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Michelle Kaufman, The St.Petersburg Times, published 1988
Joe Ferguson didn't get the Tampa Bay Buccaneers a victory Sunday, but he came doggone close.
So close, in fact, that most people will be surprised if coach Ray Perkins decides to start Vinny Testaverde at quarterback against Chicago this week. Testaverde was benched Sunday partly because of an injured back, but mostly because Perkins said the Bucs (2-7) needed a “spark.”
Ferguson was more than happy to oblige. Testaverde and a near-packed Tampa Stadium watched as Ferguson, the oldest man in a National Football League uniform, completed 70 percent of his passes (26 of 37) for 291 yards and
two touchdowns in a 17-14 loss to the Miami Dolphins.
For the first time in 22 months Ferguson played in a regular-season game, but the layoff didn't show. The weathered, graying 38-year-old sawed through the Dolphins' defense with ease. Not even the best Halloween disguises could fool Old Joe. He was perfect on seven passes for all 80 yards of the Bucs' first scoring drive.
At times he looked even better than Dan Marino, who was 27-of-46 (59 percent) for 266 yards and two touchdowns.
Most people gained an hour Sunday. Ferguson gained much more.
“It felt fantastic out there,” Ferguson said. “I learned I can still play the game. There were some doubts since it had been so long. Jeez, I might be able to play another year.”
His two biggest mistakes - an interception and an incompletion on a critical fourth-and-6 play with less than a minute left - were minuscule compared to those of the Bucs' running backs. Rookies Lars Tate, William Howard and Kerry Goode were to blame for four fumbles, and, consequently, all of Miami's points.
The three costliest slip-ups occurred during seven minutes of the third quarter, and all happened inside the Tampa Bay 35-yard line.
In reply, Dan Marino found Mark Clayton for a 5-yard touchdown with 7:39 left in the third quarter and hit him in the end zone again less than two minutes later. Tony Franklin's 31-yard field goal (the only one of four attempts he converted Sunday) made the score 17-0 with 3:21 left in the third.
“It doesn't take a Phi Beta Kappa to see what happened here today,” Perkins said. “Miami didn't beat us. We handed it to them on a silver platter.”
Said Ferguson: “No matter how well anyone played, we didn't play well enough overall to win, and that's all that counts in the end. We came up short.”
That line should sound familiar to Bucs fans by now. Seven of the Bucs' nine games have been decided by seven points or less, and the Bucs have lost five of those.
This one was as close as any.
The Bucs kept up with the favored Dolphins (5-4) all day. Miami came into the game with the NFL's top-ranked passing offense.
In the end, Tampa Bay led in first downs (21-20), total yards (362-309), passing yards (283-266), rushing yards (79-43), and time of possession (30:48-29:12). The Bucs even had fewer penalties (7 for 62 yards to 9 for 78).
The teams held each other scoreless in the first half, the first time the Bucs have been in such a situation since Dec. 16, 1979, when they clinched their first NFC Central Division title with a 3-0 win over Kansas City.
Tampa Bay was in position to score twice in the first half, but Goode fumbled a handoff at the Miami 22 and Jarvis Williams recovered. The Bucs' next drive ended when Ferguson's pass landed in the hands of Dolphins linebacker Rick Graf. The Bucs were at the Miami 21 at the time.
“We seem to be allergic to the end zone in the first half,” Perkins said.
The Bucs didn't light up their side of the scoreboard until four minutes into the final quarter. Tate's 5-yard reception capped a seven-play, 80-yard drive that included catches of 14, 15, and 27 yards by Mark Carrier. Carrier finished the game with nine receptions for 142 yards.
The Bucs scored again with 5:57 to go on a 27-yard pass to Bruce Hill. During that drive, Ferguson's streak of completions reached 11.
Miami had a chance to make it 20-14, but Franklin missed a 38-yard field goal with two minutes remaining.
All of a sudden, overtime was just a Donald Igwebuike field goal away. All the Bucs had to do was get the ball in his range - within about 55 yards of the end zone.
They would get no farther than the Miami 39, which would have meant a 56-yard field goal attempt.
Frank Pillow caught a pass at the 21 on second-and-6, which would have meant an almost-sure field goal, but he had stepped out of bounds before the reception. “I wanted to go wide to avoid the safety, but I guess I went a little too wide,” Pillow said.
Third-and-6: an incomplete pass intended for Pillow.
And last, but not least, fourth-and-6: Ferguson stepped back, looked downfield, and threw deep down the right sideline for Gene Taylor. Taylor had cornerback Rodney Thomas beat, but safety Bud Brown stepped in and saved the Dolphins' day with a slap of the ball.
“I saw touchdown all the way,” Taylor said. “The ball was about to fall in my hands when I saw this flash, and then all of a sudden the ball was gone.”
Brown said he wanted the interception, but was happy to get one hand in because “it meant we survived.”
Ferguson said, in retrospect, that maybe the pass was a mistake. He admitted that he didn't even look to see if the two short-pattern receivers were open because he saw what he liked around Taylor.
“I just wanted to win the ballgame, and I thought that was a touchdown,” he said. “It was probably a big mistake, and if it was, I take the blame. You also have to give credit to the safety. He made a very good play.”
After the game, Ferguson was uninterested in his stats. (“It's too late in my career to worry about stuff like that.”)
But he felt he played well, and though he'd understand if he didn't start against the Bears, Ferguson said he'd be disappointed.
“I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't be,” he said. “If we were winning and in contention for something I'd be more disappointed, but either way I'd like to play. I know Vinny's the quarterback of the future, though. Everyone does.”
Perkins said he won't know who's starting next week until he looks at the films.
Bucs receivers said they'd be happy with either candidate. “Hey, even if he picks Vinny, at least we know we can go to Joe,” Hill said. “We were a little concerned because our timing was off early in the week, but everything came together today. Joe made some really good decisions. He was real good in the huddle. He tells you exactly what he wants. It's going to be a tough decision for Coach Perkins. Real tough.”
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