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Bucs best and worst: game 12

Compiled by LAWRENCE HOLLYFIELD

© St. Petersburg Times, published November 26, 2000

BEST -- TAMPA BAY 24, MINNESOTA 17, DEC. 6, 1999: The Bucs won their fifth straight to improve to 8-4 and keep a share of the NFC Central lead by beating one of the division's co-leaders on Monday Night Football. The Bucs won with big plays, such as Donnie Abraham's 55-yard interception return for a touchdown. They won with tough yardage on the ground, as Mike Alstott pounded for 95 yards on 23 carries. They won with defense, forcing four turnovers. But, most remarkably, they won with a quarterback making his first NFL start. Shaun King finished 11-for-19 for 93 yards with one interception, but he threw for two touchdowns, including a sparkling 29-yard strike to Jacquez Green. "It was good," King said. "This was for the fans and all the people in Tampa." He joined Steve Young, who beat the Lions in his first Bucs start, as the only Tampa Bay QBs to go 1-0. Young's win also came in Game 12, 19-16 in overtime against the Lions on Nov. 24, 1985.

WORST -- CHICAGO 27, TAMPA BAY 0, NOV. 20, 1983: Proof that when it rains, it pours. And that when it pours on a 1-10 team, no one will show up. A then-record-low crowd of 36,816 -- there were 27,839 no-shows -- braved torrential rain to watch a Bucs team that was missing 11 injured starters. Among the fill-ins were quarterbacks Jerry Golsteyn and Jeff Komlo, who combined to finish 7-for-21 for 98 yards with two interceptions, a fumble that was returned for a touchdown and five sacks. They led the Bucs to eight first downs, 132 net yards and their second straight shutout. Matt Suhey (112 yards) and Walter Payton (106) led a Bears rushing attack that totaled 273 yards, then a record by a Bucs opponent. At least coach John McKay was entertaining: "Based on today, none of our players are going to the Hall of Fame. But then again, neither am I."

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