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Bruce Lowitt, The St.Petersburg Times, published 3 October 1994
Hardy Nickerson's backup got his back up. Demetrius DuBose heard and read a week's worth of nervousness about the absence of the centerpiece of the Bucs' defense. "It was kind of frustrating," DuBose said after he stepped in and helped lead the defense that helped beat Detroit 24-14 Sunday. "I was brought in here to play linebacker and I think I'm a pretty damn good linebacker. It's tough to keep hearing, `Can he do it? He's a big question mark.' But it's understandable because Hardy's such a great player."
With Nickerson nursing a sprained left ankle, DuBose took over at middle linebacker, alternating with Jeff Brady. They, along with the rest of the defense, turned it up a notch for the Lions. "It was a hard day without Hardy, a hard week," left defensive end Chidi Ahanotu said. "Even today we were telling ourselves it was going to be a long day. We still weren't feeling comfortable. But we rallied around each other. Someone made a mistake, someone else covered for him."
In the third quarter, DuBose twice tackled Barry Sanders for losses, on his own for 4 yards, then with nose tackle Brad Culpepper for 5 yards. He also ran down Sanders on the Lions' first play, holding him to 2 yards. "He got me a couple of times, but I got him a couple of times, too," DuBose said of the Lions' future Hall of Famer, who rushed for 166 yards (85 on one play).
DuBose never doubted he could step in and do the job. "If I had any self-doubt," the 1993 second-round draft choice from from Notre Dame said, "I don't think I'd have made some of the plays that I did." The Bucs' locker room was not a pleasant place at halftime despite a 17-14 lead, because Sanders was keeping the Lions in the game. Demetrius actually got yelled at at halftime," coach Sam Wyche said, "because Sanders had made such a great run. I went in after the yelling and told him, `That's a pretty darn good runner there. He's beaten a lot of people.' "
In the second half, defensive coordinator Floyd Peters had the Bucs blitzing more on first and second down, throwing the Lions' timing off. Sanders managed only 37 yards rushing in the half. Still, with four minutes to play, the Lions were very much in the game, with a first down on the Tampa Bay 10-yard line. A touchdown and PAT would narrow the gap to three points.
Scott Mitchell passed to Brett Perriman - and cornerback Mike McGruder stripped the ball at the 4-yard line. Tony Stargell fell on it and the Lions never got it back. How big was it? "Turnovers win games," Wyche said, "and that one may have won this one."
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