A near giveaway Rick Stroud, The St.Petersburg Times, published 15 November 1999 The Bucs overcome six turnovers, including three fumbles by Mike Alstott, to hold off the Chiefs 17-10. It's a combination the Bucs have been searching for all season, a perfect chemistry between quarterback and receiver. Trent Dilfer to Jacquez Green. After hooking up on long touchdown passes the past two games, they go together perfectly. Like Tampa and Bay. Or like Mike Alstott and fumble. Green had a career-high 164 yards receiving, including a 52- yard touchdown, in the Bucs' 17-10 victory Sunday over the Kansas City Chiefs. The Bucs won despite losing six turnovers - including three fumbles by Alstott. Green's 54-yard reception to the Kansas City 17 with 3:08 remaining in the fourth quarter appeared to clinch the game. But on the next play, Alstott committed his final fumble to give the Chiefs new life. It wasn't until linebacker Hardy Nickerson intercepted a pass from quarterback Elvis Grbac in the end zone with 17 seconds remaining that victory was secured. "I told the team at the beginning of the game to go out, play hard and don't worry about it if you make a mistake," Tony Dungy said. "I think they took me literally. I haven't been involved in too many games when you have six turnovers and still find a way to win the game. But wins are hard to come by in this league and this is a great way to begin the second half of the season." Alstott, who led NFL running backs with five lost fumbles last season, offered no explanation for the five fumbles he has lost this season. "There's no excuses," he said. "Kansas City kept fighting for the ball. I was fighting for yardage, they kept fighting and I don't know what happened. I got support from my teammates and coaches. We got the win, which is the most important thing." It was the second straight win for the Bucs (5-4), who broke the .500 mark for only the second time this season. It also left Tampa Bay a game behind NFC Central leader Detroit (6-3) and a half game behind second-place Minnesota (6- 4). Making his second start since being benched Oct. 25, Dilfer completed 17 of 27 passes for 270 yards and two touchdowns. That performance was not without warts. He was intercepted once in the Chiefs end zone and lost a fumble after mishandling a snap. But for the second straight game, Dilfer and Green seemed to jump-start the offense with a long touchdown pass. A week ago, it was a 62-yarder to Green at New Orleans that broke a streak of eight quarters without reaching the end zone. On Sunday, Dilfer connected with Green down the right sideline for a 52-yard score that gave the Bucs a seemingly comfortable 17-3 lead with 2:38 left in the third quarter. On both long receptions Sunday, Green took advantage of the bump-and-run coverage of nickelback Eric Warfield. "He's been our hot receiver of late," Dungy said of Green, only the second Bucs player to eclipse 100 yards receiving since Reidel Anthony did it last November. "He's been in position to take advantage of some matchups and he's made the most of them. We knew he's got that kind of explosiveness and it was in full display today." Unfortunately, Alstott's fumbles kept putting the Bucs in the hole. It began on the first series when he was stripped of the ball by safety Reggie Tongue. It was recovered by Jerome Woods at midfield. Alstott's second fumble - caused and recovered by Tongue - killed a drive at the Kansas City 14 early in the third quarter. But the defense, which held Kansas City to a team-record 5 yards passing in the first half, bailed out Alstott and the offense time and time again. Entering the game, the Chiefs led the NFL in giveaway-takeaway ratio with a plus-14. The Bucs were last at minus-10. Not much happened to change that Sunday, but the defense did well to keep the Bucs in it by forcing three turnovers. Until Nickerson's game-clinching interception, it almost was not enough. The Chiefs cut the lead to 17-10 on a 50-yard touchdown from Grbac to receiver Joe Horn with 10:40 remaining. After Alstott's third fumble, Kansas City drove 66 yards in 10 plays with one timeout. Grbac hit tight end Tony Gonzalez for completions of 18 and 22 yards on consecutive plays. On second down from the Tampa Bay 13, he looked for Gonzalez in the end zone when Nickerson saved the day. "That was my version of The Catch," Nickerson said. "I know how (former 49ers receiver) Dwight Clark felt. Of course, it wasn't to the magnitude. But it felt great." The Bucs know they won't win many games with six turnovers, but the encouraging thing was their offense has begun to make plays behind a rejuvenated Dilfer. "If it's over 14 points, we're tough to beat," safety John Lynch said. "I think our offense is just starting to click. It's disappointing all the turnovers, because they could've had an outstanding game today. But I think the confidence is getting better. We're getting Quez involved and that's loosening up things for everyone else." Nobody is as loose as Dilfer, who has won three straight as a starter dating to the Bucs' 6-3 victory over the Bears before his benching. During Sunday's game, he was as animated as ever, leading cheers and waving a towel to beckon crowd noise. "I've never been a big rah-rah guy," Dilfer said. "I'm just trying to have as much fun as I possibly can and be into the game and do everything I can to help us win football games - sometimes at the expense of looking stupid. If that takes that cheerleader atmosphere, bring my pompoms to One Buc on Monday."