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Washington kicker Dustin Hopkins kicked three field goals and quarterback Alex Smith threw a touchdown pass to lead the visiting Redskins to a 16-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday at Raymond James Stadium. The Redskins (6-3) won for the fourth time in five games, while Tampa Bay (3-6) lost for the sixth time in seven contests.
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Smith was an efficient 19-of-27 passing for 178 yards. His fourth-quarter touchdown pass to Josh Doctson -- the only touchdown of the game -- sealed the victory.
Ryan Fitzpatrick completed 29-of-41 pass attempts for 406 yards with two interceptions.
The Buccaneers self-destructed, making six trips into the red zone. Chandler Catanzaro missed two field goals.
Tampa Bay dominated the offensive stats as it totaled 501 yards compared to Washington's 286.
Washington cornerback Josh Norman picked off Fitzpatrick in the end zone on the Buccaneers' first possession.
The win was the Redskins' third on the road this year, where Norman said the team feels comfortable and wouldn't mind playing all their games.
"I feel like we play better on the road," Norman told 106.7 The Fan. "I'm not gonna lie. Gosh man. It seems like our true fans, they're really with us on the road and we feed off of that. ... We can play all our games on the road if you ask me, but at the end of the day the people who are going to be for you, the fans that are really going to have your back? They'll be there."
The Tampa Bay fans got to watch their team implode one time after another beginning with their kicker, who was responsible for the team's only win in the past seven games.
After Norman's interception, the Bucs got the ball back and failed to score again.
Catanzaro watched a 30-yard field-goal attempt sail wide right before connecting on a game-tying 33-yard field goal.
Hopkins connected on another 43-yard field goal to send the Redskins into halftime with a 6-3 lead.
The Buccaneers were driving to take the lead early in the third when a bad snap forced another Catanzaro field-goal attempt. His 48-yard attempt was wide right.
Smith drove the Redskins 62 yards with Doctson's 6-yard scoring reception culminating the drive.
On the next Buccaneers drive, cornerback Greg Stroman cut in front of a Fitzpatrick pass intended for O.J. Howard, intercepting it and returning it 23 yards.
"I just read the receiver, seen him stepping out ready to break in and I just drove," Stroman said. "I play corner, it's tough. It's the NFL and I play corner so you gotta keep bouncing back. You can't let a play hold you down."
The Bucs just couldn't get anything going in the red zone. Even the usually reliable Mike Evans dropped a touchdown in the end zone in the fourth quarter.
"We're going to keep fighting. I wish we were scoring touchdowns and field goals in the red zone, obviously," Evans said. "We're getting down there fairly easily. I don't know what the recipe is."
