Charlotte, NC -- Carnell "Cadillac" Williams rushed for 112 yards with two touchdowns on 29 carries, as Tampa Bay defeated Carolina, 20-10, in a key NFC South Division battle at Bank of America Stadium.

Chris Simms ended 20-of-27 for 138 yards for the Buccaneers (9-4), who have won two straight and four of their last five games.

"Let me just say, we're very happy to have won," said Tampa Bay head coach Jon Gruden. "I'm proud of our team. We beat a great team today on the road."

The victory also vaulted Tampa Bay into a first-place tie with the Panthers, but due to a better division record, the Bucs currently own the upperhand in the competitive NFC South.

"We were in the same circumstances as they (Carolina) were last week with Atlanta," said Simms. "It's a big win for us. They are a great team. We aren't taking anything away from them. I know a lot of guys on this team felt a little disrespected. Everybody was picking the Panthers, and really just kind of overlooking us. So, we came out here with something to prove today."

Jake Delhomme finished 21-of-33 for 220 yards with a touchdown and an interception for the Panthers (9-4), who lost for only the second time in the past seven games.

"They came in and beat us, plain and simple," said Delhomme. "They played better than us today. We started off well. The first drive was nice. We were going. We got down and didn't get any points off of it. We never got anything mustered after that. We were awful on third down today and I think that was the key. We were pathetic."

Steve Smith had five catches for 103 yards while DeShaun Foster ran for only 46 yards in the loss, which snapped Carolina's five-game series winning streak.

Trailing 13-3 early in the fourth, the Panthers were on the move and appeared to be closing in on a score. However, Carolina's fortunes quickly turned as Delhomme was intercepted by Ronde Barber and the speedy cornerback ran the ball back 35 yards to set Tampa Bay up with excellent field position.

The Buccaneers then chewed up nearly six minutes off the clock before sealing the win with 5:39 to go. Tampa Bay moved 58 yards in 10 plays, nine of which were runs, and Williams capped the series with a 10-yard TD scamper to extend the Bucs cushion to 20-3.

"It was very important to run the ball because we know what kind of defense they've got...Our offensive line did a great job today," said Williams.

Ricky Proehl's 10-yard touchdown grab with 23 seconds left finally got the Panthers in the end zone and capped the scoring.

Carolina marched deep into Bucs territory on the first possession of the game, but came away empty after John Kasay missed a 42-yard field goal.

"We started out good," said Carolina head coach John Fox. "I thought we were ready to play. We went right down the field and missed a field goal. We kind of bummed around there for a little while."

After each team then punted, Tampa Bay marched 54 yards in eight plays and Williams capped the scoring drive with a 14-yard touchdown run to make it 7-0 with 4:04 left in the first quarter. On the series, Simms converted a pair of third downs, as he found Joey Galloway for a 17-yard completion on 3rd-and-10 to move the chains early in the march. Then, later in the drive, Simms again hooked up with the Ohio State product for an 11-yard pickup on 3rd-and-7.

Both defenses then took over and there was not another offensive threat until late in the second quarter. The Buccaneers moved 44 yards in the waning minutes of the first half and used a 34-yard field goal by Matt Bryant to take a 10-0 lead into the locker room.

In a defensive-oriented first-half, Tampa Bay had 133 net yards, compared to only 78 by the Panthers.

Early in the third quarter, Carolina was faced with a 4th-and-2 from the Bucs' 39-yard line, but Stephen Davis was tackled short of a first down and the Panthers turned it over on downs.

The Bucs then drove down the field on their ensuing possession, but were barely stopped on 3rd-and-inches from just inside the Carolina 19-yard line. However, Gruden elected to kick the field goal, rather than go for the short first down, and Bryant booted a 36-yard kick to make it 13-0 with 4:29 to go in the period.

The Panthers were then finally able to get on the board on their next series as Kasay atoned from an earlier miss by drilling a 39-yard field goal to make it a 13-3 game. The big play on the scoring drive was a 60-yard pass down the right sideline to Smith.

Game Notes

Williams joined Errict Rhett and Warrick Dunn as the only Tampa Bay rookie running backs to have at least 900 rushing yards in a season. Williams, who has 924 rushing yards on the year, also joined Dunn, James Wilder and Rickey Bell for the most 100-yard rushing games in a Buccaneer season (5)...Tampa Bay is 5-2 as the visitor this season and clinched a winning road record for just the fourth time in franchise history...Barber recorded his 20th career sack late in the game and is the only CB in NFL history with at least 20 sacks and 20 interceptions (28)...Smith has five receptions this season of at least 50 yards. He also set a team record with his eighth 100-yard receiving game this season...The Panthers defense had allowed just one touchdown in the last four games prior to surrendering two in this contest.