GREEN BAY, Wis. (Sept. 25, 2005) -- Lambeau Field isn't such an intimidating place for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers anymore.
Carnell "Cadillac" Williams helped the Buccaneers snap a 13-game road losing streak to Green Bay with a 17-16 win over the Packers. He broke Alan Ameche's NFL record for most yards in his first three NFL games by rushing for 158 on a sprained left foot.
The Buccaneers, 3-0 for the first time since 2000, also got two touchdown receptions from Joey Galloway and two interceptions from safety Will Allen in winning at Lambeau Field for the first time since Sept 10, 1989.
Ryan Longwell missed an extra point for the first time in 157 attempts, and that was the difference as the Packers fell to 0-3 for the first time since Brett Favre was a sophomore at Southern Miss in 1988.
"It's hard to find a silver lining in 0-3," Favre said. "But as they say, the show must go on and we have to find a way to win a game."
Williams, the first NFL rookie to start his career with three straight 100-yard games, has 434 yards rushing so far, besting Ameche's mark of 410 set in 1955 for the Baltimore Colts.
"There's not a lot of words to describe him," teammate Ronde Barber said. "Just put the film on and you see what you have in this guy. There's a lot of great backs that have come through this league. For him to outdistance them all in the first three games of his career, he should feel good about it. We definitely feel good that he's running for us."
The most important of Williams' 37 carries came after Allen, subbing for an injured Dexter Jackson (hamstring), picked off Favre for the second time with 5 minutes remaining. He grabbed the ball and returned it to the 31 after Juran Bolden tipped it away from receiver Robert Ferguson at the Tampa Bay 5-yard line.
Long-snapper Rob Davis took the blame for the mixed extra point because of his off-target snap, but Favre pointed the finger squarely at himself.
"Yeah, if we make that extra point maybe we go into overtime," Favre said. "But if I make that last throw? I mean that's what Brett Favre is all about. I feel I can be the difference-maker in good times and in bad. I feel like I let this team down."
The Buccaneers ran out the clock when Williams rushed six times for 46 yards.
"I'll say this about him: He is as tough as they get," Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden said.
Williams, the fifth overall draft pick out of Auburn, doesn't seem to know what to make of his sensational start.
"It is amazing, but I haven't really thought about what I've done," he said. "I definitely don't want to get complacent or a big head or whatever. I know it's a long season, and I have to continue to do it week in and week out."
Since 1990, only three of 75 teams who lost their first three games made the playoffs.
Trailing 17-13 late in the third quarter, the Packers should have gotten the ball on a fumble by Bucs quarterback Brian Griese at the Tampa Bay 14, but the whistle blew and Tampa Bay maintained possession on the officiating miscue.
"Someone's got to take the fall for that," Packers linebacker Na'il Diggs said.
Then, the Packers were going in for the go-ahead touchdown when Shelton Quarles got his hand on a pass to Ferguson near the goal line on third down. Green Bay had to settle for Longwell's 32-yard field goal with 7:18 remaining that made it 17-16.
Finally, they got the ball at the 50 with just under 6 minutes left, but three plays later, Allen had his second interception, and Williams went to work icing the win.
The Buccaneers led 17-13 at halftime behind touchdown passes of 5 and 10 yards by Galloway, the first of which followed a fumble by Packers fullback William Henderson on Green Bay's opening drive.
The Packers answered with a 37-yard touchdown from Favre to Ferguson on fourth-and-5. But Davis' snap was high and Longwell missed the extra point, leaving the Packers down 7-6. It was his first miss of an extra point after 156 straight conversions, a team record and the fourth-longest active streak in the NFL.
"Rob is such a good snapper that if he has a bad one, it catches you by surprise," said holder B.J. Sander. "And it caught me by surprise."
Notes:
- Longwell, who also missed a 42-yard field goal in the third quarter, did set a franchise record with a field goal in his 15th straight game. * TE Bubba Franks (knee) was inactive and missed the first game of his six-year career, snapping a streak of 88 straight games played.
