Bucs run out of time, fall to Vikings 14-13 Michelle Kaufman The St.Petersburg Times, published 1988 Ron Holmes was on the sideline when the Metrodome clock ticked down to zero, crushing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' frantic effort to beat the Minnesota Vikings. He saw Stephen Starring grab hold of Vinny Testaverde's 53-yard Hail Mary pass with 17 seconds to go. He saw the Bucs' offense and field-goal units run around chaotically for the next 16 seconds. And then he saw the second-most painful sight of the game, Donald Igwebuike's 38-yard field goal soaring through the uprights, two seconds too late. The most painful sight, said Holmes, was the final score: Vikings 14, Bucs 13, and the crowd of 55,274 cheering as they cleared the aisles. “The way I saw it was like this,” Holmes said. “I thought `Oh my God, he caught the ball. Oh my God, there's 12 seconds left. Oh my God, there's no seconds left. Oh my God, we lost the game.” The loss was the third close one in five weeks for the Bucs (2-4). They lost to Phoenix by six and to New Orleans by four. Minnesota bettered its record to 4-2. “It's really tough when you prepare and play as hard as we did and come up with a loss,” said Bucs coach Ray Perkins. “We weren't beaten by the Minnesota Vikings today, we lost the game. But I told the team that I lost the game, not them. The people on the field didn't recognize that the field-goal unit was coming on, but I have to take the blame for that. I'm the head coach, and I have not properly prepared the team for that situation.” The Bucs dominated the game statistically: 18 first downs to 15, 331 total yards to 276, 177 yards rushing to 69, and 34:37 to 25:23 in possession time. But when it came to beating the clock, the Bucs came up short. Minnesota had the ball with 1:16 to go and let the 45-second clock run down on fourth-and-3 from the Tampa Bay 48 to delay the game. The clock operator inadvertently let the clock tick down 47 seconds, a two-second error that could have cost the Bucs the game. The Vikings punted, and the Bucs took over at their 26 with 32 seconds remaining. Testaverde, who completing 12 of 25 passes for 170 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions, then hurled his first Hail Mary pass of the afternoon. It landed near Bruce Hill, but not near enough. Hail Mary II was a different story. Hill, Starring and Frank Pillow sprinted down the right sideline and waited for the ball to float their way. Their instructions: either catch it or tip it. Hill tipped it, Starring caught it. He took two steps, was hit by Carl Lee at the Vikings 21, and couldn't get out of bounds. The clock ran on 16 15 14 mass confusion. Testaverde and Co. ran toward the 21, attempting to get off a play to stop the clock in time for a field-goal attempt. Meanwhile, Igwebuike and the kicking team ran onto the field. When the ball was snapped, there were about 15 Bucs on the field and no time on the clock. To make matters worse, Viking defensive tackle Henry Thomas admittedly kicked the ball when the Bucs were lining up, which caused another critical delay that eluded the referees. Center Randy Grimes said, “I never saw the field-goal unit come on. I just lined up, but then I saw them so I tried to run off. I never got to the sideline. I just lined up as a double wing.” “We just weren't on the same page,” said Dan Turk, who snaps for field-goal attempts. “It's too bad we didn't have just five more seconds. The worst part is, it should've never even been that close. They knew we knocked them around physically. It was obvious.” The Bucs' dominance was most noticeable in the second quarter, when they had 10 first downs to none for the Vikings, and outgained the Vikings, 144 to nine. In that quarter alone, the Bucs rushed for 97 yards. Fullback James Wilder and halfback Kerry Goode led the ground attack. Wilder finished the day with 20 carries for 80 yards and Goode had 82 yards on 14 carries. It was the first time two Bucs each had 80 yards rushing since Sept.16, 1979, when Jerry Eckwood and Ricky Bell had 99 and 97 yards against Green Bay. The 177 rushing yards was the most by a Tampa Bay team since Sept.21, 1986, when the Bucs had 229 against Detroit. “Both of their backs are as good as I've seen all year,” said Minnesota coach Jerry Burns. “Both can run like hell. It's a little more difficult defensively playing this team now with two solid running backs.” The Bucs' offensive line should take much of the credit. They opened huge holes all day against the NFL's No.2 defense and limited the Vikings to one sack. As has been the case all year, the Bucs were shut out in the first quarter. This time it was 7-0, on an 11-yard Tommy Kramer pass to Anthony Carter. Tampa Bay tied the score in the second quarter, when Mark Carrier's 14-yard reception capped a 65-yard, 13-play drive. The Bucs went ahead 10-7 on a 31-yard Igwebuike field goal just before halftime. “I think Minnesota was scared to death,” said linebacker Chris Washington. “They thought they'd come out here for a cakewalk. Surprise. Surprise.” The third quarter was a wild one. Kramer fumbled on the Viking's second possession, and John Cannon recovered. Cannon's effort was for naught. Testaverde threw into coverage on the very next play, and safety John Harris picked off the pass. Harris' effort was wasted as well. Kramer threw into the hands of Buc cornerback Bobby Futrell on the Vikings' third play of the drive. The turnovers didn't end there. The Bucs had driven 24 yards to the Minnesota 46 when Thomas stripped Wilder of the ball. Thomas tried to pick it up and run, but the ball was knocked away and linebacker David Howard recovered and returned it 33 yards to the Bucs' 16. Four plays later, Allen Rice dived one yard into the end zone to put the Vikings on top 14-10. The Bucs closed in 14-13 on a 36-yard Igwebuike field goal with 2:13 left in the game. Despite the loss, the Bucs locker room was anything but somber. “We've started to gain respect in the NFL,” Testaverde said. “I think teams are seeing that we can't be taken lightly.” Said Grimes: “We just have to work a little harder. That's the way we see it. Minnesota is a great team, and we fought them tooth and nail until the very end. That says a lot. We'll just keep fighting.”