Gm 78: Tampa Bay at Minnesota
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Tag Archives: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Gm 62: Green Bay at Tampa Bay
Gm 50: Tampa Bay at New Orleans
Gm 36: Phoenix at Tampa Bay
Gm 18: Tampa Bay at Green Bay
Gm 8: Philadelphia at Tampa Bay
Game 2. Tampa Bay at Chicago
Game 190. New England at Tampa Bay
1997 Game 247 – NFC Divisional – Tampa Bay at Green Bay
Packers blowout Tampa to advance to NFC Title Game
Brett Favre showed why he is a 3-time MVP on Sunday as the Green Bay Packers blew out the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 30-6, at Lambeau Field to advance to their third consecutive NFC Championship game.
Favre was laser sharp on Sunday as he torched the Buccaneer defense for 298 yards on 19 of 27 passing with three touchdowns. Favre didn’t waste any time on Sunday as he connected with WR Antonio Freeman on a 52-yard bomb on the first play of the first Packer series that set up a Ryan Longwell field goal.
It seemed like this game would be like all the games in the ’97 playoffs so far…a field goal fest. Longwell booted two field goals, but late in the first half, Favre finally busted through to get the Packers in the end zone. He hit FB William Henderson in the flat and Henderson did the rest. He plowed through the Buccaneer defense and scored from 17-yards out giving the Packers a big 13-0 lead at halftime.
Coming out of halftime, the Packers didn’t waste any time again. This time, RB Dorsey Levens blasted through the defense for a 34-yard scamper. Then a few plays later, Favre hit WR Robert Brooks in the corner of the end zone for an 11-yard scoring strike giving the Packers a 20-0 lead.
Then late in the third quarter, Favre and Brooks hooked up again but this time on a 49-yard bomb that put the game away, 27-0. Brooks had a big day catching six passes for 139 yards and two touchdowns. His partner, Antonio Freeman, caught three passes for 99 yards.
The Packer defense was dominant. They basically gave up only one drive to the Buccaneers all day long and held the Bucs to just 163 total yards. More specifically, they ganged up on the Buccaneer running game, which is the Buc’s strength. They held Alstott and Dunn to just 30 yards on 20 carries.
The Packers will now host the NFC Championship game at Lambeau Field next Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers. The Packers have never lost a playoff game or a championship game in Green Bay or Lambeau Field.
1997 Game 241 – NFC Wildcard – Tampa Bay at Washington
Redskins lose on a bad long snap
The Washington Redskins had the game going their way midway through the 4th quarter of Saturday’s NFC Wildcard game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Jack Kent Cooke Stadium. The Redskins led 10-9 and were lining up for a punt to possibly put the Bucs deep in their own territory…but that’s when tragedy hit.
The Redskins’ long snapper sailed the ball over punter Matt Turk’s head, and it rolled to the Redskins’ 25-yard line where safety Charles Mincy fell on the ball. The Buccaneers drove the ball to the one-yard line but had to settle for a 20-yard field goal, because of a great Redskin goal line defense, which gave the Buccaneers a 12-10 lead.
Redskin QB Jeff Hostetler tried to rally the Redskins, but the Buccaneer defense was just too tough on this day. The Buccaneers got the ball back and then ran out the clock with a great 3-minute offense to secure the 12-10 win. The Buccaneers will now travel to Lambeau Field to take on division rival and defending Super Bowl Champions in the Green Bay Packers.
The story of this game was defense. Both the Buccaneers and the Redskins defenses rose to the occasion. The Redskins popped FB Mike Alstott in the first quarter and caused him to fumble. The Redskins recovered, capitalized, and took a 7-0 lead when Hostetler hit FB Larry Bowie on a 1-yd TD pass.
From that moment on, it was a field goal fest. The Buccaneers didn’t score a touchdown and kicked four Mike Husted field goals to win the game. The Redskins managed only 203 total yards on the day and turned the ball over three times. The Buccaneers only had 255 total yards and turned it over twice.
The Buccaneers did get a solid running game from HB Warrick Dunn and Alstott. They along with QB Trent Dilfer combined for 161 yards on the ground. The Redskins got injured RB Terry Allen back and he rushed for 52 yards and the Redskins only managed 92 as a team.