Bucs trample Vikings 36


Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson, right, runs from Tampa Bay Buccaneers middle linebacker Mason Foster during the first half of an NFL football game Thursday, Oct. 25, 2012, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Andy King)(Credit: AP)


MINNEAPOLIS (AP) After losing a bunch of close games, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers finally enjoyed a lopsided victory.


Martin racked up 214 total yards including a career high 135 rushing and two touchdowns, and the Buccaneers beat the Vikings 36 17 on Thursday night.


knew that the crowd was going to be loud, Martin said. We prepared for that. Vikings, on the other hand, were caught off guard.


didn do a good job of getting our guys prepared for this. We did not play well. That extremely obvious, Vikings coach Leslie Frazier said.


Martin took a screen pass 64 yards for a score for Tampa Bay (3 4), one of Josh Freeman three touchdown passes, to stretch the lead to 27 10 just 1:21 Bradl... Roby Authentic Jersey into the second half. Then Martin, the first round draft pick from Boise State, capped a drive of more than 9 minutes with a 1 yard muscle into the end zone midway through the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach for Minnesota (5 .


comes spittin out of there, and that what we believe he can do, Buccaneers coach Greg Schiano said. I think he just getting better and better. Peterson had a season high 64 yard run for a score that brought the Vikings within 30 17, but his lost fumble in Minnesota territory in the second quarter led directly to a Tampa Bay touchdown.


The Bucs, only the second visiting team to win on a Thursday night in seven games this season, revived their struggling pass rush with three sacks and flustered Christian Ponder with a heavy dose of blitzes. Ponder finished 19 for 35 for 251 yards, one touchdown and a late interception.


is frustrating when you have the momentum on your side and you can feel it shift, Ponder said. are always momentum shifts in the game, and we got to take advantage of them. We didn do that. a 13 point lead, just trying to keep that clock running as quickly as possible, the Bucs could gone conservative, but they refused to settle for a punt. Starting at their own 13 with 1:12 left in the third quarter, they plowed their way up the field Freeman completed four third and long passes and finished off the game with Martin third and goal touchdown run with 7:03 remaining.


is just a mindset. Don get me wrong: That dude is a good running back. He runs hard as all can be. But we got to tackle, said Vikings defensive end Jared Allen, who had their only sack.


Freeman went 19 for 36 for 262 yards and, most importantly, no turnovers. Mike Williams had one of the touchdowns and 68 yards on six receptions, and the Bucs held the ball for nearly 38 of the 60 minutes. Martin had a lot to do with that.


night, nationally televised game and in the NFL it Doug first prime time game. It a short week. You got a lot going on, and Doug ready to go. The game never too big for Doug, Freeman said.


After a rough start, Harvin finally gave the Vikings some life by grabbing a screen pass for a 32 yard gain and then pivoting to haul in sideline pass over his shoulder for an 18 yard touchdown catch.


But Peterson, who was having no trouble reaching the Tampa Bay secondary with almost every run through the line, had the ball stripped after a spin move by the veteran Barber. The Bucs got the ball at the Minnesota 37, and Williams made a tricky catch in the corner of the end zone for a 3 yard score and a 20 7 lead.


After blowing a 21 7 lead to New Orleans the week before, the Bucs finished strong this time.


were just a physical, nasty monster, defensive tackle Gerald McCoy said.


NOTES: The Vikings fell to 1 11 in their last 12 prime time games, since the middle of the 2009 season. The Bucs have averaged 464 yards of offense over their last three games. Ex Vikings LB Matt Blair, who played on two of their Super Bowl teams, was added to the team of Honor during a halftime ceremony. Tampa Bay took DE DaQuan Bowers off the physically unable to perform list before the game.


Pope Francis


The new pope immediately made his mark by saying of homosexual members of the clergy, "Who am I to judge?" And the pope's recent reshuffling of the Congregation of Bishops, which included the replacement of the conservative Cardinal Raymond Burke (who once threatened to deny Communion to John Kerry), is an encouraging sign that Francis intends to lead with action and not just words. While it's more than fair for liberals to remain unhappy with the church's official position on LGBT rights and abortion (as well as letting women into the clergy) with his greater focus on an evangelizing church that focuses on issues of poverty and inequality, Francis has already proven to be a dramatic and welcome shift from his predecessors.


Bill de Blasio


New York City's incoming mayor ran the kind of populist and liberal campaign of a progressive's dreams by maintaining a laser focus on economic inequality and improving the NYPD's atrocious record on civil rights. His TV ad featuring his son, Dante, was far and away the best and most important political advertisement of the year, helping to ensure that for the first time in decades, one of America's most liberal cities will be governed by a real progressive. Senate, the liberal icon nevertheless continued to do yeoman's work, keeping the pressure on Wall Street and defending the values of economic inclusion and community in her speeches around the country and on the Senate floor. Despite working in a do nothing Congress, Warren's been pushing for progressive policy, too. Her recently introduced bill banning credit background checks of prospective employees is the kind of smart and fearless liberalism that's made her such a hero.