Josh Freeman was the third quarterback selected in the first round of last April's draft, and he was the last of the trio to make his debut.

While Matthew Stafford and Mark Sanchez were starters in Week One, Freeman had to patiently wait his turn as the woeful Buccaneers went through two starting QBs before turning to him during their bye week.

The Kansas State product, who was selected 17th overall by Tampa Bay, finally took over the starting reins of a winless club on Sunday and when his debut game was over, he not only had rescued the Bucs from the ignominy of being the last winless team, but he had brought hope to a franchise that was riding an 11-game losing streak and had been in a tailspin since reaching a 9-3 mark a little more than a year ago.

Freeman played with remarkable poise, especially during the fourth quarter when he rallied the Bucs from a 28-17 deficit. He looked like anything but a rookie as he marched the Bucs 72 yards in eight plays for the go-ahead touchdown, stunning a Packers team that was a double-digit favorite, according to the handicappers.

How cool was Freeman? He didn't flinch when asked to make a play on 4th-and-4 from the Packers' seven-yard line with 4:20 to play, Scanning the field out of the shotgun, Freeman tossed the ball into the corner of the endzone slightly behind Stroughter, who leaped, twisted and snatched the ball out of the air while barely getting both feet inbounds. It was the first receiving TD of Stroughter's career.

Stroughter, who has 19 catches for 233 yards on the season, showed he's a youngster to watch, too, as he produced when it counted for his second eye-catching play in the past three games. The sixth-round pick had returned a kickoff for a score in Week Six against Carolina.

If Freeman proves to be the real deal, and it's obviously way too early to tell, he could be the building block the franchise desperately needs to rise from the ashes left behind by the Jon Gruden/Bruce Allen regime. Ironically, Gruden, who has a reputation for being a great QB coach, never was able to find a young QB he trusted to develop during his seven years with the club.

Freeman finished with 14-of-31 passing for 205 yards and three touchdowns with just one interception. A second pick during the go-ahead drive was wiped out by an illegal-contact penalty. He also showed excellent mobility, running four times for 20 yards. And he's squarely on the Meter's watch list from here on out.

Note: Reader Victor M. Rios sent the Meter an e-mail, asking for a shout-out to kickoff specialist David Buehler of the Cowboys. Rios noted that of Buehler's 43 kickoffs, not including squib kicks, only three have been returned past the opposing team's 30-yard line this season. And, his 17 touchbacks are second-most in team history after only eight weeks. He is also playing on the punt coverage unit and made a team-best two special-teams tackles in the win over the Eagles.

Consider him on the watch list, Victor.

On to this week's Rookie of the Year Meter:

1.OLB Brian Cushing, Texans (first round, 15th overall)
Filled up the stat sheet once again, totaling 12 tackles, one for loss, with one QB hit and one pass defended in a 20-17 loss to the Colts. Peyton Manning and the Colts targeted Cushing with passes to RB Joseph Addai out of the backfield and to TE Dallas Clark over the middle as part of a 51-pass onslaught. But Cushing hung in there and didn't give up any big scoring plays as the Texans stayed close to the end.

2. WR Percy Harvin, Vikings (1, 22)
On bye. Hoping that the bye week helped heal his injured shoulder. Fully healthy, he could be a scary proposition for a Lions defense that blew a 17-point lead at Seattle last week.

3. QB Mark Sanchez, Jets (1, 5)
On bye. Was in a good game/bad game streak prior to the week off. We'll see if he has caught a second wind and can be more consistent. Going against a less-than-stellar Jaguars pass defense should help.

4. OT Michael Oher, Ravens (1, 23)
Didn't have his best game against the Bengals, and neither did the Ravens' offense. The O-line allowed QB Joe Flacco to be sacked four times, including one for Oher's matchup opponent, Bengals DLE Robert Geathers. Baltimore struggled to move the ball on the ground or in the air and didn't cross midfield until the third quarter in a 17-7 loss.

5. CB Jairus Byrd, Bills (2, 42)
On bye. We'll have to see if the bye week helped heal his injured groin as he tries to keep pace with Dick "Night Train" Lane's all-time rookie interceptions record of 14 in a season. He'll be facing a powerful Titans running game, so QB Vince Young may not have to throw the ball much, limiting Byrd's opportunities for more picks.

6. WR Hakeem Nicks, Giants (1, 29)
Caught three passes for 39 yards and carried the ball once for nine yards in the Giants' last-minute 21-20 loss to the Chargers. Is doing nearly everything the Giants hoped he would as a rookie and is definitely not to blame for New York's struggles of late.

7. MLB James Laurinaitis, Rams (2, 35)
On bye. Gets to face the powerful Saints offense in St. Louis' first game post-bye before gearing up for a meeting with ex-Ohio State teammate Beanie Wells and the Cardinals in Week 11.

8. WR Austin Collie, Colts (4, 127)
Was surprisingly quiet in a game that saw Peyton Manning throw 50 passes, including 40 in the first half. Collie caught only two of the six passes targeted to him for 26 yards.

9. CB Jerraud Powers, Colts (3, 92)
Moves into the top 10 in place of Bengals OLB Rey Maualuga, who failed to dent the stats sheet  Sunday in Cincy's win over Baltimore, and has been quiet of late. Powers stepped up in a big way for an injury-decimated Colts secondary that was without CBs Marlin Jackson and Kelvin Hayden and S Bob Sanders. Powers came up with an interception, 10 tackles and one pass defended in helping limit the Texans' high-powered offense to 17 points.

10. WR Mike Wallace, Steelers (3, 84)
Shined much brighter under the Monday-night lights than fellow rookie Knowshon Moreno of the Broncos, who was bottled up by the Steelers' fierce run defense to the tune of three yards on five carries. Wallace, meanwhile, has emerged as a trusted weapon in Ben Roethlisberger's arsenal, catching four passes for 69 yards, including a 25-yard TD catch following a Troy Polamalu interception that broke a tight game open midway through the fourth quarter. Wallace has 25 catches for 437 yards and three touchdowns on the season. He also has four carries for 43 yards.

On the cusp (listed alphabetically)
OLB Aaron Curry, Seahawks (1, 4)
S Louis Delmas, Lions (2, 33)
WR Johnny Knox, Bears (5, 140)
WR Jeremy Maclin, Eagles (1, 19)
OLB Clay Matthews, Packers (1, 26)
OLB Rey Maualuga, Bengals (2, 38)
RB Knowshon Moreno, Broncos (1, 12)
OLB Brian Orakpo, Redskins (1, 13)
PK Ryan Succop, Chiefs (7, 256)
OG Max Unger, Seahawks (2, 49)

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