LAST MEETING: Tampa Bay beat the defending Super Bowl champions 13-10 on Sept. 26, 1999, at Raymond James Stadium. The top-ranked Bucs defense held the Broncos to 172 total yards and reigning MVP Terrell Davis to 52 yards rushing. The Bucs' Mike Alstott ran for a career-high 131 yards, including a 28-yard score on the opening drive.
MEMORABLE MOMENTS: The Broncos scored 24 fourth-quarter points in a 48-13 win over the expansion Bucs at Mile High Stadium in 1976. ... Denver's defense shut out the Tampa Bay offense in a 24-7 win at Tampa Stadium in 1981. The defense scored for the Bucs.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
BRONCOS: Bucs defenders liken 5-foot-7, 195-pound running back Quentin Griffin to Barry Sanders. Quarterback Jake Plummer's ability to scramble buys time for the Broncos receivers to get open.
BUCS: Running back Michael Pittman, the team's leading rusher last season, returns from a three-game suspension to make his first regular-season appearance of 2004. Defensive end Simeon Rice is routinely double-teamed this season, but needs to get to the quarterback.
