Thu Aug 28 23:13:23 2008

Comment | Email | Print

Buccaneers defeat Texans in preseason finale

---

Houston, TX (Sports Network) - Dexter Jackson returned a punt for a touchdown, as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers edged out the Texans, 16-6, in the preseason finale for both teams.

Josh Johnson went 8-of-13 with 85 yards for the Buccaneers (3-1), and Kenneth Darby rushed for 55 yards on 16 carries. Matt Bryant hit on 3-of-5 field goal attempts.

Joey Galloway, who has not appeared at all during the preseason with an injured groin, did not appear in Thursday's contest.

Shane Boyd got most of the snaps for Houston (2-2), completing 8-of-17 passes for 83 yards. Marcel Shipp ran for 21 yards on five carries while Kris Brown connected on both his field goal attempts to account for all six points.

For the Texans, receiver Andre Johnson (groin) sat for the entire game, as did running backs Chris Brown (back) and Ahman Green (groin)

Brown opened up the scoring, nailing a 53-yard field goal less than four minutes into the game to put the Texans up 3-0 early.

Tampa Bay would answer in the second quarter, as Jackson returned a punt 83 yards for a score to give the Buccaneers a 7-6 edge.

Brown cut the deficit to one, hitting a 41-yard field goal as time expired in the second quarter to account for the 7-6 halftime score.

Bryant extended Tampa Bay's lead to 10 with three field goals in the fourth quarter.

The Buccaneers will head to New Orleans to play the Saints in Week 1 while Houston will travel to Heinz Field to play the Pittsburgh Steelers.