Buc Ball 19, Vikings 13

This was the kind of game Chris Hovan remembered from his days playing for the Minnesota Vikings. Bring a pretty good offense to Tampa Bay and watch it get stepped on by the Buccaneers defense.

It happened Sunday in the Bucs 19-13 win against the Vikings.

Hovan, the defensive tackle who began his career with the Vikings and is now a key figure on the Bucs defensive line, played a big role in the Bucs win, getting his first sack of the season and providing the first line of defense as the Bucs held Adrian Peterson to just 85 rushing yards.

That’s “just” because Peterson, who leads the NFL in rushing, entered the game averaging 140 yards during his previous four games and 112 for the season.

The Bucs defense also had a season-high five sacks.

The Bucs had one touchdown drive and used four field goals from Matt Bryant to improve to 7-3 and keep pace with first-place Carolina (8-2) in the NFC South.

“It’s Buc Ball,” Hovan said. “I remember when I used to come down here early in my career and play against the Bucs, same formula for winning. Buc Ball: play great defense, score (19) points, and get a win.”