Bucs' Defense Thwarts Late Drive To Preserve Victory Katherine Smith, The Tampa Tribune, published 3 October 2005 Jon Gruden warned the team -- it's not going to be all Cadillac, all the time. For three consecutive weeks, the rookie running back was the one gaining the yards and eating up the clock. But with Cadillac stuffed for only 13 yards on 11 carries and relegated to the sideline with a hamstring injury, it was up to the Bucs' defense to do what it has done so many other times in the past -- close out the game. "Coach told us there's going to be a time when a different phase of the football team has got to win the game," linebacker Derrick Brooks said. "Today it was us." For the final 5:17 of the game, Tampa Bay's defense was called to duty to hold onto a four-point lead. Driving from their own 7-yard line, the Lions got to the Bucs' 12 and thought they had scored the go-ahead touchdown. Detroit quarterback Joey Harrington connected with tight end Marcus Pollard in the right corner of the end zone and an official signaled touchdown with 13 seconds remaining . The call was overturned after replay showed Pollard's leg was out of bounds before he had control of the football. Brooks was covering Pollard on the play. "I was like, 'Lord, they can't call this a touchdown,' " Brooks said. "Thank God for review officials. I would never say I was confident, but in my mind, I knew that he was out of bounds and I just thank God the refs upstairs saw it the way I did." Harrington, who completed only 15 of 27 passes for 137 yards, said the Lions' game plan was to "pound them until they broke," but the Bucs defense never did. For most of the game, they prevented the fourth-year quarterback from getting into a rhythm. "He had happy feet back there," cornerback Brian Kelly said of Harrington. "We were giving him all kind of looks, bringing different blitzes to him, trying to keep him thinking. It worked." The Bucs secondary was expecting a little more work covering the Lions big receivers. It wasn't until the final drive of the game that Detroit's offense was able to string together plays and keep the chains moving, converting one third down and a fourth down in the process. "We found a way to get it done with a lot of pressure in the last couple of minutes," cornerback Ronde Barber said. "Just about every game in the NFL comes down to the last two possessions or so. We had a couple of opportunities to get off the field and we didn't on the last drive. You get lucky sometimes and find a way to step up, which we did, and go from there." Tampa Bay's defense three times forced Detroit into three-and-outs in the first half and also got a critical turnover near the end of the second quarter. With Detroit driving with a little more than a minute remaining in the half, Kelly caused Pollard to fumble after he caught a 7-yard pass from Harrington. Bucs defensive tackle Ellis Wyms recovered the fumble. "When our offense is not moving the ball as well as they expect to, we on defense have got to do our part," Brooks said.