What if Bucs had this spark all day?

By MIKE READLING
Published November 28, 2005

	[Times photo: Brendan Fitterer]
	Cadillac Williams rushes for 84 yards on 20 carries, tying him for the third-most yards given up to a running back by the Bears this season. Photo gallery | Bucs forum

TAMPA - For six minutes and 28 seconds Sunday, the Bucs showed the kind of offensive domination they possess. It was the other 53 minutes that left players such as running back Cadillac Williams scratching their heads.

Trailing the Bears 13-3 in the fourth quarter, Tampa Bay was down to its final two possessions before time ran out. The defense had been stout all day, and it was in the hands of quarterback Chris Simms and Williams to keep the team's hopes alive.

They started with first and 10 at midfield. Eleven plays and six players later, Mike Alstott leaped in from the 2 to cut the score to 13-10.

Between the 5-yard runs and quick passes to players such as Dave Moore , Anthony Becht and Alex Smith , Tampa Bay moved with efficiency, using 6:28 of the clock.

The Bucs committed no penalties. Except for one incomplete pass in the end zone, every play gained positive yardage. The offensive line provided Simms with enough protection to make plays and enough of a push to allow Alstott to finish what is becoming his patented dive into the end zone for his fifth touchdown in the past four games.

"Once we start driving and hitting, I just got totally confident that we were going to get it done," Williams said.

Later in the quarter, Simms guided the team from its 31 to Chicago's 11 before Matt Bryant missed what would have been the tying field goal from 29 yards. It was the third week in a row the Bucs have fought from behind to either win or be in position to win.

The question is why can't the Bucs perform like that when the clock - and the odds - aren't working against them?

"Our backs were against the wall a little bit," Simms said. "So when your backs are against the wall, you have to fight."

"I think the fourth quarter we just turned up the tempo," Williams said. "But we need to go out early and play like we played in the fourth quarter. It seemed like in the fourth quarter we were a different team."

They were close.

Of the Bucs' 275 total net yards in the game, 99 came in the final quarter, despite the fact they had only two possessions. Simms was 8-for-10 for 81 yards passing on the two drives. All of this in a close game, as opposed to a blowout in which the opponent plays a prevent defense.

"I'm very proud of our offense. I'm proud of our guys in the locker room. Three weeks in a row we've come back in tough situations," coach Jon Gruden said. "We have a long way to go, but there are good signs that I see and, hopefully, everybody else sees, too."

PRETTY GOOD COMPANY: Williams carried 20 times for 84 yards, tying him for the third-most yards given up to a running back by the Bears this season. Only two others (the Redskins' Clinton Portis and the Saints' Antowain Smith ) have broken the 100-yard mark against Chicago, which hadn't allowed a touchdown in 38 possessions until Alstott scored in the fourth. Cincinnati's Rudi Johnson rushed for 84 yards against the Bears.

SIMMS TO GALLOWAY: Joey Galloway reeled in receptions of 39 and 30 yards to bolster his seven-catch day for 138 yards. The performance put him at the 1,000-yard mark for the fourth time in his career (first since 1998, when he was with Seattle). He has caught 15 passes this season for more than 20 yards, including one in eight separate games.

SIMMS TO SIMMS: Simms caught the first pass of his career, strange only because it came from him. In the third quarter, one of his passes was deflected by defensive tackle Tommie Harris high enough for Simms to grab it and be tackled for a 3-yard loss.

DEFENSIVE RECORDS: Cornerback Brian Kelly became the seventh player in team history to record 20 interceptions after he ran underneath a Kyle Orton pass in the second quarter. He is 11 behind all-time leader Donnie Abraham . Defensive end Simeon Rice forced his sixth fumble of the season, one from tying the club's single-season mark held by Broderick Thomas and Wally Chambers .

INJURY REPORT: Linebacker Marquis Cooper left with a chest strain in the fourth quarter and did not return.

[Last modified November 28, 2005, 01:04:15]