Chris Godwin had eight catches for 121 yards and a touchdown, Peyton Barber ran for 82 yards and a score and the Bucs won despite converting only 2 of 12 first downs in the game that was delayed 25 minutes in first quarter because of lightning in the area.

Newton finished with 324 yards passing, but was held without a touchdown for the second straight game. He also fumbled again.

Newton couldn’t get the Panthers (0-2) into the end zone on the final drive despite numerous breaks. On fourth down play from the 2, the Bucs stopped Christian McCaffrey after he took a snap out of the wildcat formation to take over on downs.

The Buccaneers (1-1) got plenty of pressure on Newton with three sacks coming from Shaquil Barrett. They also held McCaffrey to 53 total yards from scrimmage after he racked up 209 yards and two touchdowns in the season opener against the Los Angeles Rams.

The Panthers failed to reach the end zone, only scoring on Joey Slye’s four field goals and a safety by Luke Kuechly. They are 0-2 for the first time since the 2013 season.

There were a few bizarre plays on the final drive, including a pass reception where D.J. Moore appeared to make a catch before the first-down marker. But when one official threw the ball to another to be spotted for the next play, the ball appeared to be moved ahead nearly a yard forward and the Panthers were given a first down without a measurement.

A short while later, Bucs cornerback Carlton Davis was flagged for a facemask penalty after a reception by Curtis Samuel, giving the Panthers a first down at the Bucs 11.

And then the Bucs were called for a delay of game for calling two consecutive timeouts.

Despite all of that, the Panthers still couldn’t score on a fourth and 1 from the 2. McCaffrey took the direct snap, faked a reverse to Samuel and race to the outside looking for the end zone but was shoved out of bounds.

”We felt good about the play, and at least picking up the first down,” Panthers coach Ron Rivera said.

NEWTON THROWS DEEP

After fielding plenty of questions about only attempting only one pass of more than 20 yards downfield in the season opener against the Rams, Newton connected on a 44-yard strike to Curtis Samuel late in the first quarter. It was one of handful of deep balls the quarterback threw.

JEERS TO CHEERS

After fumbling his first two punt return attempts, Ray-Ray McCloud was greeted with sarcastically cheers as he fielded his third punt cleanly. But the jeers quickly turned to cheers when McCloud raced up the middle of the field for a 39-yard return.

BURNS GETS FIRST

Panthers first round draft pick Brian Burns recorded his first career sack in the second quarter.

SLYE GUY

Undrafted rookie Joey Slye made his first three field of the night, including a 54-yarder and is now 5 of 6 on the season in place of the injured Graham Gano.

NEWTON ON THE RUN

Newton is the NFL’s third-leading rusher as a quarterback, but through two games he has minus-2 yards on five carries and two fumbles)

INJURIES

Buccaneers: Linebacker Devin White left the game in the first quarter with a knee injury and cornerback Jamel Dean suffered a lower leg injury in the third. Neither player returned to the game.

Panthers: None reported

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The Tampa Bay Times (http://bit.ly/2mkiPhJ ) reports Winston spoke to third- through fifth-grade students at Melrose Elementary in St. Petersburg on Wednesday, telling them about his three rules of life. When the kids got fidgety, Winston told the boys to stand up, reminding them that they’re ”strong.” Then, he said the ”ladies” are ”supposed to be silent, polite, gentle.”

Winston was accused of raping a student in 2012 when they were both Florida State University students. Winston has said they had consensual sex. He was not arrested. Winston and the accuser settled a civil lawsuit in December.

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Information from: Tampa Bay Times (St. Petersburg, Fla.), http://www.tampabay.com.

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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback, who was accused of raping another student while at Florida State University but never charged, spoke for nearly 40 minutes to third through fifth graders at Melrose Elementary in St. Petersburg during an appearance this week.

When some of the students started getting fidgety, Winston told boys in the audience to stand up and girls to sit down, the Tampa Bay Times (http://bit.ly/2mkiPhJ ) reported.

“All my young boys, stand up. The ladies, sit down,” Winston told the children. “But all my boys, stand up. We strong, right? We strong! We strong, right? All my boys, tell me one time: I can do anything I put my mind to. Now a lot of boys aren’t supposed to be soft-spoken.”

The quarterback went on to say, “But the ladies, they’re supposed to be silent, polite, gentle. My men, my men (are) supposed to be strong.”

Asked later about the speech, Winston said he was attempting to interact with a young boy in the audience who didn’t appear to be paying attention. He said he didn’t want to single him out so he asked all the boys to stand.

“During my talk, I used a poor word choice that may have overshadowed that positive message for some,” said Winston, who has been active in numerous community and charitable endeavors since entering the NFL as the No. 1 draft pick in 2015.

Bonnie Volland, a speech language pathologist at Melrose, said Winston’s message about children being able to accomplish anything was positive. But when he told the boys to stand up and that they are strong, some of the girls took note.

“One of the girls turned around and looked at me and said, “I’m strong, too,” Volland told the Times.

Winston was accused of raping a student in 2012 when they were both students at Florida State.

The quarterback has said they had consensual sex. He was not arrested and was never charged. Winston and the accuser settled a civil lawsuit in December.

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Information from: Tampa Bay Times (St. Petersburg, Fla.), http://www.tampabay.com.

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”Yeah, it starts now,” Winston said this week. ”It’s a game that we’ve got to win.”

The Buccaneers could win one of their final two games and make the playoffs, but would need considerable help.

As it is, Tampa Bay (8-6) might not make the playoffs even by reaching 10 victories.

So, realistically, the Buccaneers figure they have to win out against the Saints (6-8) this weekend and against Carolina in the regular-season finale.

The Bucs don’t seem to lack confidence in their ability to make the playoffs for the first time since 2007.

”We’ve shown that we can beat the best and battle with the best,” Winston said.

Last weekend, the Bucs fell 26-20 at NFC-leading Dallas. But they might have pulled out that game if not for four turnovers, including Winston’s late-game interception.

Now they’re on the road again, but this time against a Saints team they beat 16-11 less than two weeks ago. New Orleans was the turnover-plagued club in the first meeting; Drew Brees threw three interceptions.

Brees bounced back last Sunday in Arizona, passing for 369 yards and four touchdowns in a 48-41 victory , and the Saints – whose playoff possibilities, however remote, are not officially extinguished – are hoping that’s the kind of offense they bring to the Superdome in this unusually quick rematch with a divisional foe.

”It’s not going to be something new or magical,” said Saints running back Tim Hightower, who rushed for a pair of touchdowns against the Cardinals. ”We had three turnovers last game” in Tampa Bay.

This time, Hightower said, the Saints don’t need to alter their scheme so much as ”do a better job of executing this game and sustaining drives and get in the end zone.”

That might be easier said than done against the Buccaneers defense, whose 26 takeaways rank third in the NFL.

Here are some other story lines surrounding Tampa Bay’s high-stakes visit to the Big Easy:

QUICK TURNAROUND: Not only are these teams meeting for the second time in three weeks, but also on a short week, with this game being just six days after each team’s previous game.

”That’s the whole chess match part of playing somebody this close together is both staffs have to decide what plays are you leaving in, what plays are you taking out and what are you replacing them with,” Tampa Bay coach Dirk Koetter said. ”You never know how much they’re going to change either. You can’t just assume they’re going to go out and play exactly the same.”

EAGER EVANS: The Buccaneers are hoping to get Pro Bowl receiver Mike Evans, who has a career-best 84 receptions for 1,159 yards, more involved in their offense again. The third-year pro is tied for first in the NFC with 10 touchdown receptions. However, he doesn’t have any in the past three weeks while being limited to 11 receptions for 139 yards by the Chargers, Saints and Cowboys.

New Orleans limited him to four catches for 42 yards, and Evans – a first-time Pro Bowl selection – sounds eager for another shot at the Saints’ secondary.

”It’s a big game for us, our biggest one of the year,” Evans said. ”Last time I had some opportunities I wish I could have capitalized on. I look forward to capitalizing on them this Saturday.”

QB COMPARISON: Saints coach Sean Payton asserts that Winston is having an exceptional season – particularly for a second-year pro – even if his statistical accomplishments have fallen far short of the numbers an elite QB such as Brees has put up.

Winston has 948 fewer yards passing, nine fewer TDs and one more interception than Brees, who also has completed a significantly higher percentage of throws (71.1 percent) than Winston (60.8 percent).

”The first thing you measure a quarterback by is success,” Payton said of Winston. ”He’s a fantastic leader. There’s a way about him that understands and appreciates winning and you kind of feel it when you watch him play. … There’s a little magic about him that I think rubs off on his teammates.”

NO TIME FOR COMPLACENCY: Tampa Bay not only intercepted Brees three times, but also held the Saints star without a TD pass in the first meeting.

Bucs defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, who trains with the New Orleans quarterback during the offseason, noted how well his friend played last Sunday.

”He went and did what Drew does. He bounced back and had an incredible game,” McCoy said, adding that he’s pretty sure Brees is looking forward to having another crack at the Bucs defense.

”I just know him,” McCoy said. ”I’ve been around him, so I’m mentally prepared.”

Bucs middle linebacker Kwon Alexander, a second-year pro out of LSU, agreed.

”We know we’re going to get his best shot,” Alexander said, ”but he’s going to get our best shot, too.”

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For more NFL coverage: AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL

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The spotlight doesn’t leave, and Winston wants to shine in it.

”It’s about my actions,” the Tampa Buccaneers rookie said while attending a youth football clinic. ”I got to be a quarterback. When I’m off the field, I got to be a quarterback. When I’m on the field, I’ve got to be a quarterback. I know people are going to look at me in each and every way.

”I just smile, man.”

He did a lot of that on Friday.

Winston is trying to move on from a celebrated and checkered college career at Florida State, where he won a Heisman Trophy and led the Seminoles to a national championship but also brought himself and the school shame for multiple off-field incidents, including a rape accusation that was dismissed after prosecutors cited problems with a police investigation.

As he embarks on his NFL career, the 21-year-old is staying positive. And while he’s not hiding from his past, Winston is focused on what’s in ahead, not behind him.

”I have nothing to prove,” he said. ”I believe that people make mistakes but I also believe that you bounce back from those and I’m just moving forward.”

Winston and the NFC’s other drafted rookies got a break from their four-day symposium – a league-run orientation program designed to help players transition to the pros – by playing with school-aged children on Cleveland Browns training fields. While the youngsters ran pass routes, bumped into blocking pads and tossed footballs into garbage cans, Winston seemed to be the biggest kid on the field.

He led the boys and girls in cheers, handed out high-fives and advice and taught the kids how to put some touch on a pass or fire a rocket.

”Set your feet and let it rip,” he told one boy. ”Don’t be afraid.”

Winston was clearly in his element inside the field’s white-chalked borders. It was when he has ventured off the field, out of bounds, that Winston has gotten into trouble.

There was the shoplifting charge for stealing crab legs from a grocery store; the suspension for jumping on a table on Florida State’s campus and screaming an explicit phrase and the sexual-assault allegation in 2012. Those actions overshadowed Winston’s achievements on the field, earned him a troublemaker’s image and made him a target of criticism on social media.

While the 2015 rookie class is being lectured on professional life by former players offering their experiences, Winston can already speak to how a bad decision can be irrevocable.

Several of Winston’s fellow rookies said he has been one of the most engaged players this week. And despite his higher profile, he has been just one of the guys.

”He is the most high-spirited guy I’ve been around,” said Buccaneers offensive tackle Donovan Smith, a second-round pick from Penn State. ”He’s a great leader. And he likes to have fun. You’re looking at us – we’re 21, 22 years old. You have to think about it. We’re adults, but we’re still kids sometimes and we want to have fun.”

And although he recognizes Winston may endure more scrutiny than other players, Smith said every pro athlete is under a microscope and should be accountable for their behavior.

”All of us are in spotlights,” he said. ”We’re the one percent of athletes who make it to the pros. We’re going to be scrutinized in our worst times, praised in our best times. It comes with the territory. We just got to live with it.”

Winston will stay active on social media, while others are more wary of potential dangers. Earlier this week, No. 2 pick Marcus Mariota said he won’t bother with Twitter or any other online platform.

Winston isn’t going to hide.

”You can only be yourself. What people put out there on social media is just whatever. But I am just trying to be a better person and live life, and that’s all,” he said. ”I mean social media can help you in so many ways, from a positive standpoint. I can’t control what people put on social media about me, but I can control my actions and what I do.”

And he plans to smile while doing it.

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Online: AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL

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