Road race: Martin, Bucs trample Vikings 36-17

Martin racked up 214 total yards — including a career-high 135 rushing — and two touchdowns, and the Buccaneers beat the Vikings 36-17 on Thursday night.

"We knew that the crowd was going to be loud," Martin said. We prepared for that."

The Vikings, on the other hand, were caught off guard.

"I didn't do a good job of getting our guys prepared for this. We did not play well. That's extremely obvious," Vikings coach Leslie Frazier said.

Martin took a screen pass 64 yards for a score for Tampa Bay (3-4), one of Josh Freeman's three touchdown passes, to stretch the lead to 27-10 just 1:21 into the second half. Then Martin, the first-round draft pick from Boise State, capped a drive of more than 9 minutes with a 1-yard muscle into the end zone midway through the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach for Minnesota (5-3).

"He comes spittin' out of there, and that's what we believe he can do," Buccaneers coach Greg Schiano said. "And I think he's just getting better and better."

Adrian Peterson had a season-high 64-yard run for a score that brought the Vikings within 30-17, but his lost fumble in Minnesota territory in the second quarter led directly to a Tampa Bay touchdown.

The Bucs, only the second visiting team to win on a Thursday night in seven games this season, revived their struggling pass rush with three sacks and flustered Christian Ponder with a heavy dose of blitzes. Ponder finished 19 for 35 for 251 yards, one touchdown and a late interception.

"It is frustrating when you have the momentum on your side and you can feel it shift," Ponder said. "There are always momentum shifts in the game, and we've got to take advantage of them. We didn't do that."

With a 13-point lead, just trying to keep that clock running as quickly as possible, the Bucs could've gone conservative, but they refused to settle for a punt. Starting at their own 13 with 1:12 left in the third quarter, they plowed their way up the field — Freeman completed four third-and-long passes — and finished off the game with Martin's third-and-goal touchdown run with 7:03 remaining.