NEW YORK, 8 November 2005 — Stephen Davis ran for a pair of touchdowns in leading the streaking Carolina Panthers to a fifth straight win, a 34-14 road victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in National Football League play on Sunday.
The Panthers (6-2) stayed in first place in the NFC South after what was also a consecutive fifth victory over their divisional rivals.
Carolina never trailed, taking a 10-0 lead in the first quarter, a 17-7 lead at the half and stretching their lead to 27 points in the fourth quarter before the Buccaneers (5-3) managed a late touchdown to make the score a little more respectable.
Tampa Bay have now lost three of their last four games to slip out of the first place tie in the division with Carolina and Atlanta. The Atlanta Falcons kept pace with a 17-10 win at Miami.
John Kasay opened the scoring for the Panthers with a 30-yard field goal five minutes into the game and Davis ran four yard for a TD later in the first quarter, putting the Panthers in control. Joey Galloway caught a 50-yard touchdown pass from Chris Simms on the first play of the second quarter to get the Bucs close, but Davis scored on a one-yard run to complete a 90-yard drive, restoring Carolina’s 10-point lead before the half.
Chris Gamble scored on a 61-yard interception return in the third quarter, and Kasay added a 20-yard field goal to make it 27-7 after three quarters. Steve Smith scored on a 35-yard touchdown pass from Jake Delhomme early in the fourth quarter, while Mike Alstott’s one-yard TD run accounted for the Bucs final score later in the quarter.
In Miami, Michael Vick passed for a season-high 228 yards and rushed for another 38 yards, leading the Falcons to victory over the Dolphins. Brian Finneran caught eight passes for 92 yards, including an 11-yard TD catch, while Warrick Dunn’s one-yard run accounted for Atlanta’s other major. Dunn had 88 yards rushing on 25 carries.
In Baltimore, Carson Palmer threw two touchdown passes to help the Cincinnati Bengals beat the Baltimore Ravens 21-9. Rudi Johnson ran for 97 yards and a touchdown for the Bengals, who improved to 7-2.
In Cleveland, Reuben Droughns rushed for 116 yards and caught a crucial third-down pass for 51 yards as the Browns beat the Tennessee Titans 20-14. Trent Dilfer went 18-for-34 for 272 yards for the Browns.
In Jacksonville, Byron Leftwich directed scoring drives of 80 and 82 yards in the fourth quarter to guide the Jaguars to a 21-14 win against the Houston Texans.
In Kansas City, Larry Johnson rushed for 107 yards and two touchdowns as the Chiefs beat the Oakland Raiders 27-23.
In Minneapolis, Brad Johnson passed for 136 yards and two touchdowns as the Minnesota Vikings beat the Detroit Lions 27-14.
In East Rutherford, LaDainian Tomlinson scored a career-high four touchdowns as the San Diego Chargers beat the New York Jets 31-26. Tomlinson rushed for three TDs and 107 yards and also caught a 25-yard pass for another score.
In San Francisco, Brandon Jacobs scored two touchdowns as the New York Giants beat the 49ers 24-6.
In Phoenix, Shaun Alexander rushed for 173 yards and two touchdowns as the Seattle Seahawks beat the Cardinals 33-19.
In Baton Rouge, Robbie Gould’s 28-yard field goal with six second left gave the Chicago Bears a 20-17 win over the new Orleans Saints.
In Green Bay, Duce Staley scored a touchdown and rushed for 76 yards as the Steelers beat the slumping Packers 20-10.
In Washington, Clinton Portis scored on a six-yard touchdown run in the third quarter to lead the Redskins past the Philadelphia Eagles 17-10.
