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Michelle Kaufman, The St.Petersburg Times, published 16 October 1989
If NFL Films have any taste, tapes of Sunday’s encounter at Tampa Stadium will find the nearest trash bin. But Rodney Peete might want a copy. Detroit and Tampa Bay combined for 20 penalties, five turnovers and little offense, as a bored-stiff crowd of 46,225 spent 204 minutes in 91-degree heat.
Rookie QB Peete salvaged any respectability when he scrambled for a five-yard TD on fourth down with 23 seconds remaining, lifting the Lions to a 17-16 victory, their first of the year. “It was one of the ugliest games I’ve ever been associated with” said Ray Perkins, whose team couldn’t capitalise on 13 penalties and four Detroit turnovers. “We played very sloppily and it boils down to the fact that their team wanted it a little bit more than we did.”
The Lions needed only 82 seconds to drive 76 yards for the winning score, avoiding their first 0-6 start since 1955. A restless crowd sat stunned as the Buccaneers fell to 3-3 in a setback eerily similar to a heart-breaking 20-16 loss to San Francisco a month ago. QB Joe Montana of the 49ers ran four yards around right end for a touchdown to beat Tampa Bay with 40 seconds remaining in that defeat.
Peete, hounded on virtually every play, hit Robert Clark for consecutive gains on 21, 24 and 19 yards in the decisive drive. On fourth and goal from the five-yard line, Peete dropped straight back and found running room around right end, scoring untouched as half the Lion bench ran on to the field.
“At halftime I was upset with myself” said Peete, who threw for 268 yards and added 78 yards on 10 carries. “There was lots of poise in the huddle and lots on confidence on that last drive. There was no doubt we could score.”
Playing without heralded rookie runner Barry Sanders, sidelined by a hip injury, Peete shook off four sacks to complete 17 of 31 passes. Eddie Murray opened the scoring when he hoisted a 28-yard fieldgoal, his 18th straight successful kick.
Cornerback Ricky Reynolds grabbed an errant Peete toss and rambled 68 yards for a TD and Donald Igwebuike hammered fieldgoals of 27, 34 and 33 yards to complete the Bucs’ scoring. Clark caught a 33-yard TD pass from Peete midway through the third period to cut the lead to 13-10, the only offensive TD for the first 59 minutes of the game.
Reynolds looked to have made another critical defensive play when he recovered Peete’s fumble at the Tampa four-yard line with 9:27 remaining. Joe Ferguson, starting in place of crocked QB Vinny Testaverde, then guided a 14-play drive that consumed 7:42, culminating in Igwebuike’s 33-yard fieldgoal for a 16-10 advantage with 1:45 to play.
Testaverde sat out with a bruised right knee and watched as the banged-up Buccaneer offense failed to score a TD for the second time in three weeks. “This football team needed a win like a cure for cancer” said Lions’ linebacker Chris Spielman. “Today we were the better team. We almost forgot how to win.”
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