Ke’Shawn Vaughn puts Bucs up 7-3

The Bucs are missing a lot of offensive pieces, but they won’t be shut out this week.

Running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn sprinted 55 yards for a touchdown with just over four minutes to play in the first quarter of Sunday’s game against the Panthers and the Bucs are up 7-3. It’s the first rushing touchdown of Vaughn’s career and it’s just the kind of contribution the Bucs need from the second-year player with Leonard Fournette on the injured reserve list.

The Bucs picked up one first down on their first drive, but things stalled out from there. The second drive looked like it was headed in the wrong direction after a false start, but a screen pass to Ronald Jones picked up 13 yards before Vaughn broke free for the big run.

Carolina moved the ball well on their first drive, which featured a 33-yard run by Cam Newton, but a third down pass to Ameer Abdullah near the end zone fell incomplete when Abdullah fell down running his route.