As offenses go, the Bucs' is a lemon Ernest Hooper, The St.Petersburg Times, published 29 September 1998 The Dragnet theme never sounded so good to Lions fans, and there was no need to change the names of the Bucs offensive players. They were guilty all game. Tampa Bay's offensive ineptitude in Detroit's 27-6 victory was underscored by two touchdowns and a handful of other positive plays that were called back because of penalties. Each time the officials indicated the call was against Tampa Bay, the familiar refrain from the cop show was played over the public- address system at the Silverdome. Dun-da-dun-dun. The Bucs offense was busted again. Few answers came out of the Bucs' somber locker room about why they gained only 133 yards total offense, the lowest NFL total this season. But it certainly didn't help that running backs Warrick Dunn and Mike Alstott managed only 49 yards. "We just have not gotten ourselves any momentum other than the second half of the Chicago game," coach Tony Dungy said. "We get some runs, but we get penalties. We didn't make enough first downs in the first half to really get our running game going. We're just not getting enough carries and not doing enough with it when we do." Trent Dilfer said it was the first time he felt like his performance was not good enough. When Bryant Westbrook intercepted an errant pass and returned it 34 yards for a touchdown early in the third quarter, it was just one of many disappointments. "The quarterback didn't play well tonight," Dilfer said. Dilfer can only wonder "what if?" Maybe the two touchdowns that got erased wouldn't have made a difference, but they certainly wouldn't have hurt. The first non-touchdown was a 24-yard fade route to receiver Karl Williams that would have made the score 20-13 late in the third quarter. Dilfer made a perfect throw, he just didn't make it soon enough. A delay-of-game call brought the ball back and Dilfer was sacked on the next play. Midway through the fourth quarter, Dilfer scrambled away from a rush and threw a 26-yard pass to tight end Dave Moore. This time he stepped over the line of scrimmage before getting rid of the ball, and yet another touchdown was taken off the board. When penalties weren't negating plays, a ferocious rush by the Lions' front four did the job. Dungy said before the game Detroit would try to build a lead and then let its down linemen tee off on the quarterback. In that regard, it was a blueprint victory for the Lions. Dilfer had only five completions in the second half, often because he was scrambling from the likes of Luther Ellis and Robert Porcher. When he had time, his passes frequently were behind the receivers or too low. The night came to an end for the Pro Bowl quarterback late in the fourth quarter when he was driven into the turf on his right shoulder. The final tally: 12-for-30 for 120 yards and the interception Westbrook returned for the game-breaking touchdown. Overall, the offense will look to improve individually and collectively. "We can't be a championship football team playing the way we're playing right now," guard Jorge Diaz said. "There's no sugarcoating it. There's no explanation. We flat out got our a-- kicked tonight. Every time you go out there to play a game, you put your signature on it; you make a statement. The only statement we made tonight was that we couldn't move the ball worth a lick."