Quarterbacks: It took a while for Brian Griese to find his rhythm Sunday. He overthrew several targets early in the game but rebounded extremely well. He finished 16 of 22 for 136 yards and made some big plays that kept the chains moving and kept the defense honest.

Running backs: It wasn't all Cadillac. Michael Pittman ran seven times for 46 yards and caught three passes in a supporting role and Mike Alstott gained 19 yards and had a touchdown. Cadillac proved once again, though, that the Bucs can hitch their trailer to him and he'll take them where they want to go.

Receivers: Michael Clayton bounced back from a so-so opener to lead the unit with six catches, including one in which he gained 34 yards. Neither Joey Galloway nor Alex Smith could break free of coverage this time out, but Anthony Becht and Ike Hilliard did, combining for four catches.

Offensive line: These guys played like a veteran unit, not the kid-laden group they are. They had little trouble solving the Bills defensive fronts and usually provided great protection for Brian Griese. Cadillac probably doesn't gain 128 yards without this group's stellar effort.

Defensive line: These guys didn't produce a lot of tackles but they really weren't given much of an opportunity to. The defense was only on the field for 51 plays and the line pressured J.P. Losman into mistakes and clogged up Willis McGahee's running lanes on almost every one of them.

Linebackers: Shelton Quarles ran Losman out of the end zone to produce a safety and had five other tackles to share the team lead in that category. The only negative here was a blown interception opportunity by Derrick Brooks. Other than that, these guys were stellar yet again.

Secondary: Ronde Barber blew a chance to pick off one of Losman's passes, too, but he shared the team lead in tackles with six and was his usually menacing self on blitzes. Juran Bolden was strong as the nickel back and Brian Kelly chipped in with four tackles and a pass breakup.

Special teams: Penalties on four of the first five plays is just plain unacceptable. Luckily for the Bucs, their defense bailed them out of the trouble. Josh Bidwell and Mark Jones (16.7-yard PR average) helped the Bucs win the field position game and Matt Bryant was solid in all phases.

Coaching: Jon Gruden showed a lot of patience with his game plan and his patience paid off. Monte Kiffin threw a lot of confusing looks at Losman and took a more aggressive approach than usual. Overall these guys need to stress more discipline but you can't knock their game planning to this point.