Panthers run wild in 28-21 victory over Bucs

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — DeAngelo Williams led a revival of Carolina's rushing attack, and now the Panthers have a two-game winning streak.

A week after getting their first win by beating the struggling Washington Redskins, the Panthers rushed for 267 yards and three touchdowns to beat the winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers 28-21 on Sunday.

Williams gained a season-best 152 yards on 30 carries and scored twice, including the winning TD with 29 seconds left. The 1-yard dive capped a 16-play, 80-yard drive that took more than 8 minutes.

Carolina (2-3) squandered a 21-7 lead, giving up a 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the third quarter and watching Tampa Bay tie the game on Tanard Jackson's 26-yard interception return.

Once the Panthers took the ball out of Jake Delhomme's hands, Williams and Jonathan Stewart took over.

Carolina only threw one pass on the winning drive, and the Bucs didn't have an answer for either Williams or Stewart, finished with 110 yards on 17 carries.

Williams also scored on a 20-yard run in the second quarter. Stewart's 26-yard TD run put Carolina up 21-7 late in the third quarter.

The Bucs (0-6) have started a season with at least six straight losses for the first time since 1985. They've dropped 10 straight dating to a lopsided loss at Carolina in December, a slide that's the franchise's longest since 1977 when Tampa Bay was in the midst of an NFL-record 26-game skid.

Williams and Stewart both had big days in the last meeting, when the defending NFC South champions ran for a franchise-record 299 yards against the once-revered Tampa Bay defense. Heading into Sunday, the Panthers were averaging 97.3 yards on the ground — 23rd in the league.

Delhomme threw two costly interceptions in the second half and Stewart lost a fumble at the Bucs 3 in the second quarter.

Carolina also had to overcome losing safety Dante Wesley, who was ejected late in the first half after he launched himself into Bucs punt returner Clifton Smith, who had signaled for a fair catch.

The hit with 10 seconds left in the second quarter brought players from both teams off the sidelines. Wesley appeared to leave his feet and strike Smith in the upper body with his left shoulder.

Smith remained on the ground for a few minutes, then was helped to his feet and walked off the field. He missed the remainder of the game with a concussion.

The Panthers rallied from a 17-2 deficit to beat the Redskins, and they started slowly again Sunday with Tampa Bay driving 59 yards in five plays on its first possession to take a 7-0 lead.

The big play in the march was Josh Johnson's 29-yard completion to Sammie Stroughter and an 11-yard run by Cadillac Williams, who then broke a 20-yarder for the touchdown and an early Buccaneers lead.

Tampa Bay has been outscored 37-14 in the first quarter this season. The Bucs have been worse coming out after halftime, with opponents holding a 47-7 edge in the third quarter, including a pair of touchdowns Sunday.

The Bucs hadn't scored in the third quarter at all until Stroughter returned a kickoff 97 yards for a TD that trimmed Carolina's lead to 21-14. Jackson's interception and 26-yard return for a TD made it 21-21 with 8:33 remaining.

Johnson finished 11 of 17 for 147 yards and one interception. Cadillac Williams rushed for 77 yards on 16 attempts.