Aaron Donald Vs Warren Sapp
| 2002Tampa Bay Buccaneers flavor | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Malcolm Glazer |
| General manager | Rich McKay |
| Caput coach | Jon Gruden |
| Abode field | Raymond James Stadium |
| Results | |
| Tape | 12–four |
| Sectionalisation identify | 1st NFC South |
| Playoff finish | Won Divisional Playoffs (vs. 49ers) 31–6 Won NFC Championship (at Eagles) 27–ten Won Super Basin XXXVII (vs. Raiders) 48–21 |
| Pro Bowlers | QB Brad Johnson FB Mike Alstott DE Simeon Rice DT Warren Sapp LB Derrick Brooks LB Shelton Quarles SS John Lynch |
| AP All-Pros | DE Simeon Rice (1st team) DT Warren Sapp (1st team) LB Derrick Brooks (1st team) CB Ronde Barber (2nd team) SS John Lynch (second squad) |
| Squad MVP | QB Brad Johnson |
The 2002 season was the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 27th in the National Football League (NFL). It was one of the nearly successful seasons in franchise history, ending with a victory in Super Bowl XXXVII.[1] [2] [3]
The season began with the team trying to improve on a ix–7 season and did so with a franchise-best 12–4 record. It was Jon Gruden's starting time flavor every bit the Buccaneers' caput coach. They won the Super Bowl for the outset fourth dimension in the team'southward history, beating the Oakland Raiders 48–21.[iv] This was Tampa Bay's only Super Bowl appearance and win until 2020, with the Super Bowl win also being their most recent playoff game win in the same span. The 2002 Buccaneers' defence is oft cited as ane of the best always, also every bit one of the virtually potent pass defenses in league history.[5] [half-dozen] [seven]
Summary [edit]
"Pound the rock!" was the slogan of the 2002 squad
In Jan 2002, after losing in the wild card round to the Eagles for the 2nd consecutive year, the Buccaneers fired head omnibus Tony Dungy.[8] [nine] After that they began a prolonged search for his replacement. Potential candidates included Gators head charabanc (and former Buccaneers quarterback) Steve Spurrier, old Giants head coach Nib Parcells, Ravens defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis, and Raiders head double-decker Jon Gruden. Parcells passed on the offer, while Spurrier took the job at Washington. Tampa Bay general managing director Rich McKay threw his support behind Lewis but the Glazers were displeased with the selection of yet another defensive-minded bus that they overruled McKay and took control of the candidate search themselves. They made it clear that their acme pick was Gruden; even so, he was still under contract with the Raiders. While talks with the Raiders were secretly underway, the Glazers publicly pursued 49ers head omnibus Steve Mariucci. But shortly thereafter, Al Davis agreed to release Gruden to Tampa Bay,[10] but the movement was costly. Tampa Bay paid Oakland with 2 get-go-round draft picks (2002, 2003), two second-round picks (2002, 2004) and $viii one thousand thousand in cash payments.[eleven]
Upon his arrival in Tampa Bay, Gruden immediately went to work, acquiring former Jaguars WR Keenan McCardell, and RB Michael Pittman from the Cardinals. The Buccaneers needed to ameliorate their sluggish crime, as the league's sweeping realignment sent them to the new NFC Southward partition, along with Atlanta, Carolina and New Orleans.
The law-breaking made slight improvements during the flavour, only the strength of the team was the defense force. The 2002 Buccaneers became the starting time squad to pb the league in total defense, points allowed, and interceptions since the 1985 Chicago Bears. They also held opposing quarterbacks to an unbelievable 48.4 passer rating for the season.[12] Led past this dominating defense force, the 2002 Buccaneers achieved their most successful season to date. They won the NFC South title with the team's best e'er record, 12–4, and then defeated the 49ers in what became coach Steve Mariucci's terminal game with that franchise. In a surprising upset, Tampa Bay won their outset NFC Championship on the route against the Eagles in the last NFL game always played at Veterans Stadium. Cornerback Ronde Barber capped off the win by intercepting a Donovan McNabb pass and returning it 92 yards for a touchdown tardily in the fourth quarter.
The Buccaneers went on to rout Gruden'southward former squad, the Oakland Raiders, by a score of 48–21 in Super Basin XXXVII. Gruden's familiarity with the Raiders' players and playbook paid off, as John Lynch and other Buccaneer players recognized some of Oakland's formations and plays at crucial points in the game.[13] The Bucs became the first team to win the Super Basin without any picks in the commencement two rounds of the previous bound's draft, having traded these picks to the Oakland Raiders for the rights to larn Gruden. At the time, Gruden made history past becoming the youngest head coach to win a Super Bowl.
Offseason [edit]
2002 World Champions flag located at Raymond James Stadium
| Signings | Departures |
|---|---|
| P Tom Tupa (Jets) | CB Donnie Abraham (Jets) |
| TE Ken Dilger (Colts) | LB Jamie Duncan (Rams) |
| WR Keenan McCardell (Jaguars) | WR Jacquez Green (Redskins) |
| WR Joe Jurevicius (Giants) | TE Dave Moore (Bills) |
| QB Rob Johnson (Bills) | P Mark Royals (Dolphins) |
| RB Michael Pittman (Cardinals) | |
| TE Rickey Dudley (Browns) | |
| DE Greg Spires (Browns) | |
| T Roman Oben (Browns) |
2002 Expansion Typhoon [edit]
| Round | Overall | Name | Position | Expansion Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | 14 | Sean McDermott | Tight end | Houston Texans |
2002 NFL Draft [edit]
| 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers typhoon | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draft order | Player name | Position | College | Notes | |
| Round | Selection | ||||
| 1 | 21 | Traded to the Oakland Raiders | |||
| ii | 53 | Traded to the Oakland Raiders | |||
| 3 | 86 | Marquise Walker | WR | Michigan | |
| four | 119 | Travis Stephens | RB | Tennessee | |
| 5 | 157 | Jermaine Phillips | S | Georgia | |
| half-dozen | 193 | John Stamper | DE | South Carolina | |
| 7 | 233 | Tim Wansley | CB | Georgia | |
| 250 | Tracey Wistrom | TE | Nebraska | ||
| 254 | Aaron Lockett | WR | Kansas State | ||
| 255 | Zack Quaccia | C | Stanford | ||
- Tampa Bay signed rookie complimentary agent Ryan Nece, a linebacker from UCLA afterward the draft.
Staff [edit]
Forepart office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
| Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
| |||||
[14]
Roster [edit]
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
| Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
| Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
| Reserve lists
Rookies in italics | ||||||
Preseason [edit]
During the offseason, the Buccaneers signed a new deal with Walt Disney World, and moved their Training Camp from the University of Tampa to Disney's Wide Globe of Sports Complex exterior of Orlando.
During the first preseason game against the Miami Dolphins on Monday night August 12, which served as Jon Gruden's commencement coached game (admitting preseason), Frank Murphy took the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown. It was the Buccaneers' 5th kickoff render touchdown in the preseason, however, at the time, the team had however never returned a beginning for a touchdown in the regular season (and would do then not until 2007).
Schedule [edit]
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | August 12 | Miami Dolphins | W 14–10 | i–0 | Raymond James Stadium | Recap |
| two | August 16 | at Jacksonville Jaguars | W 20–0 | 2–0 | Alltel Stadium | Recap |
| 3 | August 24 | Washington Redskins | L ten–forty | 2–1 | Raymond James Stadium | Recap |
| four | August 30 | at Houston Texans | W 17–13 | 3–1 | Reliant Stadium | Epitomize |
Regular season [edit]
Schedule [edit]
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Epitomize | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 8 | New Orleans Saints | Fifty 20–26 (OT) | 0–one | Raymond James Stadium | Recap | ||
| 2 | September 15 | at Baltimore Ravens | Westward 25–0 | ane–1 | PSINet Stadium | Epitomize | ||
| 3 | September 23 | St. Louis Rams | W 26–fourteen | ii–1 | Raymond James Stadium | Recap | ||
| 4 | September 29 | at Cincinnati Bengals | W 35–seven | 3–1 | Paul Brown Stadium | Recap | ||
| 5 | October 6 | at Atlanta Falcons | West 20–6 | 4–1 | Georgia Dome | Epitomize | ||
| 6 | October 13 | Cleveland Browns | W 17–3 | 5–1 | Raymond James Stadium | Epitomize | ||
| 7 | October 20 | at Philadelphia Eagles | 50 10–twenty | 5–two | Veterans Stadium | Epitomize | ||
| 8 | October 27 | at Carolina Panthers | W 12–nine | vi–ii | Banking company of America Stadium | Recap | ||
| nine | November iii | Minnesota Vikings | West 38–24 | 7–2 | Raymond James Stadium | Epitomize | ||
| 10 | Bye | |||||||
| eleven | November 17 | Carolina Panthers | Due west 23–x | 8–ii | Raymond James Stadium | Recap | ||
| 12 | Nov 24 | Green Bay Packers | Westward 21–7 | 9–2 | Raymond James Stadium | Recap | ||
| xiii | December i | at New Orleans Saints | Fifty 20–23 | ix–iii | Louisiana Superdome | Recap | ||
| 14 | Dec 8 | Atlanta Falcons | W 34–10 | 10–three | Raymond James Stadium | Recap | ||
| 15 | Dec 15 | at Detroit Lions | W 23–20 | 11–3 | Ford Field | Epitomize | ||
| 16 | December 23 | Pittsburgh Steelers | L vii–17 | 11–4 | Raymond James Stadium | Recap | ||
| 17 | December 29 | at Chicago Bears | W xv–0 | 12–four | Memorial Stadium | Recap | ||
Game summaries [edit]
Week 1: vs. New Orleans Saints [edit]
| one | two | iii | 4 | OT | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saints | 6 | seven | 7 | 0 | 6 | 26 |
| Buccaneers | 0 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 0 | twenty |
Jon Gruden's era in Tampa Bay began at home against new division rival, the New Orleans Saints, a team they'd soundly beaten the year before. Though heralded for his offensive expertise, the Buccaneers offense sputtered and was anemic for the first three quarters. The Saints held a 20–10 lead late in the fourth quarter, while Tampa Bay'southward law-breaking had only 161 yards through 3 periods, and quarterback Brad Johnson was sacked 3 times, on a hot, humid 90° afternoon.
Game action between the Buccaneers and Saints at the 2002 Opening Day meeting.
With only nether three minutes remaining, Brad Johnson led the Buccaneers on touchdown bulldoze to narrow the score to 20–17. In the final two minutes, the criminal offense finally performed, every bit Johnson drove the Buccaneers to the Saints 34-yard line. Tampa Bay faced 4th down with 23 seconds to go and counting, and no timeouts remaining. Martín Gramática hurried onto the field and kicked a game-tying field goal as time expired, and forced overtime.
Tied 20–twenty in the overtime period, Tampa Bay received, and rapidly drove to the Saints 39-thou line. With the choice of a field goal attempt of over 55 yards, Gruden elected to punt. The teams traded possession twice, and with just over 4 minutes remaining in the overtime, Tampa Bay was pinned back at their own five-yard line. Tom Tupa attempted to punt on 4th down from the endzone, merely Fred McAfee was unblocked. Tupa avoided the tackle, and attempted a desperation shovel laissez passer to John Howell from his not-throwing arm. The ball was intercepted by James Allen, standing in the confines of the endzone, and the Saints were credited with a game-winning touchdown.
Week ii: at Baltimore Ravens [edit]
| ane | 2 | 3 | iv | Full | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buccaneers | 10 | 3 | 5 | seven | 25 |
| Ravens | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Tampa Bay rebounded in week 2 against the Baltimore Ravens. Karl Williams returned a punt 56 yards for a touchdown, and Martín Gramática scored three field goals. Derrick Brooks sealed the victory and secured the shutout with a 97-yard interception render touchdown with one:06 to go.
Prior to the start of the game the Baltimore Ravens remembered Baltimore football legend Johnny Unitas in a variety of touching ways. One time the game began, Bucs passer Brad Johnson fashioned his own fitting tribute to the legendary quarterback.
On one of his best days every bit a Buccaneer, Johnson completed over 75% of his passes as Tampa Bay picked up a road win that was mostly devoid of tension. The Bucs shared in Baltimore's emotion during the pregame, then tuckered all drama from the game itself past sprinting out to a 10–0 lead and rarely letting Baltimore onto its half of the field.
Johnson completed all five of his passes on the Bucs' opening drive, leading to a 36-yard Martin Gramatica field goal, and WR Karl Williams followed 5 minutes subsequently with a 56-yard punt return for a touchdown. Staked to a x–0 atomic number 82, Tampa Bay's defense needed no more than, pitching just the 2d road shut out in franchise history (the commencement: a 35–0 victory at Cincinnati in 1998). The Bucs' D, somewhat perturbed at its own performance in final Lord's day's opener, even tied a bow on the matter in the final minutes when LB Derrick Brooks intercepted QB Chris Redman'southward pass at Tampa Bay's three and returned information technology 97 yards for a touchdown.
Week three: vs. St. Louis Rams [edit]
| 1 | ii | 3 | 4 | Full | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rams | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| Buccaneers | three | 10 | 0 | 13 | 26 |
On Monday night, the Buccaneers hosted the St. Louis Rams, continuing a brief, but budding rivalry between the two clubs. The Tampa Bay defence force intercepted Kurt Warner four times, and held a 19–14 lead late in the fourth quarter.
With merely over a minute to go, Warner drove the Rams to their 34-1000 line, but Derrick Brooks intercepted his pass and returned it 39 yards for a touchdown, his second such score in two weeks. Tampa Bay won 26–fourteen, and improved to 2–1.
Week four: at Cincinnati Bengals [edit]
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Full | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buccaneers | 7 | xiv | vii | 7 | 35 |
| Bengals | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
Tampa Bay crushed the Bengals 35–7. Brad Johnson threw three touchdown passes (of 35 yards, 65 yards and 22 yards, respectively), while Shelton Quarles returned an interception 25 yards for a score (Tampa Bay's tertiary defensive score in three weeks).
If the commencement quarter was a minor struggle, the balance of the game was relatively easy for the Buccaneers, as signified by the first play of the second period. Brad Johnson, who had however another strong solar day, pump-faked left from the Bengals' 35-yard line, cartoon coverage away from Rickey Dudley down the eye of the field. Johnson then lofted a perfect pass to a wide-open Dudley for a 35-yard touchdown. It was Dudley's second score in two games equally a Buccaneer.
6 minutes and two possessions later, Johnson lofted a high floater on the left sideline to another wide-open man, Keenan McCardell. McCardell had no tacklers inside twenty yards of him as he trotted into the end zone for a 65-grand score.
Calendar week 5: at Atlanta Falcons [edit]
| 1 | ii | 3 | four | Full | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buccaneers | 0 | three | 7 | x | 20 |
| Falcons | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
Tampa Bay visited some other new partitioning rival, the Atlanta Falcons. The Buccaneer defense dominated however another game, holding the Falcons to but three first one-half points, despite giving upward good field position (the Falcons had a 47-chiliad kickoff return, a fumble recovery and a recovered onside kick).
On the start drive of the tertiary quarter, quarterback Michael Vick was knocked out of the game later a sack by Simeon Rice. Doug Johnson took over at quarterback for the Falcons, and did not fare well. Though the Falcons took a six–three lead midway through the third flow, the lead was short-lived. Iii plays later, Brad Johnson continued on a 76-yard touchdown pass to Keyshawn Johnson, and a 10–6 lead. Afterward a Martín Gramática field goal stretched the lead to 13–half dozen, Tampa Bay pinned the Falcons on their own 16-yard line with 6:24 to become in the game. Doug Johnson was being sacked merely got the ball off, which was, in turn, intercepted by Warren Sapp at the Atlanta xv-yard line. Sapp lateraled to Derrick Brooks who and then ran for a touchdown. Information technology was Tampa Bay'due south quaternary consecutive game with a defensive score, and Brook's third of the season.
Tampa Bay won by a last score of xx–half dozen, and improved to 4–1.
Week 6: vs. Cleveland Browns [edit]
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Browns | 0 | 0 | 0 | three | 3 |
| Buccaneers | seven | 3 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
Tampa Bay hosted Cleveland, and notched their first ever win against the Browns franchise (having lost all 5 meetings against the pre-1996 club) by a score of 17–3. Fullback Mike Alstott was the most notable histrion of the solar day, rushing 17 times for 126 yards and ii touchdowns. In the fourth quarter, Alstott rumbled xix yards, shaking at least seven tackles, for ane of the more memorable plays of his career.
Despite the disarming win, the Buccaneers kicking game suffered several woes. 1 field goal try was blocked, ane sailed wide left, and some other was foiled past a botched snap. A light rain doused the stadium in the second half.
Calendar week 7: at Philadelphia Eagles [edit]
| one | 2 | iii | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buccaneers | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
| Eagles | 3 | vii | 3 | 7 | 20 |
Derrick Brooks recovered and returned a Donovan McNabb fumble for a touchdown (his fourth defensive score of the flavour), but Tampa Bay could not prevail over the Eagles at Veterans Stadium, falling 20–10. Information technology marked the third directly loss at Veterans Stadium for the Buccaneers, and the fourth direct loss overall to the Eagles.
Early in the game, quarterback Brad Johnson suffered a rib injury, but managed to stay in the game. With 14 minutes to get, physically beaten and exhausted, Johnson lofted a pass intended for Keyshawn Johnson, and it was intercepted. He lacked forcefulness due to the bruised rib. Brad Johnson was benched and would non return to the game. The turnover sealed the victory for the Eagles.
Week eight: at Carolina Panthers [edit]
| i | two | 3 | iv | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buccaneers | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 12 |
| Panthers | 0 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 9 |
Rob Johnson started for the injured Brad Johnson, and managed to guide the Buccaneers to a tough 12–ix win over the Carolina Panthers. Martín Gramática hit four field goals (32, 52, 53, and 47 yards respectively) for Tampa Bay's just points.
In the concluding infinitesimal, tied 9–9, Rob Johnson drove the Buccaneers into Carolina territory. With 21 seconds to go, Johnson scrambled for a 9-1000 run, and was pushed out of premises at the Carolina 35. But he was injured on the play. Third-cord quarterback Shaun Male monarch scurried off the bench cold, and delivered a clutch vii-thousand pass to Karl Williams. With five seconds to go, Gramatica kicked the game-winning field goal.
Calendar week 9: vs. Minnesota Vikings [edit]
Week 9: Minnesota Vikings at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
| i | 2 | three | four | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vikings | 0 | x | seven | seven | 24 |
| Buccaneers | 14 | 10 | 7 | seven | 38 |
at Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida
- Date: Nov 3, 2002
- Game fourth dimension: 1:00 p.thou. EST
- Game weather condition: Partly cloudy, 77 °F (25 °C)
- Game omnipresence: 65,667
- Referee: Jeff Triplette (42)
- TV announcers (FOX): Kenny Albert and Tim Green
- Recap, Game Book
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Brad Johnson returned to the lineup, throwing five touchdown passes (including two to Keyshawn Johnson), and a total of 313 yards, as the Buccaneers rolled 38–24 over the visiting Vikings.
Nether Brad Johnson's jersey on Dominicus was a flak jacket, designed to protect the 2 fractured ribs on his left side.
With the win, the Buccaneers moved to 7–two, tying the 1979 team for the all-time start in franchise history. With Dark-green Bay (6–i) playing on Monday night and New Orleans (6–2) having the week off, Tampa Bay was the outset NFC squad to reach seven wins. They held a half-game border over the Saints in the NFC South race
Week 11: vs. Carolina Panthers [edit]
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Panthers | seven | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Buccaneers | 0 | 10 | 7 | six | 23 |
Brad Johnson threw 2 touchdown passes, and Martín Gramática kicked three field goals, in a 23–10 win over the Panthers. The Buccaneers swept the season serial with Carolina, and posted a franchise-all-time eight–2 outset.
The Bucs reached that franchise loftier-h2o mark on Sun with a 23–10 victory over Carolina, in the process moving into a tie with former partition rival Green Bay for the best record in the NFL. Tampa Bay and Green Bay foursquare off for sole possession of the league'southward best mark adjacent Dominicus in Raymond James Stadium.
Later the Bucs defeated Carolina, 12–9, in an "ugly" game three weeks ago in Charlotte, the rematch was billed every bit another defensive struggle, though with a twist. While this was indeed a matchup of the league's beginning and third-ranked defenses, it as well marked the returns of starting quarterbacks Brad Johnson and Rodney Peete, each of whom missed the terminal game between the 2. Statistically, Johnson and the Bucs' defense force came out on tiptop, though Bucs Caput Omnibus Jon Gruden complimented the Panthers' work, as well.
Week 12: vs. Light-green Bay Packers [edit]
Week 12: Green Bay Packers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Full | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Packers | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | seven |
| Buccaneers | 0 | three | xi | 7 | 21 |
at Raymond James Stadium, Tampa Bay, Florida
- Appointment: November 24, 2002
- Game time: iv:15 p.m.
- Game weather: Articulate, lxx °F (21 °C)
- Game omnipresence: 65,672
- Referee: Johnny Grier (23)
- Telly: FOX
- Recap, Game Book
| Game data | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Longtime rival Light-green Bay came to Raymond James Stadium, with the all-time record in the NFC on the line. In the first quarter, Brett Favre continued on a touchdown pass to Donald Driver to take the lead 7–0. Tampa Bay scored a field goal at the end of the first half, and the score was 7–3 at halftime. The Buccaneers scored another field goal in the 3rd quarter, narrowing the deficit to vii–6.
On the kickoff play of the next drive, Favre was intercepted by Brian Kelly, who returned the ball to the Packers 18-yard line. During the return, Chad Clifton was jogging downfield abroad from the main action and was blindsided by Warren Sapp. Clifton laid motionless on the field for several minutes and was carted off the field with a season-ending pelvic injury. The turnover led to a Brad Johnson touchdown pass to Joe Jurevicius, followed by a two-point conversion catch by Keyshawn Johnson, and a 14–7 lead.
Ronde Barber, Dexter Jackson, and Brian Kelly intercepted three more Favre passes, and Tampa Bay won assuredly 21–7. At 9–2, the Buccaneers stood with the best record in the NFC conference. After the game, Sapp and Packers coach Mike Sherman were involved in a confrontation on the field, exchanging heated words. The Sapp hit was regarded by some as a cheap shot, but Clifton would recover fully from the injury, and Sapp dedicated his actions, and was not penalized by the league.
Week 13: at New Orleans Saints [edit]
| 1 | 2 | 3 | iv | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buccaneers | 2 | 7 | 3 | 8 | xx |
| Saints | 0 | 6 | fourteen | 3 | 23 |
Mike Alstott scored a 44-yard touchdown catch, and Keenan McCardell caught another late in the game, but the Buccaneers fell to the Saints, 23–20 on Sunday Night Football. Brad Johnson was intercepted once, lost a fumble, and Aaron Stecker lost another bollix, as the Saints swept Tampa Bay for the season.
The Bucs, leading the NFL in turnover differential entering the weekend, had a hard time holding onto the ball, fumbling 4 times and losing two of those loose balls. QB Brad Johnson was too intercepted for the first time in iv games, and those three giveaways, plus a pair of long returns by Michael Lewis in the third quarter turned a 9–6 halftime lead into a 20–9 deficit. It was a lead the Saints never relinquished.
Brooks got off to a dull start, completing just i pass for two yards in the first quarter, just he heated up in the second and tertiary periods, engineering ane first-half touchdown bulldoze and throwing ii scoring passes in the third quarter. By the end of the game, he had a strange mix of numbers, completing simply nine of 25 passes for 155 yards just throwing two touchdowns and no picks. Added to his two-touchdown 24-hour interval in a season-opening, 26–20, overtime Saints win in Tampa, Brooks has iv TD passes against Tampa Bay this season; the residue of the league has three in 10 games.
Week fourteen: vs. Atlanta Falcons [edit]
| 1 | ii | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Falcons | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | x |
| Buccaneers | 0 | 21 | 6 | vii | 34 |
Falcons quarterback Michael Vick entered the game with considerable pregame hype and an 8-game unbeaten streak. Vick, however, was sacked twice by Tampa Bay, and held to but 125 yards passing and a measly fifteen yards rushing. Meanwhile, Brad Johnson continued on four touchdowns (ii apiece to Jurevicius and McCardell) every bit the Buccaneers won 34–ten.
In ii games confronting Tampa Bay, Vick has completed just 16 passes for 162 yards, one touchdown and one interception. On Oct 6, Vick completed just four of 12 passes for 37 yards before sustaining an injured shoulder on a 3rd-down Simeon Rice sack. He was hit hard several times on this Sunday as well, as the Bucs' laissez passer rush was relentless, but never left the game.
Plus, any idea that the 2nd-year scrambler would run wild on the Bucs' defence force finer ended on the tertiary play of the game when LB Derrick Brooks hit him square in the breast after a one-yard scramble. After rushing merely one time for ane m in the starting time Bucs–Falcons contest, Vick ran 5 times.
With the victory, Tampa Bay maintained its grip on offset place in the NFC South with 3 weeks remaining. By game's end, the Bucs had a 1.5-game lead on both Atlanta and New Orleans, though the Saints' late-afternoon game would either expand Tampa Bay'south edge to two games or compress it to one. The Bucs besides became the kickoff NFL team to 10 wins, at 10–3, as the ix–3 Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers were as well scheduled for later games.
Week 15: at Detroit Lions [edit]
Calendar week fifteen: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Detroit Lions
| i | 2 | 3 | 4 | Full | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buccaneers | iii | ten | 0 | 10 | 23 |
| Lions | 0 | 10 | 3 | vii | 20 |
at Ford Field, Detroit, Michigan
- Date: December xv, 2002
- Game time: 1:00 pm
- Game atmospheric condition: None (indoor stadium)
- Game omnipresence: 61,942
- Referee: Tom White (123)
- TV: Pull a fast one on
- Epitomize, Game Volume
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
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Mike Alstott and Michael Pittman each scored a rushing touchdown, but the visiting Buccaneers found themselves still tied 20–20 late in the fourth quarter with the 3–ten Lions. With iii:04 to become, Martín Gramática broke the tie with a 38-yard field goal, and Tampa Bay held on for a 23–20 victory.
Injuries plagued the Buccaneers that week, as John Lynch sat out the game with a cervix strain. Keyshawn Johnson left the game with a groin injury, and Anthony McFarland broke his right human foot and would miss the residual of the flavour. Nearly notably, nevertheless, was quarterback Brad Johnson, who suffered a back injury during the game. He did not leave the game, but the severity of the injury was more significant than originally known. He would be sidelined during practice the post-obit week.
Week sixteen: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers [edit]
| 1 | ii | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steelers | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| Buccaneers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
With Brad Johnson sidelined, backup quarterback Shaun King started against the Steelers on Monday night. Tampa Bay was rocked 17–seven by the visiting Steelers, the second sequent season being beaten soundly at home past Pittsburgh.
The night started out on a rough note even earlier kickoff, as during pre-game warm-ups Warren Sapp skipped through the Steelers. Jerome Bettis shoved Sapp, and this was followed by a heated argument between the two teams. The Buccaneers had besides been ridiculed by Steelers' Lethon Flowers as being "paper champions."
On the beginning play of the game, Tommy Maddox'due south pass to Plaxico Burress gained 41 yards to the Tampa Bay twoscore-yard line. The Steelers drove 81 yards in only half dozen plays, as Maddox connected with Antwaan Randle El for an 11-grand touchdown. On the second play of Tampa Bay's offset drive, King was intercepted by Chad Scott, who returned the ball 30 yards for a touchdown, and a 14–0 lead less than iv minutes into the game.
Trailing 17–0, Tampa Bay kicker Martín Gramática made a 50-yard field goal, just it was negated by a Pittsburgh punishment, and instead Tampa Bay was awarded a first down at the Pittsburgh 28-yard line. 4 plays later, however, Mike Alstott lost a fumble at the 7-yard line, and the Steelers took a 17–0 lead into halftime.
Shaun King was finally benched having thrown for 73 yards and an interception on a pitiful 9-for-26. Rob Johnson took over in the 2d half, and salvaged the residual of the game. With 1:23 to go, Keyshawn Johnson caught a touchdown pass, and avoided the shutout.
Calendar week 17: at Chicago Bears [edit]
| Game data | ||
|---|---|---|
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In the final week of the season, Tampa Bay traveled to Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois, to meet the Chicago Bears. A win would secure the #two seed and a showtime-circular bye in the playoffs following the Green Bay Packers losing to the New York Jets earlier in the twenty-four hours. Brad Johnson sabbatum out for the 2nd game in a row, and Rob Johnson started the game for Tampa Bay.
The temperature at kickoff was 38 °F or 3.3 °C, and Tampa Bay looked to snap a 0–21 record in games under 40 °F (4 °C). Rob Johnson passed for 134 yards and no interceptions, and Michael Pittman rushed for ninety yards, just the Buccaneers offense could non score a touchdown. Martín Gramática kicked a franchise-best five field goals out of five, and his fifteen points were the only scores of the game. Bears quarterback Henry Burris was intercepted four times by Tampa Bay (twice by Brian Kelly, and in one case each by Derrick Brooks and Dwight Smith).
With the win, Tampa Bay secured a bye for the wild card round and recorded the lodge's start win with the temperature under xl°. The Buccaneers finished with a franchise-best 12–4 tape, along with a club-best six–2 route tape.
Standings [edit]
| NFC S | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Due west | Fifty | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| (2) Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 12 | iv | 0 | .750 | four–ii | 9–3 | 346 | 196 | W1 |
| (6) Atlanta Falcons | ix | 6 | i | .594 | 4–ii | seven–5 | 402 | 314 | L1 |
| New Orleans Saints | nine | vii | 0 | .563 | iii–iii | vii–5 | 432 | 388 | L3 |
| Carolina Panthers | 7 | nine | 0 | .438 | 1–five | 4–8 | 258 | 302 | W2 |
Postseason [edit]
Schedule [edit]
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | NFL.com recap | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wild Card | Farewell | |||||||
| Divisional | January 12, 2003 | San Francisco 49ers | W 31–half-dozen | 1–0 | Raymond James Stadium | |||
| Conference | January nineteen, 2003 | at Philadelphia Eagles | W 27–10 | 2–0 | Veterans Stadium | |||
| Super Bowl | Jan 26, 2003 | Oakland Raiders | Due west 48–21 | three–0 | Qualcomm Stadium | |||
Game summaries [edit]
NFC Bounded Playoffs: vs. San Francisco 49ers [edit]
| Game information |
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The Buccaneers hosted the 49ers, who were fresh off of the second largest comeback game in NFL post-season history at the time in the 39–38 wildcard round victory over the Giants. With the league'south elevation-ranked defense during the 2002 regular flavour, the Buccaneers forced five turnovers; they intercepted quarterback Jeff Garcia three times and sacked him four times, and limited the 49ers to only two field goals. Tampa Bay quarterback Brad Johnson, who had been sidelined for a month, returned to throw for 196 yards and two touchdowns. Fullback Mike Alstott scored 2 touchdowns, while the Buccaneers held onto the ball for 36:46 and held the 49ers to a flavor-low 228 yards. This was San Francisco's first playoff game without a touchdown since 1986 and the 49ers' final playoff game until 2011.
NFC Championship: at Philadelphia Eagles [edit]
Tampa Bay won a route playoff game for the commencement fourth dimension in franchise history, and in temperatures below 32 °F or 0 °C, in the final football game played at Veterans Stadium. The Eagles were heavy favorites at home going into the game. The Eagles had beaten the Buccaneers 4 consecutive times, in the wild card round the two previous seasons, and also during regular-season games in 2001 and 2002. During the ii playoff losses, both at Veterans Stadium, Tampa Bay had failed to score a single touchdown.
Eagles running back Brian Mitchell returned the opening start 70 yards, setting upwardly a 20-thousand touchdown run by Duce Staley less than a minute into the game. Tampa Bay responded with Martín Gramática's 48-yard field goal on their ensuing drive. At the end of Philadelphia's next possession, Lee Johnson'southward punt pinned the Buccaneers back at their own 4-thousand line. Simply Tampa Bay stormed 96 yards and scored with Mike Alstott's ane-chiliad touchdown run to have the lead. The primal play on the drive was a 71-thou completion from Brad Johnson to Joe Jurevicius on third downward and two from their own 24-yard line.
David Akers tied the score, x–ten, with a xxx-chiliad field goal midway through the 2d quarter, merely the Bucs responded with an fourscore-yard, 12-play drive that concluded with a 9-1000 touchdown laissez passer from Brad Johnson to Keyshawn Johnson. With time running out in the half, Donovan McNabb led the Eagles to the Tampa Bay 24-g line, only to lose a fumble while being sacked by his high school teammate Simeon Rice, who stripped the brawl abroad and recovered it himself.
On the Eagles' first drive of the third quarter, McNabb lost another fumble due to a tackle from cornerback Ronde Barber, and Bucs defensive tackle Ellis Wyms recovered it. After, with one:02 left in the third period, Gramatica's 27-1000 field goal increased the Tampa Bay lead to 20–10. In the fourth quarter, the Eagles managed to bulldoze 73 yards to Tampa Bay'south 10-yard line, but Barber intercepted McNabb's pass with 3:12 left in the game and returned information technology 92 yards for a touchdown, clinching a trip to the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history.
This was the final professional person football game ever played at Veterans Stadium. The Eagles would motion to Lincoln Financial Field for the 2003 season. The other team that occupied the Vet, the Philadelphia Phillies, would play the entire baseball flavour there in 2003 before they too left in 2004 to play in brand new Citizens Bank Park. As of 2022, both Philadelphia teams are nonetheless playing in those stadiums.
Super Bowl XXXVII: vs. Oakland Raiders [edit]
| Game information |
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First quarter
2nd quarter
Tertiary quarter
4th quarer
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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers won their first Super Bowl, routing the Oakland Raiders 48–21. The Buccaneers defense intercepted Rich Gannon a Super Bowl record five times, and returned three of the interceptions for touchdowns. Safety Dexter Jackson was named the game's MVP.
As many sports fans and writers predicted, Gruden'due south prior knowledge of the Raiders was a major factor in the Buccaneers' win in Super Bowl XXXVII. The most damaging slice of bear witness is NFL Films footage of Tampa Bay condom John Lynch telling his teammates during the game that almost all of the plays ran by Oakland's offense were plays that Gruden (who that week even played the part of "Rich Gannon" by playing QB with the scout-team offense) specifically told them to look out for.[fifteen] Better still for the Buccaneers was that Oakland hadn't inverse their audible-calling signals that Gruden himself had installed, thus tipping off plays repeatedly. As a effect, Tampa Bay dominated Oakland, outgaining them in total yards (365 to 269), rushing yards (150 to nineteen), first downs (24 to 11), offensive plays (76 to 60), and forced turnovers (5 to one).
The Raiders had a keen risk to score a touchdown early in the game subsequently cornerback Charles Woodson intercepted Buccaneers quarterback Brad Johnson's pass on the 3rd play of the game and returned it 12 yards to the Tampa Bay 36-yard line. Just vi plays later, Tampa Bay defensive cease Simeon Rice sacked Raiders quarterback Rich Gannon on third down, forcing Oakland to settle for kicker Sebastian Janikowski's xl-thousand field goal to give them a 3–0 pb.
Buccaneers kicking returner Aaron Stecker returned the ensuing offset 27 yards to the 29-m line, then appeared to fumble the brawl. Although the officials initially ruled that the ball was recovered past Oakland's Eric Johnson, the play was reviewed by instant replay and the bollix was overturned, and thus Tampa Bay retained possession.
On the first play of the bulldoze, Brad Johnson completed an xi-grand pass to receiver Joe Jurevicius. Johnson's next 2 passes were incomplete, just he and then completed a 23-grand laissez passer to Jurevicius on 3rd down to advance the ball to the Oakland 37-yard line. Running back Michael Pittman so rushed for a 23-yard gain to the xiii-yard line. However, on the next three plays, the Raiders defense express the Buccaneers to a pair of incompletions and a one-yard run. Kicker Martin Gramatica and so made a 31-m field goal to tie the game, 3–iii.
After in the menstruum, a 17-yard punt render by Raiders cornerback Darrien Gordon gave Oakland the ball at their ain 49-thou line. Gannon then threw an 8-yard pass to running back Charlie Garner to reach the Tampa Bay 43-one thousand line. Merely on tertiary downwardly, Buccaneers safety Dexter Jackson intercepted Gannon's pass at the twoscore-yard line and returned information technology 9-yards to near midfield. Then nine plays after the turnover, Gramatica kicked his second field goal from 43 yards to requite Tampa Bay a half-dozen–3 lead.
Jackson intercepted some other laissez passer on the Raiders' next drive and returned it 25 yards to Oakland's 45-yard line, making Jackson the commencement histrion e'er to record ii interceptions in the first one-half of the Super Bowl. Even so, the Buccaneers were unable to take advantage of the turnover and were forced to punt. Fortunately for Tampa Bay, they got a large assist from their punter Tom Tupa, who managed to pin Oakland all the way back at their own 11-yard line with his punt. The Raiders could non movement the ball either, losing 1 yard on three plays with their ensuing bulldoze. Tampa Bay punt returner Karl Williams then returned Shane Lechler's punt 25 yards, giving the Buccaneers great field position at Oakland's 27-m line. Aided with Pittman's gains of 6 and 19 yards, the Buccaneers scored their beginning touchdown on a 2-thou run from fullback Mike Alstott, increasing their lead 13–3. And so with 3:45 left in the half, Tampa Bay drove 77 yards, assisted by a pair of catches by Alstott for 28 total yards. Johnson finished the bulldoze with a 5-thou touchdown laissez passer to wide receiver Keenan McCardell to requite the Buccaneers a twenty–iii halftime lead.
Tampa Bay connected to boss the game for about of the tertiary quarter. The Buccaneers forced the Raiders to punt on the opening bulldoze of the second one-half. Side by side, Tampa Bay marched 89 yards on a 14-plays drive that took 7:52 off the clock, and concluded with Johnson's viii-yard touchdown pass to McCardell to increase their atomic number 82 to 27–iii. Then on the second play of Oakland's ensuing bulldoze, Buccaneers defensive back Dwight Smith intercepted Gannon's pass and returned information technology 44 yards for a touchdown, making the score 34–3.
Later on giving up 34 unanswered points, Oakland finally managed to bulldoze 82 yards downwardly the field and score on a 39-g touchdown laissez passer from Gannon to receiver Jerry Porter. Although he was initially ruled as existence out of bounds when he defenseless the ball, information technology was determined that Porter had one human foot in the stop zone and used it to drag the other pes out. The two-betoken conversion failed, so the Raiders were still downwardly 34–ix.
The Raiders' touchdown seemed to fire upward their defense force, who forced the Buccaneers to a fourth down on their ensuing possession. Oakland lineman Tim Johnson and so blocked Tupa's punt, and Raiders defender Eric Johnson returned the ball 13 yards for a touchdown. Another 2-bespeak conversion for Oakland failed, only Tampa Bay's atomic number 82 was cut to 34–15.
Tampa Bay responded by moving the ball to the Oakland 9-g line on their ensuing drive, featuring a 24-yard run past Pittman, but they came upward empty after Tupa fumbled the snap on a field goal attempt. A few plays later, Gannon threw a 48-thousand touchdown pass to wide receiver Jerry Rice with 6:06 left in the game, cutting the Raiders deficit to 34–21. Rice became the starting time actor to take hold of a touchdown pass in 4 different Super Bowls, and third overall to take TDs in 4 Super Bowls (Thurman Thomas and John Elway). The two-bespeak conversion failed when Jerry Porter caught the ball and was forced out of bounds; while the official did not judge information technology to be a force-out, (judgement call) hence, that part of the play was not reviewable.
In an attempt to prevent a Raiders improvement, the Buccaneers managed to run the clock down to ii:44 on their ensuing drive before being forced to punt. Then on third and xviii from the Oakland 29-g line, Tampa Bay linebacker Derrick Brooks intercepted a pass from Gannon and returned it 44 yards for a touchdown, giving the Buccaneers a 41–21 atomic number 82 with only 1:18 left putting the game out of reach. And a few plays later on as the Raiders were at present playing for pride, Smith intercepted a tipped laissez passer and returned it 50 yards for a touchdown (the 200th TD in Super Bowl history). this would be the squad'southward last playoff (and Super Basin) win until the 2020 flavor.
References [edit]
- ^ "2002 Buccaneers: ten years ago they put Tampa Bay on sports world map". Tampa Bay Times . Retrieved 2022-07-14 .
- ^ Howell, Leo (2014-07-12). "Flavor Past Flavor History of the Bucs: 2002". Bucs Nation . Retrieved 2022-07-14 .
- ^ D, Jessica. "Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 2002—The Storied Flavor". Bleacher Report . Retrieved 2022-07-14 .
- ^ Olney, Buster (2003-01-27). "Buccaneers Dominate Raiders to Win Super Bowl". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-07-14 .
- ^ "Greatest defenses of Super Bowl era". SI.com . Retrieved Apr x, 2019.
- ^ "SB Team of the Decade: '02 Buccaneers". world wide web.buccaneers.com . Retrieved 2022-07-fourteen .
- ^ "2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense ranked as i of best ever". The Pewter Plank. 2019-06-21. Retrieved 2022-07-14 .
- ^ Flynn, 2002
- ^ AP, 2002
- ^ Olney, Buster (February nineteen, 2002). "PRO Football; Buccaneers Get Gruden, But Pay a Steep Price". The New York Times . Retrieved February 4, 2019.
- ^ Freeman, Mike (Feb 24, 2002). "PRO Football game; Raiders Get a Pirate's Booty for Gruden". The New York Times . Retrieved Feb 4, 2019.
- ^ 2005 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Media Guide (PDF). p. 12. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 20, 2012. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
- ^ "CNNSI.com - SI Writers - Peter Rex - Monday Morning QB - NFL Films nails Super Bowl XXXVII - Wed February 05, 2003 eleven:53 AM". sportsillustrated.cnn.com. Archived from the original on 11 March 2007. Retrieved eleven January 2022.
- ^ 2005 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Media Guide (PDF). pp. 44–46. Archived from the original (PDF) on January xx, 2012. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
- ^ Pompei, Dan (January 27, 2003). "The best-laid plans: an within wait at how coach Jon Gruden and the Bucs prepared themselves to be Super Basin champions". The Sporting News. Archived from the original on August 19, 2003.
External links [edit]
- Pro Football Reference
Aaron Donald Vs Warren Sapp,
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_Tampa_Bay_Buccaneers_season
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