The Tampa Bay Buccaneers came through with a pivotal win on Thursday night, defeating the Carolina Panthers in an NFC South showdown to pick up their first win of the season.

The Buccaneers held the Panthers to 14 points in a six-point victory, including three fourth-down stops, one of which came on a fourth-and-1 late in the game. Afterward, Tampa Bay defensive lineman Beau Allen said the defense feels different than it did a year ago.

“It’s crazy how it came down to a fourth-and-1, but absolutely, we’ve talked about how we want to forge a new identity for us, and I think we’re on our way to that,” said Allen, according to Greg Auman of The Athletic. “You don’t want to toot your own horn too much two games into the season, but I think we’ve come a long way. We have a lot of guys who have stepped up and made plays.”

The Bucs certainly put forth a better effort on Thursday evening than they did in Week 1 when they allowed 31 points in a 14-point loss to the San Francisco 49ers. This time around, the Buccaneers stuffed the run, holding the Panthers to 39 rushing yards, and also held Carolina to 3-of-14 on third downs.

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Tampa Bay won just five games last season, resulting in the firing of head coach Dirk Koetter. The Bucs then went out and hired Bruce Arians as his replacement.

The Buccaneers have not made the playoffs since the 2007-08 campaign, representing the longest active drought in the NFC.

They will play host to the New York Giants in Week 3.