Freeman leads Bucs to first win in his first start

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Chris O'Meara

Josh Freeman bumped wrists with offensive coordinator Greg Olson after throwing a touchdown pass Sunday.

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TAMPA, Fla. | The cream rose to the top.

Wearing one of those ghastly creamsicle jerseys that are an ugly reminder of Tampa Bay’s past, rookie Josh Freeman gave the struggling Buccaneers plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the future.

Freeman, the former Kansas State and Grandview High star, led the previously winless Bucs to a 38-28 victory over the Green Bay Packers in his first start Sunday, ending the league’s longest losing streak at 11 games.

Playing with poise that belied his inexperience, Freeman passed for 205 yards and three touchdowns, including a 7-yard throw to Sammie Stroughter on fourth-and-4 for the go-ahead TD with under 5 minutes to play.

“I felt really relaxed,” said Freeman, the 17th pick in the draft and the third quarterback taken behind Matthew Stafford and Mark Sanchez.

“I didn’t get too high or too low,” Freeman, 21, said. “I can’t say I did anything spectacular. I just played within myself, and when we had opportunities I took them.”

Freeman became the youngest quarterback to open a game for the Bucs, who have had 10 different players start at the position since winning the Super Bowl seven seasons ago. He’s the third this year.

“That’s a great start to how we want to be, how we want to work, how we want to play,” said Bucs coach Raheem Morris.

Freeman completed 14 of 31 passes with one interception.

The Bucs, 1-7, are the last team in the NFL to win this season, ending a skid that was the franchise’s longest since 1976-77, when they dropped an NFL-record 26 in a row.

Posted on Sun, Nov. 08, 2009 11:11 PM

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