Bucs stay alive on a fling and a prayer Rick Stroud, The St.Petersburg Times, published 30 November 1998 The clock was turned off, but time was running out on the Bucs' season Sunday. An offside penalty at midfield on the final snap of the first half gave them a free play and one more chance to make somebody pay. So it was a failed Mary - followed by a successful Hail Mary - that delivered the Bucs to a 31-17 victory over the Bears for their first road win of the season. On the final play of the first half, receiver Brice Hunter fought his way back into the end zone after being pushed out of bounds, and he scooped up a 45-yard desperation pass tipped by teammate Bert Emanuel to give the Bucs a lead they never relinquished. "It was huge. It was momentum," said Bucs quarterback Trent Dilfer, who threw three TD passes. "Finally, I think guys looked around and said, 'Wow, we do get a break every once in a while.' You draw (the Hail Mary play) up to have a chance, is what you do. We executed two of them. The first one was incomplete, the second one works out. Maybe you get one of those every two or three years, but I'm glad we got it today." The reception helped snap a three-game losing streak for the Bucs (5-7) and gave them their first victory at Soldier Field since 1989. Now to go from the sublime to the ridiculous. The Bucs actually improved their wobbly playoff status. Arizona's 34-24 loss at Kansas City and New Orleans' 30-10 defeat to Miami left Tampa Bay, the Saints and Detroit Lions one game behind the Cardinals (6-6) for the final NFC wild-card spot. But the Bucs would have to finish with a better record than all those teams because they do not own any of the first three tie- breakers. "As we win one, you keep thinking about the next one," cornerback Ronde Barber said. "If some things fall in place for us, we'll be all right. Maybe we'll sneak in." But before anyone can suggest the Bucs are back, Tampa Bay has to win back-to-back. And its next challenge is a doozy: defeating the Green Bay Packers in their first Tampa appearance on Monday Night Football since '83. "We're coming out of a hole, and that's where we stand," linebacker Derrick Brooks said. "We're wounded dogs right now. We're a very dangerous team. And we've got to go out and beat these guys because we haven't beaten them in three years. Right now our goals have to be short term. Week to week." That's why the Bucs spent Sunday night celebrating only their second series sweep of the Bears. It was an ugly game that saw the Bears take a 14-7 lead on Ryan Wetnight's 18-yard reception on a fake field-goal attempt and, 53 seconds later, on a score set up by a muffed kickoff return by Reidel Anthony. But the Bucs tied the score a few minutes later when Barber returned a punt blocked by linebacker Jeff Gooch 23 yards. "Plays like that have been beating us all year," Barber said. "We've been unfortunate this year. A lot of things rolled our way today. We were lucky today. We got some good bounces, we played hard, and you win most of the time when you do that." The Bucs figured they were due for some good luck after close losses to Tennessee, Jacksonville and Detroit. They got the break they needed on the final play of the first half. Dilfer's first Hail Mary attempt fell incomplete. But after the offside penalty, he rolled to his right and heaved the ball into the end zone for Emanuel. Hunter, who had not had a reception since being knocked unconscious after a catch at Detroit on Sept. 28, became an eligible receiver after returning inbounds once the ball was tipped. "On the second (Hail Mary), they jammed the receivers to the right, and Bert did a great job of getting across the field," Dilfer said. "He was actually the first guy to get it, and I threw it to him, thinking he'd be the first guy down there and he can make something happen. Sure enough, he did. He kept the ball alive. Brice was able to come back after getting pushed out of bounds and made a great play." Dilfer padded the lead to 28-14 with a 14-yard pass to Anthony. After that, the defense went after Bears rookie quarterback Moses Moreno, a seventh-round draft pick from Colorado State who made his first NFL start. On his first series, Moreno got a rude initiation from defensive tackle Warren Sapp, who sacked him and forced a fumble that was recovered by Brad Culpepper at the Chicago 19. The play set up Mike Alstott's 5-yard touchdown reception. Moreno was 18-of-41 for 153 yards and a touchdown. The Bucs woke up Sunday knowing it was their day. Temperature at kickoff was 64 degrees, at least 20 degrees above normal. Like the climate, maybe the Bucs are just getting warmed up. "I don't how good it was," safety John Lynch said. "It was a little sloppy. But I don't care. We won. We've played good in a few losses."