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Scott Smith, Buccaneers.com, published 30 September 2002
The Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints, two NFC South teams who had raced off to 3-0 starts to begin the season, both concluded close road defeats Sunday afternoon at the same time the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were playing the first quarter of their game in Cincinnati. At the moments that the Panthers and Saints games went final, there wasn’t much time for scoreboard watching in Paul Brown Stadium. At the time, the Bucs were struggling through a first quarter that included a defensive touchdown by the Bengals and several drive-killing plays by the visitors.
By halftime, however, the Bucs could enjoy the earlier finals, as well as their own soon-to-be victory over the Bengals. With a 35-7 blowout in Cincinnati that ranks as one of the most dominating road games in franchise history, Tampa Bay moved into a tie for first in the NFC South. The Bucs, Panthers and Saints all stand at 3-1 after the season’s first quarter. If the first quarter was a struggle, the rest of the game seemed to be relatively easy for the Buccaneers, as signified by the first play of the second period. QB Brad Johnson, who had yet another strong day, pump-faked left from the Bengals’ 35-yard line, drawing coverage away from TE Rickey Dudley down the middle of the field. Johnson then lofted a perfect pass to a wide-open Dudley for a 35-yard touchdown. It was Dudley’s second score in two games as a Buccaneer.
If that was the type of big play Head Coach Jon Gruden had been pining for in his otherwise efficient offense, he hadn’t seen anything yet. Six minutes and two possessions later, Johnson stood in long enough against a heavy rush to loft a high floater on the left sideline to another wide-open man, WR Keenan McCardell. McCardell had no tacklers within 20 yards of him as he trotted into the end zone for a 65-yard score.
McCardell’s touchdown reception, in fact, was the Bucs’ longest pass play in over two years. Since Shaun King hit WR Jacquez Green on a 75-yard pass in the driving rain against the New York Jets on September 24, 2000, the Bucs have struggled to hit long-distance plays through the air. In fact, McCardell’s catch was the Bucs’ longest scoring reception since November 15, 1998, when Trent Dilfer hit Reidel Anthony on a 79-yarder at Jacksonville. McCardell finished with 108 yards on four catches, the first 100-yard receiving day by a Buc receiver this year. WR Keyshawn Johnson added 56 yards on five receptions. Johnson came close to his first 300-yard passing game of the season, completing 19 of 30 passes for 277 yards, three touchdowns and his first two interceptions of the season.
That first pick was returned 51 yards by LB Brian Simmons in the first quarter to give Cincinnati a 7-0 lead, their first lead of the season. It was short-lived, as the Bucs followed with 35 unanswered points. By the end of the game, the score was very similar to the final game of 1998, when the Bucs won 35-0 in Cincinnati for their first road shutout ever. Though Tampa Bay was denied its second shutout of 2002, the team’s defense has gone two consecutive road games without allowing a point. LB Shelton Quarles punctuated the Bucs’ 21-point second quarter with a 25-yard interception return for a touchdown off struggling fourth-year QB Akili Smith, making just his second start since the 2000 season. Following TD runbacks by LB Derrick Brooks against Baltimore and St. Louis, Quarles’ play marked the first time in team history that the Bucs have returned an interception for a touchdown in three consecutive games.
The Bucs also scored on their first possession of the second half, but reined the offense in after that, resulting in a plodding fourth quarter. After WR Karl Williams returned an early third-quarter punt 36 yards to the Bengals’ 37, the Bucs needed just five plays to score. On second-and-10 from the Bengals’ 22, Johnson threw a low pass to TE Ken Dilger, who made a fine running catch then bounced off three Bengals tacklers on his way to the end zone and his first touchdown as a Buccaneer. Tampa Bay chose to run the ball as much as possible with a 28-7 lead, and ended up with the team’s first 100-yard ground game of the 2002 season. RB Michael Pittman picked up 54 yards on 19 carries and FB Mike Alstott added 29 yards on seven carries, including a one-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to close the scoring.
Alstott’s touchdown finished up a 46-yard drive that began when DT Warren Sapp sacked Smith and forced a fumble that DE Ellis Wyms recovered. Sapp was practically unstoppable for most of the afternoon, finishing with four tackles and two sacks and frequently overwhelming the Bengals’ interior line. DT Anthony McFarland was just as difficult to contain, stopping RB Corey Dillon three times, twice behind the line of scrimmage. And on a day that Dillon would become the Bengals’ all-time leading rusher, it was a tough day to find running room. It took Dillon 21 carries to pick up 59 yards, and the Bengals as a team averaged just 2.6 yards per carry on 29 totes. That was a safer strategy than letting Smith fire away, however, as the Bucs’ secondary limited him to 12 completions in 33 attempts, for 117 yards and one interception.
Overall, Tampa Bay out-gained Cincinnati by a more than two-to-one margin, racking up a season-high 363 yards to the Bengals’ 168. Cincinnati also was able to convert just two of 17 third-down attempts and saw Smith get sacked three times. The Bucs had 251 yards of offense at halftime, as compared to the 252 yards for the entire game that it took to beat St. Louis on Monday.
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