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Roy Cummings, The Tampa Tribune , published 3 December 2001
In the end it really doesn't matter how you win, only that you do. The Bucs were reminding everyone of that late Sunday night. Once again, they had to. Needing Martin Gramatica's field goal and John Lynch's recovery of a Corey Dillon fumble in overtime to pull out a 16-13 victory against the Bengals, the Bucs (6-5) rolled to a second consecutive win for the first time this season on wheels that appear to be square.
Or maybe it was just that the wheels got bogged down in the ultra-soft sod of Paul Brown Stadium. According to the Bucs, the grass was one reason their running attack gained just 2.2 yards per carry against the league's 25th-ranked rush defense.The sod also might explain why the Bucs offense gained just 264 total yards and failed to score a touchdown Sunday. But how do you explain the Bucs offense struggling to that level after gaining the same number of yards and scoring three touchdowns against the fourth-ranked Rams rush defense just six days earlier?
Keyshawn Johnson suggested it was a lack of offensive aggressiveness. There also was a Mike Alstott fumble in the red zone and two missed field goal tries by Martin Gramatica to consider. The real reason, though, may lie in the fact that it took until after this game was over for everyone in pewter and red to believe something Tony Dungy had been telling them for days. "I told the team all week that this game was probably going to be tougher than the St. Louis game," Dungy said. "I told them it would take a bigger effort."
Warren Sapp was among the non-believers, and for good reason. The Bengals, who dropped to 4-7, simply are not in the Rams' class. Not even at home, where they are 3-3. What Sapp and many others didn't know was that Dungy had a very telling stat supporting his claim. While doing his homework last week, Dungy discovered that only 12 percent of teams coming off a Monday Night Football game on the road win the following week. "When he told me that after the game, I almost kissed him," Sapp said. "I said, `I'm a believer now.' I mean, he said it was going to be a dogfight and I didn't believe him. But it was."
It didn't need to be. As they have so often this year, the Bucs had chances to put away this game early but failed. This time it was an opening drive that lasted 11:15, but resulted in Gramatica missing a 43-yard field goal attempt that hurt them. Alstott's fumble at the Bengals' 20 in the third quarter hurt, too, and another missed field goal attempt by Gramatica from 51 yards derailed them as well.
Even the defense failed twice to capitalise on wrapping up the victory. Sapp didn't fall on a fumble at the Bengals' 22 and then the Bucs allowed the Bengals to drive 59 yards for the overtime-forcing touchdown. "There were a lot of mishaps," Bucs offensive co-ordinator Clyde Christensen said. "A lot of times they just got us."
The Bucs, though, got enough big play to start a winning streak and keep their playoff hopes alive. There was Ronde Barber's punt block, Todd Yoder's recovery and subsequent 11- yard touchdown return that provided a 7-3 lead early in the second quarter. There also was a late interception by Donnie Abraham and a punt by Mark Royals to the Bengals 4 in overtime. And, ultimately, there was Lynch's recovery of Dillon's 14th career fumble that set up Gramatica's game-winning field goal. "That was huge," Dungy said of the play by Lynch, who forced the fumble before recovering it at the Bengals 3. "Getting that ball back there and not having to re-fight the field position game, we needed that."
The Bucs also needed a sound defensive effort against Dillon and they got that, holding him to just 79 yards on 23 carries. In limiting the Bengals to just 201 total yards, they also got three sacks, including two from Simeon Rice. This was the fourth consecutive game in which the Bucs recorded three or more sacks while holding opponents to under 100 yards rushing. That's a sign that the defense is improving markedly as it heads for the homestretch.
The offense, however, continues to struggle, especially in attempts to run the ball. That has the Bucs hierarchy concerned because, as Dungy said, you have to run the ball in December in this league to win. Not everyone seems to agree, though. In the aftermath of a game in which the Bucs threw more than they ran (33 passes, 30 rushes) and got 14 consecutive completions from their quarterback, Keyshawn Johnson harped on the Bucs' lack of offensive aggressiveness. "We really didn't make a whole lot of mistakes, but at the same time we didn't go after them," he said. "We didn't do the things we said we were going to do all week, and it's coming to a point where it gets a little frustrating to continue to win 13-3 and 10-3 and play it close to the vest instead of attacking them. Eventually, that's going to catch up to you."
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