TAMPA, Fla. — Jeff Garcia takes pride in excelling in a young man’s game. Even if it does take a toll on his 38-year-old body.
“It’s that Fountain of Youth I walk up to every single day, trying to keep myself as young as possible,” the Tampa Bay quarterback said Sunday after leading the Buccaneers to a 19-13 victory over Adrian Peterson and the Minnesota Vikings.
Garcia threw for 255 yards without an interception and scrambled for two first downs on a go-ahead drive in the fourth quarter. He improved to 4-1 since regaining the starting quarterback job he lost when he played poorly in a season-opening loss.
Peterson ran for 85 yards on 19 carries through three quarters, but his bid for a fifth consecutive 100-yard game fell short when the Vikings ran just eight plays — none of them runs by the NFL’s leading rusher — in the fourth quarter.
Garcia, who completed 23-of-30 passes, was the main reason. He moved the Bucs 69 yards in 13 plays, burning nearly nine minutes off the clock to take a 16-13 lead on Matt Bryant’s third field goal of the game.
Minnesota fumbled on the ensuing kickoff, Tampa Bay (7-3) recovered, and Bryant added his fourth field goal for a six-point lead with 3:30 to go.
