Good far outweighed the bad for Bucs defense Michelle Kaufman, The St.Petersburg Times, published 20 November 1989 Harry Hamilton had to persuade coach Ray Perkins to let him play against the Chicago Bears on Sunday. His knee, which had been injured against Detroit five weeks ago, was acting up again late last week. But his adrenaline was flowing Sunday morning, and Perkins agreed to let the veteran free safety start. It was a wise choice. Hamilton not only provided leadership and five tackles, but a timely interception of a Jim Harbaugh pass on a third-and-one situation early in the fourth quarter. Less than five minutes later, strong safety Mark Robinson picked one off. The two safeties now have six interceptions apiece. They're tied with Tim McDonald of Phoenix for the NFL lead. “After Harry's interception, I went up to him and said, “Hey, I'm not going to let you take the lead alone,' “ Robinson said. A third Buc - defensive end Reuben Davis - intercepted a pass and jogged it back 13 yards for a touchdown. It was the first touchdown he has ever scored. The interception was made possible when linebacker Winston Moss knocked the ball loose from the hand of quarterback Jim Harbaugh. Tampa Bay hadn't intercepted a pass since the Washington game four weeks ago. “I was real disoriented for a second,” Davis said. “It felt so wierd. It was like a dream. That kind of thing would happen once every blue moon. At first, I looked up and saw the ball, and said, `Hey, I've got an interception.' The next thing I knew, guys were yelling at me to keep running. It felt like 60 yards. I wanted to keep the ball and send it home, but I couldn't find it after I spiked it.” The three interceptions were just a few of the big plays the Bucs defense made Sunday. There were three sacks - two by Davis and one by Robert “Pig” Goff - and two big plays on short-yardage situations. The Bears faced fourth-and-4 at the Tampa Bay 36 with 1:17 to go in the first half. They took a chance, and lost. Nose tackle Shaun Lee stuffed Neal Anderson for minus-2 yards and the Bucs took over at the 39. Chicago was denied a first down again in the second half when linebacker Ervin Randle tackled Anderson for no gain on third-and-1 at the Chicago 43. Of course, there were plays the Bucs didn't make. That's how the Bears were able to make the game exciting in the final five minutes. Cornerback Rod Jones was beaten twice by Wendell Phillips for touchdowns of 26 and 52 yards. “I felt awful,” Jones said. “He just made a good play. Even if we had won 40-14 I'd feel bad. That's part of being a corner.” Donnie Elder was the defender when Ron Morris caught a 58-yard touchdown pass from Mike Tomczak. “The last time we played them, we laid off late in the game, and people complained about prevent defense,” Robinson said. “This time, we played tighter coverage, and they used a different philosophy. They went over our heads. Still, we were able to hang in there and win. I'd go to war with these guys.”