2010 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season The 2010 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season was the club ' s 35th season as a franchise in the NFL . The Buccaneers entered the season attempting to improve on their 3 – 13 record and last place finish in the NFC South in 2009 , a feat they accomplished after only six games . The Buccaneers achieved the best turnaround in franchise history and became the first team since the NFL merger in 1970 to start 10 rookies and achieve a winning season . Raheem Morris spent his second season as head coach . The Buccaneers had the third overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft , with which they selected Gerald McCoy . John McKay , the team ' s first head coach , became the second inductee into the Ring of Honor on December 5 during a game against Atlanta . McKay ' s son Rich , a former Buccaneers general manager , and current president of the Falcons , accepted the award for his late father . The Buccaneers wore throwback uniforms for the Falcons game . Despite finishing the season with a 10 – 6 record ( a seven game improvement from the year before ) , the team failed to sell out any of its home games at Raymond James Stadium . Schedule . Preseason . The Buccaneers preseason schedule was announced on March 31 , 2010 . Regular season . The Buccaneers ' schedule was announced on April 20 , 2010 . COLOR KEY & NOTES : Game summaries . Week 1 : vs . Cleveland Browns . The Tampa Bay Buccaneers began the 2010 season against the Browns . In the first quarter , Jake Delhomme completed a 41 - yard touchdown pass to Mohamed Massaquoi for a 7 - 0 lead . Buccaneers kicker Connor Barth made a 49 - yard field goal to trim the deficit to 7 - 3 . In the second quarter , the Browns increased their lead with a Peyton Hillis touchdown run . Josh Freeman completed a 3 - yard touchdown pass to Mike Williams for a 14 - 10 halftime score . The Buccaneers took the lead in the fourth quarter with Freeman ' s second touchdown pass , this time to Micheal Spurlock . The Buccaneers held the Browns scoreless in the second half and won their first opening day game since 2005 . Week 2 : at Carolina Panthers . The Buccaneers took a 7 - 0 lead after a 14 - yard touchdown pass from Josh Freeman to Earnest Graham . Carolina tied answered with Matt Moore completing a 37 - yard touchdown pass to Steve Smith . Tampa Bay scored a 35 - yard touchdown pass to Mike Williams to take a 14 - 7 lead into half time . Connor Barth scored two field goals in the second half , and Tampa Bay won 20 - 7 . The Buccaneers defense dominated Carolina , holding Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams to 43 and 54 yards rushing , respectively . Matt Moore completed only 6 of 16 passes with one interception , while being sacked four times . Moore was benched in favor of rookie Jimmy Clausen , who was unable to rally the Panthers . Josh Freeman passed for 178 yards and two touchdowns . With the win , Tampa Bay improved to 2 - 0 . Week 3 : vs . Pittsburgh Steelers . Tampa Bay took an early 3 - 0 lead with Connor Barth ' s 40 - yard field goal . However , Pittsburgh dominated the remainder of the game . Mike Wallace caught two touchdown passes of 46 yards and 41 yards , respectively . The Steelers rushed for 201 yards , and routed Tampa Bay 38 - 13 . Week 5 : at Cincinnati Bengals . Coming out of their bye week , the Buccaneers traveled to Cincinnati to face the Bengals . The Bengals took an early 7 - 0 lead after Carson Palmer threw a 43 - yard touchdown pass to Terrell Owens . At the end the first quarter , the Buccaneers pinned the Bengals back at their own 6 yard line . One the first play of the second quarter , Cody Grimm intercepted Palmer , and returned the ball 11 yards for a touchdown for a 7 - 7 tie . A Mike Nugent 31 - yard field goal gave the Bengals a 10 - 7 halftime lead . In the third quarter , Tampa Bay drove 80 yards for their second touchdown , and a 14 - 10 lead . the Bengals replied with a field goal , to trim their deficit to 14 - 13 . Micheal Spurlock fumbled the ensuing kickoff , and the Bengals recovered deep in Tampa Bay territory . In the fourth quarter , the Bengals capitalized on the turnover . Palmer found Jermaine Gresham for a 1 - yard touchdown pass ( along with a successful Cedric Benson 2 - point conversion run ) to take a 21 - 14 lead . The teams traded possession twice , and with 2 : 28 remaining , the Bengals faced 3rd down & 8 at their own 43 yard line . Tampa Bay had no timeouts , and a first down would secure the win for Cincinnati . Palmer was intercepted by Aqib Talib at the 50 yard line . Five plays later , Josh Freeman completed a 20 - yard touchdown pass to Mike Williams . With 25 second left , the Buccaneers again intercepted Palmer . Sabby Piscitelli returned the ball to the Cincinnati 34 yard line . With 5 second left in regulation , Connor Barth made a 31 - yard field goal to win the game 24 - 21 . Week 6 : vs . New Orleans Saints . Tampa Bay trailed early after Drew Brees completed touchdown passes of 41 yards and 42 yards to Lance Moore and Robert Meachem . New Orleans led Tampa Bay 24 - 0 at the end of the third quarter . Tampa Bay scored in the fourth quarter with Josh Freeman completing 2 - yard touchdown pass to Micheal Spurlock , and avoided a shutout . Week 7 : vs . St . Louis Rams . Tampa Bay took the lead 3 - 0 as kicker Connor Barth made a 35 - yard field goal . The Rams , however , scored 17 unanswered points in the second quarter . Josh Brown made a 25 - yard field goal . The next two Rams drives saw two Sam Bradford touchdown passes to Danny Amendola and Michael Hoomanawanui , respectively . Barth nailed a 39 - yard field goal at the end of the second quarter , and the Rams took a 17 - 6 lead into halftime . The Buccaneers offense continued to sputter in the second half . Barth connected on two more field goals ( 53 yards and 38 yards ) to trim the score to 17 - 12 . The Tampa Bay defense held the Rams scoreless in the third quarter . With 4 : 45 remaining in the fourth quarter , the Buccaneer offense finally broke through . Josh Freeman led the team on a 16 - play , 81 - yard drive , capped off by a 1 - yard touchdown pass to " Cadillac " Williams with 10 seconds left in the game . A failed two - point conversion followed , but the Buccaneers held on to win 18 - 17 . Jerramy Stevens was left inactive for the game , following a drug - related arrest the night before the game . A day later , Stevens was released . Week 8 : at Arizona Cardinals . The Buccaneers won their fifth straight road game ( dating back to the previous season ) with a shootout win against the Cardinals . Arizona took the early lead after a 3 - yard touchdown pass from Max Hall to Larry Fitzgerald . On their next drive , Geno Hayes intercepted Hall , and returned 41 - yards for a touchdown . Early in the second quarter , Buccaneers returner Sammie Stroughter muffed a punt and the ball was recovered by the Cardinals at the Tampa Bay 16 yard line . Beanie Wells scored a 1 - yard touchdown run off the turnover , and the Cardinals led 14 - 7 . On the ensuing drive , Josh Freeman drove the Buccaneers 80 yards in only three plays , completing a 47 - yard touchdown pass to Mike Williams and a 14 - 14 tie . Four plays later , Aqib Talib returned Hall ' s second interception 45 yards for a touchdown and the Buccaneers led 21 - 14 . Hall was benched in favor of Derek Anderson . Anderson drove the Cardinals to the Tampa Bay 3 yard line , but threw incomplete on a 4th down & 2 and turned the ball over on downs . Tampa Bay drove 94 yards in the final three minutes , and Connor Barth kicked a field goal as the half expired . In the third quarter , Tampa Bay increased their lead to 31 - 14 after a LeGarrette Blount touchdown run . Arizona rallied , however . LaRod Stephens - Howling rushed for a 30 - yard touchdown with one minute left in the third quarter . Blount fumbled the ball on the first play of the ensuing drive , and Gerald Hayes recovered the ball 21 yards for a Cardinals touchdown . With 9 : 46 left in the game , Arizona took the lead 35 - 31 following Anderson ' s 5 - yard touchdown pass to Fitzgerald . Tampa Bay answered with Blount ' s second touchdown run , and a 38 - 35 lead . Barrett Ruud intercepted Anderson on the first play of the next drive , which set up a 53 - yard field goal attempt by Barth . Tampa Bay chose to attempt the long field goal instead of punting . The kick was blocked , and the Cardinals took over with 3 : 16 remaining in good field position . Anderson drove the Cardinals to the Tampa Bay 20 yard line , but he was intercepted by Aqib Talib , who clinched the win for Tampa Bay . Week 9 : at Atlanta Falcons . Michael Turner rushed for 107 yards and two touchdowns , as the Falcons held off the Buccaneers 27 - 21 in an NFC South division rivalry game . The Falcons took an early 14 - 0 lead after Turner ' s two touchdown runs of 2 and 10 yards . Micheal Spurlock took the next kickoff return 66 yards to the Atlanta 32 yard line , which set up Tampa Bay ' s first score . Josh Freeman completed a 14 - yard touchdown pass to Arrelious Benn to make the score 14 - 7 . Atlanta drove to the Tampa Bay 13 , and Matt Bryant made a 31 - yard field goal to increase the lead to 17 - 7 . With two minutes remaining in the half , Freeman found Mike Williams for a 58 - yard touchdown pass , and a 17 - 14 halftime score . On the first drive of the third quarter , Freeman was intercepted by Jonathan Babineaux at the Tampa Bay 30 yard line . Matt Ryan threw a 5 - yard touchdown pass to Michael Palmer . After another field goal Atlanta led 27 - 14 . On the ensuing kickoff , Maurice Stovall bobbled the ball , and Micheal Spurlock scooped it up at the 11 yard line . Spurlock avoided tackles , and tightroped down the sideline for a 89 - yard kickoff return touchdown . Trailing 27 - 21 with 2 : 44 remaining , Freeman had driven the Buccaneers 89 yards in 12 plays to the Atlanta 2 yard line . Facing 4th down & 1 at the Atlanta 2 , LeGarrette Blount was tackled for no gain , and held at the line of scrimmage , which turned the ball over on downs . Atlanta remained undefeated at home , winning 27 - 21 . Week 10 : vs . Carolina Panthers . Hoping to rebound from their loss to the Falcons the Buccaneers played on home ground for an NFC South rivalry match against the Panthers . In the 1st quarter the Buccaneers took the lead as QB Josh Freeman made an 8 - yard TD pass to WR Arrelious Benn . The Panthers narrowed the lead with kicker John Kasay hitting a 46 - yard field goal . The Buccaneers increased their lead in the second quarter with RB LeGarrette Blount getting a 17 - yard TD run ; but the Panthers replied with RB Josh Vaughan making a 2 - yard TD run . Tampa Bay scored again when Freeman found TE Kellen Winslow on a 20 - yard TD pass . The lead was narrowed with Kasay ' s 28 and 48 yard field goals , but the Buccaneers pulled away in the fourth quarter with kicker Connor Barth nailing a 32 - yard field goal , and with RB Cadillac Williams getting a 45 - yard TD run . With the win , Tampa Bay not only improved to 6 - 3 , but achieved a season sweep over the Carolina Panthers . Week 11 : at San Francisco 49ers . Tampa Bay sacked Troy Smith six times , forced two turnovers , and held the 49ers to only 189 total yards of offense , in a shutout win by the score of 21 - 0 . It was the Buccaneers first win at San Francisco since 1980 , and the 49ers first home shutout since 1977 . Early in the second quarter , Tampa Bay drove 80 yards in 14 plays , culminating in a 6 - yard touchdown run by " Cadillac " Williams . Tampa Bay took a 7 - 0 lead into halftime . With 3 : 36 remaining in the third quarter , Josh Freeman completed a pass 33 yards to Mike Williams to the San Francisco 33 yard line . Four plays later , Freeman completed to Williams for an 8 - yard touchdown pass , and a 14 - 0 lead . The Tampa Bay defense forced a turnover on downs , and on San Francisco ' s next possession , Ronde Barber intercepted Troy Smith . The turnover led to Tampa Bay ' s third touchdown , a 1 - yard pass to offensive tackle Donald Penn . With the shut out win , Tampa Bay improved to 7 - 3 Wide receiver Mike Williams was arrested two days before the game for DUI charges , but was released on bail and played in the game . Week 12 : at Baltimore Ravens . The Buccaneers traveled to M & T Bank Stadium to face the Baltimore Ravens . In a largely defensive game , the teams traded field goals in the second quarter . The game was tied 3 - 3 with 4 : 32 remaining in the first half . Quarterback Joe Flacco struck quickly , however , completing touchdown passes of 65 yards and 10 yards , to Todd Heap and Derrick Mason respectively , just before half time . Trailing 17 - 3 with about three minutes left in the game , Josh Freeman completed a 5 - yard touchdown pass to Kellen Winslow . The Buccaneers were unable to get the ball back on offense , and fell by a score of 17 - 10 . Week 13 : vs . Atlanta Falcons . The Buccaneers hosted division rival Atlanta , wearing their orange throwback uniform s . Tied 7 - 7 in the second quarter , Matt Ryan completed a 17 - yard touchdown pass to Ovie Mughelli and a 14 - 7 Atlanta lead . With two minutes left in the first half , Ryan was intercepted by Sean Jones . With 15 seconds left in the half , Josh Freeman threw a touchdown pass to Mike Williams , to tie the score at 14 - 14 . Connor Barth kicked a 33 - yard field goal , and Tampa Bay took a 17 - 14 lead in the third quarter . With 12 : 33 left in the game , Corey Lynch intercepted Matt Ryan . The turnover led to a 2 - yard touchdown pass to John Gilmore , and Tampa Bay led 24 - 14 with 10 : 24 remaining . Eric Weems returned the ensuing kickoff 102 yards for a touchdown . That trimmed the lead to 24 - 21 . On Atlanta ' s next drive , Ronde Barber was called for pass interference , and Quincy Black was penalized for a " horse - collar tackle . " Atlanta quickly scored a 9 - yard touchdown pass to Michael Jenkins , and took a 28 - 24 lead with 4 : 31 left . Josh Freeman led Tampa Bay on a hopeful go - ahead drive . Facing 4th down and 12 at the Atlanta 46 yard line , Freeman completed a 19 - yard pass to Sammie Stroughter to keep the drive alive . On the next play , however , Freeman was intercepted by Brent Grimes at the 19 yard line , securing the victory for Atlanta . Week 14 : at Washington Redskins . Tampa Bay faced Washington , on a cold , rainy afternoon . The wet conditions saw Redskins kicker Graham Gano miss two field goals early . One hit the upright , and the second sailed wide left . Despite Ryan Torain already having rushed for 133 yards to that point , the score still remained 0 - 0 . On the Buccaneers next possession , LeGarrette Blount fumbled away the ball , which led to a Washington score . Donovan McNabb completed a touchdown pass to Logan Paulsen , and the Redskins took the lead 7 - 0 . On the next play , Josh Freeman completed a 64 - yard pass to Arrelious Benn , which led to a field goal , and the game went to halftime with Washington leading 10 - 3 . Connor Barth scored field goals on Tampa Bay ' s first two possessions of the second half . At the end of the third quarter , Washington clung to a 10 - 9 lead . In the fourth quarter , Freeman drove the Buccaneers 79 yards to the Washington 1 yard line . After a 43 - yard pass to Benn , which gave them 1st & Goal at the 1 yard line , Freeman fumbled away the ball and Washington recovered . However , Washington failed to score on their next two drives . With less than 4 minutes left , Tampa Bay took the lead 17 - 10 when Freeman threw a touchdown pass to Kellen Winslow II , then rushed in himself for the two - point conversion . In the final minutes , Donovan McNabb drove the Redskins 75 yards for a potential game - tying score . McNabb threw a touchdown pass to Santana Moss with 9 seconds left in regulation . On the extra point try , the snap sailed over the head of holder Hunter Smith , and the attempt failed , giving the Buccaneers the victory by a score of 17 - 16 . Week 15 : vs . Detroit Lions . Tampa Bay trailed Detroit 7 - 0 after the first quarter . The Buccaneers rallied in the second quarter , as Josh Freeman completed a 24 - yard touchdown pass to Mike Williams , followed by 39 - yard touchdown run by LeGarrette Blount . In the fourth quarter , Tampa Bay trailed 17 - 14 . Freeman drove the Buccaneers to the Detroit 1 yard line . Kellen Winslow caught a touchdown pass , but it was nullified by an offensive pass interference penalty , and the Buccaneers settled for a field goal and a 17 - 17 tie . Tampa Bay took a 20 - 17 lead with 1 : 44 remaining in regulation . However , Detroit drove down the field , and Dave Rayner kicked a field goal for Detroit , and tied the game as time expired . Detroit won the coin toss in overtime , and Rayner kicked the game - winning field goal on the first possession . Week 16 : vs . Seattle Seahawks . Josh Freeman threw for 237 yards and threw five touchdown passes , tying a franchise record , as Tampa Bay routed Seattle 38 - 15 . In the first quarter , Matt Hasselbeck scrambled for a 1 - yard touchdown to give Seattle a 7 - 0 lead . However , Hasselbeck suffered a muscle strain on the play , and was sidelined for the remainder of the game . Backup quarterback Charlie Whitehurst was forced to take over for Seattle . Micheal Spurlock returned the ensuing kickoff 79 yards to the Seattle 17 yard line , setting up a Connor Barth field goal . Tampa Bay scored 31 unanswered points , including two touchdown passes apiece from Freeman to Kellen Winslow and Mike Williams . Week 17 : at New Orleans Saints . Looking to secure a playoff spot , the Buccaneers played at New Orleans . Trailing 3 - 7 in the second quarter , the Buccaneers took the lead with Josh Freeman completing a 2 - yard touchdown pass to Dezmon Briscoe . The Saints tied the game after Garrett Hartley ' s 45 - yard field goal in the third quarter . Tampa Bay re - took the lead after another field goal , then stretched their lead with Freeman ' s second touchdown pass of the day . The Saints tried to narrow the gap with Hartley making a 38 - yard field goal , but the Buccaneers held on to win . With the win , the Buccaneers finished with a 10 – 6 record , but the Green Bay Packers victory over the Chicago Bears later that day gave them the 6th seed due to a strength of victory tie - breaker and eliminated the Buccaneers from playoff contention . Off - season . Roster changes . 2010 Draft class . After finishing the 2009 season with a record of 3 – 13 , the Buccaneers picked third . The Buccaneers also had an additional second round pick from a trade that sent the late defensive end Gaines Adams to the Chicago Bears , a fifth round pick from the New England Patriots in a trade that sent tight end Alex Smith to the Patriots , and two additional seventh round picks ; one from the Jacksonville Jaguars for quarterback Luke McCown , and one from the Baltimore Ravens for defensive end Marques Douglas . The Buccaneers traded their 2010 fifth - round selection and a 2009 second - round selection to the Browns for TE Kellen Winslow II . Undrafted free agents . After the draft many of the players that went unpicked are signed by teams to fill out their rosters and create competition for places on the roster . These undrafted free agents have a long shot of making the team for the start of the regular season but there have been some notable recent Buccaneer success stories such as Clifton Smith and Elbert Mack . The following were signed after the draft as first year players . Television blackouts . All of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers home games ( preseason and regular season ) have been blacked out on local television because the games failed to sell out prior to 72 hours before kickoff . The affiliates affected include WTVT , WTSP , and WFLA ( preseason ) in the Tampa / St . Pete market , as well as WOFL , WKMG and WFTV ( preseason ) in the Orlando market . Despite their improvement and being in the playoff hunt , Tampa Bay Buccaneers became the first NFL team of the 2010 season to not sell out a single home game . The Week 1 blackout against Cleveland marked the first regular season game at Raymond James Stadium that failed to sell out . The last TV blackout occurred in 1997 .