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Garcia shines as Buccaneers toss aside Seahawks

Oct 20, 2008 - 4:39 AM TAMPA, Florida (Ticker) -- A huge first-half from Jeff Garcia was all the Tampa Bay Buccaneers needed against the struggling Seattle Seahawks.

Garcia threw for 310 yards - 226 of which came in the first half - and the Buccaneers got another dominant defensive effort in a 20-10 victory over the Seahawks on Sunday.

Antonio Bryant caught 47-yard TD pass and Earnest Graham had a 1-yard TD run for Tampa Bay (5-2), which outgained the Seahawks, 266-44, in the first half en route to a 17-0 lead.

"Another solid effort by the team, in the first half especially," Garcia said.

"Offensively, we did some good things. We were disappointed to not get the ball in the end zone a couple times, but when you have a defense playing the way they are, we knew when we put ourselves ahead, we were in a pretty good situation to win the football game."

Overall, the Buccaneers held a 407-159 advantage in total yards.

Garcia, who started a second straight game in place of Brian Griese (elbow), completed 27-of-36 passes and led an efficient attack that converted 10-of-18 third downs and dominated time of possession (41:41 - 18:19).

"He was hot tonight and he made a lot of plays," Tampa Bay head coach Jon Gruden. "His mobility was a factor tonight and it created a lot of opportunities. He was fun to watch.

"We had a lot of guys step up tonight, but Jeff was the trigger tonight for us and he really did a great job."

Meanwhile, Seattle (1-5) has been decimated by injuries and was without starting quarterback Matt Hasselbeck for a second straight game. Hasselbeck is out with a bulging disk in his back. Seneca Wallace struggled in his place, completing 12-of-23 for 73 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

"We had a good week of practice, we just missed a few plays out there on the field," Wallace said. "They kept us off balance and on our toes. We just never really got into a rhythm."

Wallace hit tight end John Carlson for a 2-yard score with 1:55 remaining for the final margin.

"I thought in the second half, the team showed a lot of guts," Seahawks head coach Mike Holmgren said. "The game kind of went the way our road games have been going as of late."

It was clear early that the shorthanded Seahawks were no match for the league's third-ranked defense.

"We had some good collective energy tonight from everyone," Gruden said of his defense. "We were able to stop the run and get them into predictable passing situations."

Graham's TD run that made it 14-0, and rookie Aqib Talib's interception set up a 27-yard field goal from Matt Bryant that made it 17-0, with 3:12 left in the half.

Things were so bad, the Seahawks couldn't even capitalize when Josh Wilson returned the ensuing kickoff 61 yards to the Tampa Bay 33. Two plays later, Wallace fumbled the exchange from center and Barret Ruud recovered.

The Buccaneers drove tried to tack on more points, but Bryant missed a 47-yarder at the end of the half. That was about the only thing that went wrong for Tampa Bay.

Garcia completed eight of his first nine passes and capped a six-play, 63-yard drive with a 47-yard TD strike to Antonio Bryant with 9:22 left in the first. Bryant caught six passes for 115 yards in place of the injured Joey Galloway (foot).

"They just came in an all-out blitz and it was one of those things where the offensive line and running backs did a great job of picking up the blitz, giving me enough time to look down the field," Garcia said of the touchdown pass to Bryant.

There was a scary moment in the second quarter when Tampa Bay wide receiver Ike Hilliard took a big hit and had to be carted off the field. Hilliard was sandwiched by Leroy Hill and Lofa Tatupu after catching a pass at the Seattle 8-yard line with 12:40 left in the period.

The 12-year veteran fell awkwardly and laid motionless on the field but was able to get up after a few minutes and walked over to the cart under his own power.

Gruden said preliminary tests showed Hilliard has a concussion and needed to stay in the hospital overnight for observation. Tatupu suffered also suffered a concussion on the play and did not return. Holmgren said he is "still a little foggy."