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Rick Stroud, The St.Petersburg Times, published 15 September 1997
It truly is lonely at the top. As the Bucs finished mopping up the Vikings on Sunday, it was time for them to finally enjoy a game of solitaire.
They were the only unbeaten team in the National Football Conference. They were by themselves in first place in the NFC Central division. And they had just been singled out as the first Bucs team since '79 to start the season with three straight wins.
What's more, there was hardly anybody left to celebrate with from the sellout crowd of 63,697 that quickly filed out of the Metrodome after receiving a bomb scare from quarterback Trent Dilfer. So after Tampa Bay's 28-14 upset of the Vikings, the Bucs kept the cork in their bottled emotions, fearful there won't be enough to spill over for the rest of the season.
Dilfer passed for 192 yards and two touchdowns and rookie Warrick Dunn rushed for 101 yards - including a dazzling 52-yard scoring run - to give the Bucs their best start in 18 seasons.
"It does sound strange, but it feels great," Bucs safety John Lynch said of the 3-0 start. "It's just spectacular. Everything we've done the last couple weeks is kind of unchartered territory. Two division games on the road? I don't even know the last time we've done that."
But pinch-me time has not arrived for the Bucs, who own a one-game lead over Green Bay and Detroit in the NFC Central - the first time they have had sole ownership of the division since the 5-dash-2 start under Sam Wyche in '95. "It's not really time to go out and start throwing parades or anything like that," Bucs center Tony Mayberry said.
More impressive than the Bucs' 3-0 record is how they arrived at it, beating an NFL penthouse team like San Francisco and winning back-to-back games on the road against NFC Central opponents for only the third time in club history.
If you think things are pretty good for the pewtered pirates, consider that four of the next five games are at Houlihan's Stadium, where they own a six-game winning streak.
The lone exception is what could be an important game Oct. 5 at Lambeau Field against the Packers.
At the very least, it looks as if the Bucs might need a bigger bandwagon.
"If you're going to doubt us, just stay off our bandwagon," Bucs defensive tackle Warren Sapp said. "Don't jump on it, we didn't ask you to ride. We've got a full load and we don't need anybody else jumping on our bandwagon. If you didn't believe in us before, don't believe in us now."
The Bucs converted more believers with sheer effort and determination. The defense, which yielded 382 yards and a garbage-time touchdown in the final minute, twice stuffed the Vikings in first-and-goal situations, forcing them to settle for field goals.
In the first quarter, after yielding a 56-yard pass from Brad Johnson to Jake Reed and jumping offside, the Bucs faced first and 1 at their 6-yard line and didn't budge.
There was bulldozing fullback Mike Alstott, stuffed on his leap toward the goal line from a yard out, bouncing backward and straining every fiber in his 248-pound body to carry two Vikings into the end zone with him for the Bucs' second touchdown.
Or how about the Houdini number Dilfer did on blitzing Vikings safety Orlando Thomas, ducking under a sure sack and firing a 28-yard pass to rookie Reidel Anthony?
And speaking of great escapes, Dunn turned a fourth-quarter draw play that should have lost yardage, shook a tackle by Fernando Smith, bounced outside and faked Vikings corner Corey Fuller out of his sneakers to race 52 yards for a touchdown. The play put the Bucs up 28-6 and emptied the Metrodome.
Dilfer, who had suffered through some nightmarish games at the Metrodome, was nearly flawless. He completed 15 of 20 passes for 192 yards with no interceptions, throwing TD strikes to tight end Jackie Harris and Horace Copeland.
Dilfer also avoided the pass rush and delivered especially on third down. The Bucs converted a startling 8-of-13 third-down situations (62 percent).
For the second straight week, the Bucs played turnover-free football while forcing two fumbles. In fact, Dilfer has not thrown an interception this season, a streak of 147 straight attempts.
"I thought Trent has played well the whole year," Bucs coach Tony Dungy said. "But today he made some good throws when we needed them. They were ganging up on our running game the first half and he had to make some throws to put us in front and he did."
Dilfer made three consecutive throws to start the third quarter that resulted in the Bucs' 21-6 lead and provided clues that he might be good enough to lead a team to the playoffs.
He started by firing a perfectly timed 9-yard pass to Copeland on an out route. Then he broke free from Thomas and spotted Anthony for a 28-yard completion. His next attempt was a beautifully lofted spiral that Copeland cradled like an egg in the end zone for a 27-yard TD.
"I think Orlando got overly excited that he had a shot at me," Dilfer said of avoiding a sack. "Somehow I got out of there and Reidel and I had talked this week that we've got to make plays."
Dilfer had the best view of the TD runs by Alstott and Dunn.
"Unbelievable," he said. "Guys just continue to amaze me. Mike's a great football player and that's just an example of his strength."
And what did he think of Dunn's TD gallop?
"Minus-4 was my first thought," Dilfer said. "I handed it off and I went, `Oh, God.' I saw him make the one cut and thought, `Okay, he's going to make a couple out of it.' Then I saw the right side collapse and he made this one move that was unbelievable."
It was the second straight 100-yard rushing day for Dunn, the first time that has happened since Errict Rhett hit the mark against Detroit and Jacksonville in November 1995.
Because he is vertically challenged, Dunn continued to receive comparisons with three-time rushing champion Barry Sanders.
"I thought I had him but I didn't wrap him up," Smith said. "He's a short back, a Barry Sanders type. He runs just like Barry. He's real low to the ground."
But because of players like Dunn, the Bucs are sky-high. It isn't a mirage. Counting last season, the Bucs have won eight of their past 10 regular-season games. Maybe one isn't the loneliest number.
"If a betting man chose us to be the only undefeated team (in the NFC) at 3-0, he would be rich right now," cornerback Donnie Abraham said. "It's definitely better than being 0-3."
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