Giving extra effort proved to be worthwhile for one Florida team on Sunday. For another, it merely extended the expected.
Both the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Jacksonville Jaguars played into overtime in Week 11.
The Bucs rallied from an 11-point deficit with less than five minutes left in regulation to force overtime and escape with a 27-21 win at Carolina.
The Jaguars, meanwhile, blew a two-touchdown fourth-quarter lead and lost at Houston and lost 43-37. It was Jacksonville’s seventh straight defeat.
Florida’s other NFL entry, the Miami Dolphins, lost 19-14 at Buffalo on Thursday night.
Here’s a more in-depth look at Week 11 for the Florida teams:
Bills 19, Dolphins 14: The Dolphins were hoping a short week would help them clear the stench that came from being routed at home by Tennessee. A victory against division rival Buffalo would keep postseason talk alive — but it wasn’t to be.
Miami (4-6) suffered a third consecutive loss and the offense sputtered again.
Through their last 10 quarters dating back to Week 9 at Indianapolis, the Dolphins have been outscored 66-20. They went without an offensive touchdown for a stretch of more than nine quarters until Davone Bess’ touchdown reception in the fourth quarter at Buffalo.
Miami had just 50 yards of total offense in the first half, 184 for the game with 16 first downs and a 3.3 yard average per play.
Quarterback Ryan Tannehill completed 14 of 28 passes for 141 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. Miami had 60 yards rushing overall.
All those statistics were hard to accept, especially with Buffalo entering the game last in the league in points allowed, rushing yards allowed and rushing touchdowns allowed. The Bills also were 31st in total yards allowed.
The defense was much better than the offense, but Karlos Dansby and Jimmy Wilson both dropped interceptions on drives that ultimately resulted in Bills field goals. Game gallery »
Buccaneers 27, Panthers 21 (OT): The Bucs (6-4) tied the game in thrilling fashion to force overtime, en route to winning for the fifth time in six games.
Despite having no timeouts, Tampa Bay went on an 80-yard drive on seven plays in 50 seconds with time expiring in regulation. QB Josh Freeman connected with Vincent Jackson on a 24-yard scoring pass with 12 seconds left, then hit Jackson again for the 2-point conversion to tie the score.
Freeman then hit tight end Dallas Clark for the game-winning touchdown in overtime.
The Bucs took a quick 10-0 lead, then played poorly against the struggling Panthers until midway through the fourth quarter. Tampa Bay turned over the ball three times, including Doug Martin’s fumble at the goal line.
Freeman finished 25 of 46 for 248 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. His streak of 161 passes without an interception was snapped when he was picked off by cornerback Captain Munnerlyn, who returned it 74 yards for a score.
Martin ran 24 times for 138 yards to reach 1,000 yards for the season.
With its fourth straight victory, Tampa Bay is tied with Minnesota and Seattle in the race for the NFC's final wild-card spot. Game gallery »
Texans 43, Jaguars 37 (OT): What nearly was the NFL’s biggest upset this season ended up being another loss for Jacksonville (1-9).
Houston’s Andre Johnson caught Matt Schaub’s pass behind the line of scrimmage and ran 48 yards for the winning score with 2:01 left in overtime.
The Jaguars' defense allowed a franchise-record 640 total yards. Schaub’s 527 passing yards tied for the second-most in league history.
Jags quarterback Chad Henne, who replaced an injured Blaine Gabbert (right elbow contusion) in the first quarter, was 16 of 33 for 354 yards with a career-high four touchdowns.
Justin Blackmon caught seven passes for 236 yards, including an 81-yard touchdown reception.
Henne’s 126.8 passer rating was a higher than Schaub’s, who threw for five touchdowns. Game gallery »
Jacksonville’s Chad Henne.
The former Dolphins starter signed with Jacksonville to back up a young Gabbert. But three times this season, Henne has stepped in for his injured teammate.
With Henne running the offense, the unit looked better than it had all season. The Jaguars moved move from 31st to 25th in passing yards per game and from last to 29th in scoring.
Miami’s Nolan Carroll.
The cornerback was flagged four times for first-down-generating penalties, including two pass interference calls.
Carroll was removed from the game in the third quarter but returned after Sean Smith left with cramps in the fourth.
Dolphins center Mike Pouncey after the third-straight loss: “We’re not winning games. That’s the only difference. Our attitude’s the same, we’re practicing the same. We’ve just got to figure out a way how to finish football games.”
Coach Joe Philbin on Miami having lost nine of 13 fumbles offensively but recovering just three of 16 opponent fumbles: “I’m embarrassed. I’m the head coach. (Turnover margin) is one thing we preach all the time. That’s not good enough.”
Dolphins RB Reggie Bush on QB Ryan Tannehill’s recent struggles: “Ryan’s fine. It’s just growing pains. We all got to go through them.”
Jaguars middle linebacker Paul Posluszny on the OT loss: “Coming to Houston and playing against an 8-1 team and having them on the ropes, this could have been a huge win for us. This could have been a huge momentum change to show people that, ‘Hey, our record is bad, but we’re going to compete with the best.’ Unfortunately, it was just a little bit short.”
QB Chad Henne on his job with the Jags: “I understood my role (when I signed). It was help Blaine get better, compete against him. It’s got to be like that in this business. Quarterbacks have that bond in this league.’’
Bucs safety and 16-year veteran Ronde Barber: "I told the guys in the locker room afterward that you can play a long time and never get a game like that. That was amazing.''
Tampa Bay coach Greg Schiano on the thrilling victory: "I was really happy for our players. You saw a lot of kid come out of a lot of these men when we won the game. Yes, I enjoy it. It's kind of like a parent . . . it's fun to watch them enjoy it.''
Bucs tackle Demar Dotson on his team’s ability to overcome an 11-point deficit in the last four-plus minutes: “Our coaches come up with all types of scenarios and now we see why. Coach Schiano is a genius, because we're ready for anything. When we got in that huddle, it was calm. We all took a deep breath and stuck it down the field.''
Left guard Jeremy Zuttah on the Bucs’ final drive in regulation: "There was no panic on that drive . . . We just looked at each other and said, 'Let's go.'''
• Miami has scored just one touchdown in its last 10 quarters. The last time the Dolphins suffered such a drought was in 2007, when they went 13 straight quarters without an offensive touchdown en route to a 1-15 record.
• Ryan Tannehill’s 70.8 quarterback rating is fifth-worst among NFL quarterbacks with at least 266 pass attempts and fourth among the five rookie quarterbacks who opened the season as starters. Only Cleveland’s Brandon Weeden (67.9) is worse.
• Miami had more penalty yards at halftime (54) than net yards of offense (50) vs. Buffalo.
• The Dolphins are 5 of 23 on third down the past two games, haven’t rushed for 100 yards in seven games and are minus-7 in turnovers the last two games.
• Miami’s 184 yards total offense was its lowest output since gaining 131 total yards in a win over the New York Jets in 2010.
• Miami’s Dan Carpenter missed a 50-yard field-goal try, and is now 0 for 3 on kicks of 50-plus yards this season.
• The Dolphins' offense didn’t cross midfield until the end of the third quarter, and didn’t convert a third down until early in the fourth quarter. Their first seven drives ended in six punts and a lost fumble.
• Jacksonville took a road lead into the fourth quarter for the third time this year — all three ended in overtime losses.
• Houston’s Matt Schaub threw for 527 yards, second most in NFL history. Warren Moon also passed for 527 yards for the Houston Oilers in December 1990 against Kansas City. Norm Van Brocklin holds the record with 554 for the Rams in 1951.
• Jags QB Blaine Gabbert left a game due to injury for the third time in five games. He also hurt his left shoulder at Oakland and re-aggravated it against Indianapolis.
• Jacksonville’s 29 rushes for 86 yards were its highest totals since the Week 3 win at Indianapolis.
• Justin Blackmon’s 81-yard reception was the second longest in team history. His 236 yards in one game was also second.
• Blackmon and Houston’s Andre Johnson (273 yards) produced the first time that two receivers had over 235 receiving yards in the same game.
• Jacksonville’s defense was on the field for a team-record 92 plays.
• Tampa Bay compiled 17 first downs and 298 yards in its final four possessions.
• The Bucs have outscored their opponents 62-17 in the third quarter this season.
• Against Atlanta, Tampa Bay will be seeking its first five-game winning streak since the 2002 championship season.
• The Bucs earned their first overtime victory since a 20-17 win at New Orleans in 2009. It also was the first time in franchise history the Bucs won in overtime by scoring a touchdown.
• Doug Martin's seven consecutive games with more than 100 yards from scrimmage ties the franchise record set by running back James Wilder in 1984.
• The Bucs had lost 12 consecutive games when losing the turnover battle before Sunday, when they had one takeaway and three giveaways.
Just landed in
—
Tampa! So proud of our team for fighting til the end! @mikebuc19 @vincenttjackson
#Bucs
twitter.com/JF5x/status/27…
Joshua T. Freeman (@JF5x) November 19,
2012
Tough loss today. Tough year altogether.
—
Great group of guys in our building deserve more but our record is our record
Josh Scobee (@JoshScobee10) November 19,
2012
Tennessee at Jacksonville — Sunday, 1 p.m. ET (Titans favored by 3): Henne will start in place of Gabbert against the Titans (4-6), who will host Jacksonville on the season’s final Sunday.
Jags coach Mike Mularkey said Gabbert was questionable due to his elbow contusion, though the injury also gives Mularkey a convenient excuse after seeing Henne and the offense produce vs. Houston.
With running back Maurice Jones-Drew (foot) "very questionable" to return in time to play the Titans, Jalen Parmele will start.
Parmele ran 24 times for 80 yards in place of Rashad Jennings, who returned kickoffs for the first time since Week 5 against Chicago and posted a 24.8-yard average on six returns.
Seattle at Miami — Sunday, 1 p.m. ET (Seahawks favored by 3): Not only are the Dolphins riding a three-game losing streak, the schedule doesn’t offer any obvious breaks.
Miami’s next three opponents — Seattle (6-4), New England (6-3) and San Francisco (6-2-1) – all are battling for playoff spots.
The Seahawks are coming off a bye week following home wins against Minnesota and the New York Jets.
The Dolphins will need to improve offensive production to remain competitive. They are averaging fewer points per game (18.7, 26th in the league) than last season (20.6). The running game is producing just 3.6 yards per carry (26th).
Atlanta at Tampa Bay — Sunday, 1 p.m. ET (Pick’em): Tampa Bay takes on the NFC South leaders (9-1) with hopes of playing before a sellout crowd.
The two teams will meet again in the season finale at the Georgia Dome.
The Bucs are averaging 28.7 point, tied with New Orleans for the top mark in the NFC.
Atlanta's Matt Ryan leads the league in completions and passing yards and the Falcons overcame six turnovers to beat Arizona 23-19 in Week 11.
