2012 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season The Tampa Bay Buccaneers season was the franchise ' s 37th season in the National Football League . It was the first season under new head coach Greg Schiano after the former head coach Raheem Morris was fired due to the team ' s record of 4 - 12 last season . Though the club did not make the postseason , the team improved their record to 7 - 9 , and finished the regular season with team records in several statistical categories . The team set a franchise record with 5 , 820 yards of total offense and 389 total points scored . The defense ranked # 1 in the league against the rush ( 82 . 5 yard / game ) , also a franchise record . Individual team records include most touchdown passes ( 27 ) and most passing yards ( 4 , 065 ) by Josh Freeman , as well as Doug Martin ' s team rookie rushing record of 1 , 454 yards . Martin finished with five games of 100 + yards rushing , including a breakout game against Oakland in week 9 rushing for 251 yards and four touchdowns . They also finished with the league ' s worst passing defense . Offseason . 2012 draft class . The Buccaneers traded its 2011 & 2012 fourth - round selection to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for the Philadelphia Eagles 2011 fourth - round selection to select tight end Luke Stocker during the 2011 NFL draft . The Buccaneers were selected to draft a player in the third round of the 2012 NFL draft , until a trade with the Houston Texans that took place causing the team to trade their third - round selection to move up certain spots to acquire Lavonte David in the second round . Drake Dunsmore was the only rookie that did not make the 53 - man roster during roster cuts . However , Drake Dunsmore did end up making the practice squad of the Buccaneers , but he decided later to retire on May 2 , 2013 . Preseason . The Buccaneers 2012 preseason schedule was announced on April 4 , 2012 . On August 25 , Davin Joseph was placed on injured reserve with a season - ending knee injury . This occurred Week 2 of the preseason at home against the New England Patriots . The Buccaneers finished the 2012 preseason with a record of 2 - 2 under new head coach Greg Shiano . Note that : Regular Season . The Buccaneers 2012 regular season schedule was announced on April 17 , 2012 . The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have the 6th easiest schedule in the NFL according to the strength of schedule format . On opening day against Carolina , Ronde Barber started his 200th consecutive game as a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers . The 2002 Super Bowl team are reuniting in attendance for the home game against the eagles in week 14 . The Buccaneers finished the 2012 season with a record of 7 - 9 under new head coach Greg Shiano . Note that : Season summary . New head coach Greg Schiano installed a new regime and attitude at Tampa Bay upon his arrival . An improved offense set several team records and milestones , and the team ranked # 1 in rushing defense in the NFL . A weak passing defense ( 32nd ) , however , and a five - game losing streak late in the season , saw the team ultimately fall from playoff contention . Tampa Bay won on opening day , but lost three straight games to NFC East opponents in September . However , the team rebounded and won five of their next six games , primarily behind the breakout efforts of rookie running back Doug Martin . In week 8 , the team raised eyebrows by winning a nationally televised Thursday night game against the playoff - bound Vikings , then followed it up by a stellar performance by Martin the following week . At Oakland in week 9 , Martin rushed for 251 yards and four touchdowns , one of the most prolific statistical performances in NFL history . After a comeback overtime win at Carolina , the team sat at 6 - 4 , and actually controlled their own destiny for a wild card playoff berth . Late in November , however , the team began a slump , and fell from the playoff picture . A one - point loss against Atlanta , and a last - second loss versus Philadelphia were part of a five - game losing streak . The team rebounded and finished on a high note , beating the # 1 seed Falcons on the road in the final week of the regular season . After a dismal 4 - 12 record in 2011 , the team finished a fairly respectable 7 - 9 in 2012 . Game summaries . Week 1 : vs . Carolina Panthers . The Tampa Bay defense held Carolina to only 10 yards rushing , snapping a ten game losing streak dating back to week 6 of the 2011 NFL season . Tampa Bay ' s last win was at home on October 16 , 2011 against the Saints ( 26 - 20 ) . Ronde Barber started his 200th consecutive game , finishing the game with a sack and an interception . Week 2 : at New York Giants . Eli Manning threw for 510 yards , while the Tampa Bay defense allowed over 600 yards to the New York Giant ' s offense . This was the most offensive yards allowed in Buccaneers franchise history . Tampa Bay had the lead throughout the 3rd quarter , but the Giants came back to win the game in the 4th quarter scoring 25 points . The Buccaneers allowed 96 rushing yards to the Giants . This game was nationally televised . Week 3 : at Dallas Cowboys . Aqib Talib intercepted Tony Romo on the fourth play of the game , which led to a Tampa Bay touchdown and an early lead 7 - 0 over the Cowboys . However , the Buccaneer offense sputtered , and failed to score on their next nine possessions . In the first 57 minutes of the game , Tampa Bay had only 96 net yards of offense . Adrian Clayborn injured his knee throughout the second half and was expected to miss the rest of the season after the Buccaneers placed him on injured reserve . This was the second consecutive game that was nationally televised . Week 4 : vs . Washington Redskins . The Buccaneers allowed 160 rushing yards to the Redskins . This was the first time Tampa Bay allowed a 100 yard rushing performance to any team this season . The Buccaneers came back late in the 4th quarter leading 22 – 21 . However , the Redskins scored the winning field goal to take the win 24 – 22 . Week 6 : vs . Kansas City Chiefs . Josh Freeman threw for 328 yards and three touchdown passes , as Tampa Bay routed the Kansas City Chiefs 38 – 10 . Tampa Bay had 463 yards of total offense which was third best for a home game in franchise history . Brady Quinn started at quarterback for Kansas City for the injured Matt Cassel , who suffered a concusion in the previous week ' s game against the Ravens . During the third quarter , Ronde Barber returned a 78 yard interception for a touchdown . Barber has 12 career return touchdowns which is tied for third all - time in NFL history . Barber now is the first player in NFL history with at least eight interceptions returned for touchdowns , four fumble recoveries returned for touchdowns and a punt return for a touchdown . Barber ’ s eight career interceptions returned for touchdowns tied him for seventh in NFL history . Barber only needs one more return touchdown to tie Rod Woodson and Darren Sharper who have 13 return touchdowns in their respected careers . Paul Gruber was inducted into Tampa Bay ' s Ring of Honor during halftime . Tampa Bay held the Chiefs to 80 rushing yards on 30 carries . Kansas City came into the game averaging 180 . 8 rushing yards a game , which ranked second in the NFL . Jamaal Charles was the # 1 rushing leader in the NFL with 551 rushing yards coming into this game , but the Tampa Bay defense held Charles to only 40 rushing yards during the entire game . Week 7 : vs . New Orleans Saints . Ronde Barber intercepted Drew Brees in the first quarter to record his 46th career interception . The Saints defense allowed over 500 offensive yards to the Buccaneers . Josh Freeman threw for a career high 420 yards and 3 touchdowns . Tampa Bay defense held the Saints to 81 rushing yards . Vicent Jackson had 7 receptions for a franchise record 216 yards and a touchdown . Jackson had a 95 yard catch , but failed to score after Malcolm Jenkins tackled him from behind . Connor Barth missed a field goal . Trailing by a touchdown in the final two minutes , Freeman drove the Buccaneers to the endzone . On the final play of the game , Freeman threw a game tying touchdown pass to Mike Williams in the back of the endzone as time expired . However , the touchdown did not count because he stepped out of bounds before making the catch . This was the first home game of the season that was not blacked out and televised locally , and the first Sunday afternoon game at home to not be blacked out since 2009 . Week 8 : at Minnesota Vikings . This win snapped a nine game away losing streak for Tampa Bay dating back to last season . The Buccaneers last road win was against the Vikings in Minnesota in week 2 when the Bucs came back and won 24 - 20 after trailing 17 - 0 in the third quarter . Doug Martin held the spotlight on this night . Martin ran the ball 29 times for 135 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown . Martin scored two touchdowns on this night and he had 100 rushing yards before halftime . Adding to that , he caught three passes for 79 yards , in which he scored a 64 - yard passing touchdown on a screen play . Martin ’ s 214 total offensive yards is the 5th best single game total in Buccaneer history . Buccaneer QB Josh Freeman had his third consecutive game with three touchdown passes , in which is a new fanchise record . Freeman threw for 262 yards and has a streak of consecutive games with a touchdown pass with 10 . There were three takeaways in the game , all of them belonging to the Tampa Bay defense . Ronde Barber and Michael Bennett forced fumbles , with the Bucs recovering both of them in the second quarter . Those turnovers were converted into points . This provided the difference in the Bucs 20 – 10 halftime lead over the Vikings . Leonard Johnson also ended Minnesota ’ s last drive with an interception . Negative plays tackles behind the line of scrimmage have become the Buccaneers ’ strength this season . They entered Week 8 leading the NFL in that category . The hits kept coming Thursday night as Tampa Bay had seven more tackles for loss , including three sacks . The Tampa Bay defense allowed Adrian Peterson and the Minnesota offense to rush for 141 total rushing yards . The Vikings were the second team this season to rush over 100 yards as the Redskins were the first team to do so with Robert Griffen III . The bucs oline only allowed 1 sack to Jared Allen and the defense . Doug Martin carried the load , becoming the first player in Buccaneers history with 135 rushing yards and 75 receiving yards in the same game . The Bucs finished with 416 yards of total offense . They had 513 yards against New Orleans last Sunday and 463 yards against Kansas City the previous week before playing the Saints . That marks the first time in franchise history that the Bucs have had three straight games with over 400 yards of total offense . The Buccaneers won their sixth straight meeting against the Minnesota Vikings . Week 9 : at Oakland Raiders . Doug Martin rushed for 251 yards and four touchdowns . Martin became the only player in NFL history to have 250 rushing yards and four touchdowns in a single game . He also became the first player in NFL history to have rushing touchdowns of 70 + , 65 + , and 45 + yards in the same game . Martin ' s 251 yards rushing broke the franchise record previously held by James Wilder with 219 rushing yards in a single game . Martin had 272 total yards in the game including the 21 yards from receptions . Martin ' s 251 rushing yards are tied for third - most by a rookie in NFL history . Adrian Peterson ( 296 yards in a 2007 game ) and DeMarco Murray ( 253 yards in a game last year ) are the only rookies to rush for more yards in a game than Martin . Martin ’ s 251 rushing yards set a new franchise record . James Wilder had the previous record with a 219 rushing yard performance in 1983 . Martin ' s four rushing touchdowns was also a new franchise record . Martin became the first player in NFL history with three rushing touchdowns of 45 or more rushing yards in a game . Doug Martin and Mike Anderson are the only players ever to rush for 250 yards and four touchdowns in a single game . Josh Freeman passed for 247 yards and two touchdowns . He ’ s only the third quarterback in franchise history to throw for a touchdown pass in each of the first eight games of the season . Brad Johnson in 2003 and Doug Williams in 1979 were the other two . Tampa Bay ’ s 515 yards from offense ranks second on the team ’ s all - time list . The record is 573 in a 1980 game against Minnesota . LaVonte David set a Tampa Bay single - game rookie record with 16 tackles . Ahmad Black and E . J . Biggers both had an interception and force fumble in the game . Leonard Johnson had another interception , in which is two consecutive games with interceptions . DaQuan Bowers and Michael Bennett each had a sack . The Buccaneers added six takles for a loss which remains best in the NFL . The Tampa Bay defense held the Raiders rushing offenese to only 22 total rushing yards . This is the fourth game of the season in which the Buccaneers have scored more than 30 points in a single game ( Giants 34 , Chiefs 38 , Vikings 36 , and Raiders 42 ) . The victory was the first time the Bucs defeated the Raiders in Oakland . Week 10 : vs . San Diego Chargers . The Buccaneers scored a touchdown on offense , defense , and special teams . The last time the Buccaneers did this was on October 18 , 2009 , home against the Carolina Panthers when Cadillac Williams scored an offensive touchdown , Tanard Jackson returned an interception for a touchdown , and Sammie Stroughter returned a kick - off return for a touchdown . Josh Freeman threw for 210 yards and 2 touchdowns . Freeman completed 14 passes out 20 attempts . Freeman had another consecutive game without throwing an interception . Dallas Clark caught a three yard touchdown . Tiquan Underwood caught a 15 yard touchdown . Rookie Leonard Johnson scored a 83 yard interception touchdown . This is the third consecutive game that Leonard Johnson had an interception . Adam Hayward recovered and returned a 29 yard touchdown of a punt that Dekoda Watson blocked . Daniel Te ' o - Nesheim and Mason Foster each had a sack . LeQuan Lewis had an interception as well . Doug Martin had 68 rushing yards and 51 receiving yards which combined for a total of 119 total yards of offense . With this performance Martin broke the NFL record for most yards from scrimmage ( 605 ) in a 3 - game span set by Walter Payton in 1977 ( 593 ) . Rookie Lavonte David led the team in tackles with 13 . Connor Barth scored 2 field goals . The Tampa Bay defense allowed San Diego to rush over 103 yards on offense . The Chargers were the third team this season to rush over 100 yards on the Tampa Bay defense . The Redskins and Vikings were the other two teams to do so . Week 11 : at Carolina Panthers . The Tampa Bay Buccaneers walked out of Bank of America Stadium with perhaps one of the most impressive comeback wins in their franchise history . Quarterback Josh Freeman threw for 248 yards and 3 touchdowns . Freeman threw 2 interceptions in this game as well . Nate Byham caught a 3 yard pass for a touchdown for the Bucs in the first quarter . Connor Barth scored 2 field goals in this game . Late in the fourth quarter , Vincent Jackson caught a 24 yard pass for a touchdown with 12 seconds left . Jackson caught the two point conversion to tie the game . Dallas Clark caught a 15 yard pass for a touchdown that won the game for the Buccaneers in overtime . Doug Martin rushed for 138 yards . Martin surpassed 1 , 000 rushing yards in 10 games as a rookie . Michael Bennett and Da ' Quan Bowers each registered a sack . The Tampa Bay defense held Carolina to 97 rushing yards . The Buccaneers swept their division rival Carolina Panthers this season . Week 12 : vs . Atlanta Falcons . Josh Freeman threw for 256 yards and didn ' t throw an interception . Doug Martin had 50 rushing yards , but scored the only 2 offensive touchdowns for the Buccaneers . Ronde Barber intercepted Matt Ryan in the second quarter , his 47th career interceptions . Connor Barth made 3 out of 4 field goal attempts . Barth hit from 22 , 42 and 48 yards out , missing a 56 - yard try in the 4th quarter . E . J . Biggers sacked and forced Matt Ryan to fumble in the 4th quarter in which Gerald McCoy recovered . Biggers had the only sack for the Buccaneers defense . Defensively , Lavonte David again led the Buccaneers in tackles with eight total tackles . The Tampa Bay defense held the Falcons to only 79 rushing yards . Week 13 : at Denver Broncos . Josh Freeman threw for 242 yards and 2 touchdowns . Freeman threw an interception to Von Miller in the third quarter , in which he ran it back for a touchdown . Freeman fumbled once in which Von Miller forced . Connor Barth scored 3 field goals . Barth scored from 31 , 50 , and 55 yards . Doug Martin rushed for only 56 yards . Dallas Clark caught an 11 - yard passing touchdown in the first quarter . Mike Williams caught a 5 - yard passing touchdown in the fourth quarter . Rookie linebacker Lavonte David led the team once again in tackles and also intercepted Peyton Manning in the third quarter . The Tampa Bay defense held Denver to 91 rushing yards . Week 14 : vs . Philadelphia Eagles . The 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Super Bowl championship team reunited in attendance for the game . During halftime , a ceremony was held to honor the reunited 2002 Super Bowl team . More than 50 players and coaches from the 2002 Super Bowl team gathered to celebrate the 10 - year anniversary of the Tampa Bay Buccaneer ' s first ever Super Bowl Championship . Among those who attended the reunion were former head coach Jon Gruden , former defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin , Derrick Brooks , John Lynch , Warren Sapp , Brad Johnson , Mike Alstott , and Keyshawn Johnson . Ronde Barber was part of the 2002 Super Bowl team , but was playing on the field for Tampa Bay . Josh Freeman threw for 189 yards and 2 touchdowns . Doug Martin rushed for 128 yards and scored a rushing touchdown during the fourth quarter . Martin broke Cadillac William ' s rookie rushing yard record during the game . Vicent Jackson had 131 receiving yards . In the third quarter , Mike Williams caught a 1 yard pass from Freeman . In the fourth quarter , Jackson caught a 13 yard pass from Freeman . The Tampa Bay defense held the eagles offense to only 29 total rushing yards . The Tampa Bay defense had 6 sacks throughout the game . Lavonte David had a sack , Daniel Teo - nesheim had a sack , Michael Bennett had two sacks , and Gerald McCoy had two as well . Ronde Barber led the team in tackles . Week 15 : at New Orleans Saints . Josh Freeman threw for 279 yards , no touchdowns , and threw 4 interceptions . Doug Martin rushed for a season low 16 yards . On defense , Daquan Bowers had the only sack . Mark Barron led the team in tackles . The Tampa Bay defense allowed the Saints to rush for 149 yards . The Buccaneers were shut out throughout the entire game . The last shut out the Buccaneers had was during week 3 of the 2009 season , when the New York Giants beat the Buccaneers 24 - 0 . More importantly the loss mathematically eliminated the Buccaneers from playoff contention . Week 16 : vs . St . Louis Rams . Josh Freeman threw for 372 yards , one touchdown , and four interceptions . Doug Martin rushed for 62 yards . Connor Barth scored two field goals throughout the game . Barth scored from 29 and 49 yards . Mike Williams scored the only touchdown in the third quarter in which he caught a pass for 61 yards . Mike Williams and Vicent Jackson both had 100 receiving yards throughout the game . On defense , Lavonte David led the team in tackles with 9 total tackles . Leonard Johnson forced a fumble . Danny Grorer had an interception . The Tampa Bay defense held the Rams offense to only 89 total rushing yards . Week 17 : at Atlanta Falcons . Josh Freeman threw for 222 yards , a touchdown , and an interception . Freeman is the first ever quarterback in franchise history to throw for 4 , 000 yards in a season . Freeman ended the season with 27 passing touchdowns in a season which was another record in franchise history . Doug Martin rushed for 142 yards . Martin scored a 40 yard rushing touchdown in the third quarter . Mike Williams caught a 8 yard pass from Freeman in the second quarter . Connor Barth scored 3 field goals throughout the game . Barth scored from 22 , 42 , and 48 yards . On defense , Mason Foster led the team in tackles with 11 total tackles . Lavonte David had a sack and Daniel Te ' o - Neshiem had a sack as well in the game . Dekoda Watson blocked a punt in the second quarter . The Tampa Bay defense held the Falcons offense to only 65 rushing yards .