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In their grasp

The Bucs win the expected defensive battle to virtually wrap up a wild-card berth.

By RICK STROUD, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published December 30, 2001

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TAMPA -- Even as they stretched the wins together, it looked as if the Bucs might fall short of a new series of chances in the postseason.

Well, time out for another measurement.

Saturday night, the Baltimore Ravens provided the best yardstick yet.

Facing the defending Super Bowl XXXV champions on the field where they won the title 11 months ago, the Bucs defeated the Ravens 22-10.

The Bucs intercepted Ravens quarterback Elvis Grbac twice, one that linebacker Derrick Brooks returned 53 yards to set up Tampa Bay's first touchdown.

Grbac was sacked five times, twice on safety blitzes by Dexter Jackson.

The victory all but assured the Bucs (9-6) the sixth playoff seed in the NFC. A loss or tie by Atlanta to the Miami Dolphins today would make it official.

The Bucs would play a wild-card game on the road in two weeks against the NFC East champion, either Philadelphia or the New York Giants.

Don't look now, but the Bucs suddenly look like a team to reckon with in the postseason, which they are likely to reach for the fourth time in six seasons under Tony Dungy.

"It was a great win. We outplayed the defending Super Bowl champions and put on a great show in our house, in front of our fans and in front of a national television audience," Bucs defensive tackle Warren Sapp said.

"Our backs were against the wall and we came out and performed like playoff teams do in December. We expect to be in the playoffs and we expect to do some damage once we get in there."

Tampa Bay's defense is intimidating again. The Bucs' once-dormant running game has fresh legs under Mike Alstott, who rushed for 80 yards on 14 carries, including a 32-yard touchdown to punctuate the victory with 1:35 to play. And the special teams produced a blocked punt by Todd Yoder, watched Rabih Abdullah recover the ensuing kickoff and saw punter Mark Royals pin the Ravens with poor field position by killing punts four times inside the 20.

"It was not just defense," Brooks said. "We wanted to make a presence defensively, but the special teams did their job. We won the field position battle. Mark Royals pinned them inside and made them go the length of the field, and that set the tone."

The win by the Bucs, who are 13-1 at home in December under Dungy, marked the third time in as many years a defending Super Bowl champion has come to Tampa and lost.

Of course, the Bucs have a way of making fans grab their pacemakers.

Kicker Doug Brien, signed Friday to replace injured starter Martin Gramatica, connected on his first three field-goal attempts. But he missed from 40 yards with the Bucs leading 16-7 with 1:57 left in the third quarter.

Grbac used the break to come to life, completing passes of 38 yards to Qadry Ismail and 14 to Travis Taylor. Running back Terry Allen then found a gap up the middle for 22 yards.

But the Bucs defense stiffened. Two carries by Allen netted 2 yards, and rookie Todd Heap couldn't hang on to Grbac's pass in the back of the end zone. Matt Stover's 24-yard field goal cut the Bucs' lead to 16-10.

Needing a touchdown to win, the Ravens had the ball at their 31 with 2:04 to play.

But Jackson sacked Grbac on third down and Brooks planted Ismail well short of the first-down marker after a short reception to turn the ball over on downs.

"(Defensive coordinator) Monte Kiffin kept calling my number," Jackson said. "Everyone was looking for (John) Lynch, Lynch, Lynch, and they left me free. I was able to make the plays."

The Bucs intercepted Grbac twice in the first half, sacked him once and left him in the fetal position on the turf after hits twice.

Grbac's second interception, a pass intended for tight end Shannon Sharpe, was returned by Brooks to inside the 1.

That set up Brad Johnson's 1-yard sneak and a 16-7 halftime lead.

"It was a big play," Dungy said of Brooks' interception. "You know it is going to be a tight game and you need big plays. That changed the field position and we got a score and got up nine points, so that was a huge play."

In fact, 10 of the Bucs' 16 first-half points came off Brooks' interception and Yoder's blocked punt.

The Bucs actually were outgained 257 yards to 213 and trailed in first downs 15-13.

Johnson went 13-of-29 for 90 yards, his season low. But he was mistake-free and avoided turnovers.

"It wasn't like there were a lot of wide-open guys there," Johnson said. "Guys were covered. Baltimore is known for their run stop, and I had to throw a lot of balls away. I had to play smart football today."

Brien's signing paid off early. He made field goals of 42, 38 and 24 yards in the first half.

But the Bucs punted twice from around the Ravens 35 rather than let Brien attempt the long kicks.

"We felt Doug could make them but (punted) rather than give them the ball at the 37 or 42," Dungy said. "We felt the way our defense was playing, they'd have a hard time driving 90-95 yards."

The Ravens' touchdown came on Taylor's 14-yard reception from Grbac.

Taylor appeared to shove cornerback Donnie Abraham in the end zone before making the catch, but the Bucs did not get the offensive pass interference call.

But it certainly wasn't the 34-7 outburst the Ravens enjoyed in the Super Bowl at RJS last January.

"Quoteth the Ravens, no more," Sapp said. "No more. No. Not here."

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