Antonio Bryant and Jeff Garcia made the Bucs offense look truly dangerous against a good defense for the first time this season

Joe wants you to realize this was the breakout game of the season for the Bucs offense.

Not that it will help you forget the pain of this loss against the Panthers and the epic collapse of the Bucs’ run defense. But the Bucs’ offense actually looked dangerous for the first time this season against a good defense.

This performance will go a long way toward helping Tampa Bay run the table with three good offensive efforts and maybe have a chance in the playoffs against a quality defense.

There aren’t enough adjectives for Antonio Bryant’s one-handed touchdown grab (Joe will have the highlight video later),  and props to Bryant and Garcia for connecting on three home run balls downfield. Bryant’s nine catches for 200 yards and two touchdowns has got to be among the great receiver performances in Buccaneers history.

Chucky’s loving the way his offensive moved the chains (21 first downs) and showed it can come back to tie a game twice on the road, plus execute some shots down the field.

Expect Chucky to heap heavy praise on Garcia and crucify Alex Smith for a dropped TD pass on 1st and goal from the Carolina 2 yard line, plus talk about the other dropped passes by Warrick Dunn, Clifton Smith and more.

Don’t worry. We all know the Bucs defense will shake this game off and return to its elite status. But now there’s real hope for the offense, which frankly wasn’t there before.