Bucs Clinch Berth; Rams on the Brink
T A M P A, Fla., Dec. 19, 2000 -- Warrick Dunn, Shaun King and the Tampa BayBuccaneers pulled off the Great Escape and pushed the Super Bowlchampion St. Louis Rams to the brink of elimination.
Dunn combined with King on one of the craziest plays of theseason, then scored his third touchdown with 48 seconds remainingas the Buccaneers clinched a playoff spot Monday night with a 38-35victory that left St. Louis needing help to make the postseason.
“It’s deflating,” Rams safety Keith Lyle said. “To lose by three points hurts because we had it wrapped up until that last drive.”
Rams Fall Short
Marshall Faulk scored four touchdowns for the Rams, but it wasnot enough in a rematch of last season’s NFC championship game wonby St. Louis 11-6.
To reach the playoffs, the Rams (9-6) need to beat New Orleansnext Sunday and hope Chicago (4-11) pulls an upset at Detroit.
“We controlled our own destiny up to this point. We didn’t getit done,” Rams quarterback Kurt Warner said. “We can’t look to anybody else and say it was their fault. It was our fault. We didn’t finish this thing. Now we need help.”
The win by Tampa Bay (10-5) also clinched the NFC West for NewOrleans. The Buccaneers can still win the NFC Central with avictory at Green Bay on Sunday and a Minnesota loss atIndianapolis.
After Torry Holt’s 72-yard touchdown catch from Warner gave theRams a 35-31 lead with just over five minutes to play, theBuccaneers rallied behind a wild play.
From their own 35, King threw a swing lateral to Dunn around theright side. But Dunn was trapped far behind the line and, as he wasbeing dragged down, suddenly pitched the ball back to King.
King shook loose and streaked down the right sideline for a15-yard gain, and 15 more yards were tacked on for a late hitcalled on linebacker Mike Jones.
“Shaun was just calling for the ball. We were desperate at thetime,” Dunn said. “It turned out to be a great play.”
‘It Came Down to Two Plays’
Later, on a fourth-and-4 in Rams’ territory, King scrambled fora first down. King then threw a 22-yard pass to Reidel Anthony,which set up Dunn’s 1-yard TD run.
“I thought we had the thing won. It came down to two plays,”St. Louis coach Mike Martz said. “We had Dunn hemmed in there andthen he made the pitch. … But we’re not out of this. We have achance to be 10-6. We are going to go down to New Orleans and getafter it.”
Warner tried to bring back the Rams, but threw his thirdinterception of the game. John Lynch’s pickoff gave the Buccaneerssweet revenge from last season’s loss in the NFC title game.
Keyshawn Johnson caught two touchdown passes and Dunn rushed formore than 100 yards for the third time in four weeks.
Faulk scored four touchdowns for the second straight week andthird time this season, breaking the NFL record he shared with JimBrown.
Warner completed 20 of 32 passes for 316 yards and two TDs.
King, who led the 13-play, 80-yard drive to win the game,completed 18 of 38 passes for 256 yards. His TD throws of 8 and 17yards to Johnson, who had seven catches for 116 yards, were TampaBay’s first touchdown passes in five games.
“We’ve always had faith in Shaun, even through the toughtimes,” said cornerback Ronde Barber, who had one of Tampa Bay’s interceptions. “People have been down on him. People have been down on us. He stepped up to the occasion.”
Tampa D Unravels
Dunn finished with 145 yards on 22 carries. He scored on a2-yard run in the first quarter and his 52-yard burst on the finalplay of the third quarter gave the Bucs a 31-21 lead that theirproud defense couldn’t hold.
St. Louis pulled within 31-28 on Faulk’s 9-yard run. DexterMcCleon’s interception in the end zone stopped Tampa Bay fromscoring what might have been a clinching touchdown before Warnerand Holt teamed to give the Rams their first lead since late in thesecond quarter.
The loss to the Rams in the title game prompted several majorchanges for the Bucs in the offseason.
Major Changes
Mike Shula was fired as offensive coordinator and replaced byLes Steckel, who helped the Tennessee Titans reach the Super Bowlagainst St. Louis. The offensive line was overhauled with theaddition of free agents Jeff Christy and Randall McDaniel andJohnson was obtained in a trade with the New York Jets.
But until Monday night, the Bucs had used their star receiver asmostly a decoy and Johnson’s frustration was beginning to boilover.
King missed him on a fade pattern near the goal line afterBarber intercepted Warner on the Rams’ first possession. Tampa Baysettled for Martin Gramatica’s 35-yard field goal, and built a24-14 halftime lead.
Faulk, who rushed for 79 yards on 22 carries and had fourreceptions for 53 yards, scored on first-half runs of 2 and 16yards for the Rams. He caught a 27-yard touchdown pass in the thirdquarter.
Warren Sapp sacked Warner twice, giving the 1999 defensiveplayer of the year 15.5 on the season.