the Buccaneers were able to get to Wilson for six sacks. Noah Spence, Gerald McCoy, Robert Ayers, Kwon Alexander, and Ryan Russell were all able to get to the Seahawks quarterback.

Wilson finished the game 17 of 33 with 151 yards and two interceptions.

Tampa Bay’s defense also forced a fumble on tight end Jimmy Graham as part of a three-takeaway effort.

The only scoring by the Seahawks on the day came from a challenge on a holding in the end zone that they won, and a field goal after receiving the ball on the ensuing punt.

Thomas Rawls has not provided the rushing that the Seahawks were hoping for in the absence of C.J. Prosise, but again, that can largely be attributed to poor offensive line play. Wilson was the team’s leading rusher on the afternoon with 80 yards on eight carries. Rawls had just 38 yards on 12 carries.

The Seahawks are still second in the NFC with the loss, but they showed a lot of what had everyone concerned about them in the first eight weeks of the season. The woes that they experienced then and on Sunday in Tampa could be attributed to the offensive line. Expect Pete Carroll and his staff to make changes going into Week 13 against the Panthers.

The Buccaneers’ victory keeps them very much alive in the NFC playoff race at 6-5, putting them just behind Washington for the sixth spot, and one game behind the 7-4 Falcons for first place in the NFC South. They’re coming off of consecutive wins against the Chiefs and Seahawks, and are over .500 for the first time since Week 1.