An offensive lack of offense Michelle Kaufman, The St.Petersburg Times, published 2 October 1989 It's hard to win a football game when you march six yards or less on nine of 12 drives and wind up the other three possessions with a missed field goal, a fumble and a punt. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers did exactly that against the Minnesota Vikings Sunday afternoon. Surprisingly, they only lost 17-3. Much to the dismay of the blow- out-minded Metrodome crowd of 54,817, the Bucs' defense kept the score respectable with three timely turnovers. Asked whether he saw anything good in the game, Bucs coach Ray Perkins replied, “No, but I missed the halftime show.” How bad was the Bucs' offense? Quarterback Vinny Testaverde had his least productive day as a starter: 6-of-23 for 82 yards. He had 11 incompletions in a row. The Bucs went more than 30 minutes without a first down, and converted just two of 13 third downs (15 percent) by game's end. Even the team's most reliable offensive weapon, placekicker Donald Igwebuike, was short on a 46-yard field goal attempt on the game-opening drive. Perkins called it “a sissy” kick. Igwebuike made a 44-yarder later in the game for the Bucs' only points. The last time a Tampa Bay team scored only three points was Nov. 29, 1987, in a 35-3 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. “It was quite apparent that we didn't play well enough to win against anyone,” Perkins said. “I hope we learned some lessons.” Despite the loss, the Bucs' locker room bore no resemblance to a mortuary after the game. Players were upbeat and anxious to move on with their season. Next up: The Chicago Bears (3-0) at a sold-out Tampa Stadium. The Bucs (2-2) are in a three-way tie with the Vikings and Green Bay Packers for second place in the NFC Central Division. Chicago plays Philadelphia tonight. Detroit (0-4) is in last place. “Hey, it's just the fourth game and nothing's been decided yet,” said linebacker Ervin Randle. “We're still a long way from the end of the season. There's no reason to be discouraged this early.” Nose tackle Curt Jarvis said: “All this loss means is that we'll go back to Tampa with our tail tucked between our legs. It happens sometimes. But it's not going to discourage us. We know we're a good team. We just weren't today.” The two biggest problems the Bucs faced Sunday stood side by side on the right side of the Vikings' defensive line - Keith Millard and Chris Doleman. Together they combined for five tackles, two sacks, and a heap of humbling headaches for the Tampa Bay offensive front. “There's not a team in the league that has two guys like those two on the same line of scrimmage,” Perkins said. “Vinny had people in his face all day long.” Through three games, Testaverde had been sacked three times. “They were just so quick off the line,” said left guard Tom McHale, who started his second game in place of injured Mike Simmonds. “We were a little razzled out there. They're a big reason the Vikings are the No. 1 defense in the NFL.” Tackle Rob Taylor said: “It's an especially disappointing loss as an offensive lineman because we knew coming into the game that the strength of their defense was the line, and we just didn't do a good job all day.” While Testaverde shouldered some of the blame for short, low passes, he pointed out that his protection was less than adequate at times. “I couldn't step up and throw a lot because I didn't have time,” he said. “I didn't have my body in control. The Astroturf didn't help, either. I don't think we're very good on turf. When we play them at home, on grass, it'll slow down their pass rush.” Testaverde, visibly frustrated on the sideline on several occasions Sunday, said later that it was hard keeping his cool after each of the stalled drives. “I'm walking off the field cursing, and the coaches want to grab me away to talk, but sometimes I'm steaming and I don't feel like talking to anyone,” the quarterback said. “It's hard.” Wide receiver Bruce Hill, who caught three passes for 48 yards but dropped what would have been a key third-down pass late in the game, said he felt bad for his teammates on defense. “We left them on the field way too long,” said Hill. “They'd get a turnover, and then we'd get nothing. There's no way we should have only scored three points.” Case in point: Jarvis chased Vikings starting quarterback Wade Wilson from the Bucs' 19 to the 37, and slapped the ball out of his hand on Minnesota's first drive. Defensive end Robert Goff recovered. What did the Bucs' offense do with the present? Six yards on three plays, punt. Case in point: Down 7-0 after a 12-yard touchdown catch by Anthony Carter, Bucs safety Harry Hamilton intercepted a pass intended for Jim Gustafson. What did the offense do with the gift? Six yards on three plays, punt. To make matters worse, punt returner Leo Lewis raced back 65 yards to give the Vikings the ball at the Bucs' 21-yard line. Six plays later, Rich Karlis kicked a 20-yard field goal to make it 10-0. One more example: Hamilton picked off another pass headed for Gustafson and returned it 30 yards with less than a minute left in the first half. The Bucs got the ball at the Vikings' 27-yard line 18 seconds before intermission. Testaverde threw three straight incompletions, and the Bucs settled for three points. On the Jarvis-caused fumble, incidentally, Wilson's knuckle was broken and he had surgery Sunday night. He'll be out at least two weeks. Tommy Kramer replaced him and completed 18 of 32 passes for 190 yards with two touchdowns. The last came on a 28-yard pass to Lewis with 3:12 left in the third quarter. The Vikings came into the game fired up after back-to-back defeats, including a 27-14 loss to Pittsburgh last week. Fans were down on the team so much so that a local disc jockey held a vigil on top of a building all week and vowed to stay there until the Vikings won a game. Coach Jerry Burns said: “It would have been a hell of a problem for us at one-and-three. I told the team that the season is like a 16-round fight. We've won two rounds.” The Bucs, meanwhile, hope to forget about this loss in a hurry. “We're still on the right path,” said Testaverde. “You're going to have some obstacles that are going to knock you back, but you just have to be strong and overcome them. We still believe in ourselves. This game can be forgotten if we win next week and if things fall into place. I have no doubt we can compete with anyone. We just didn't today.”