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Rick Stroud, The St.Petersburg Times, published 13 December 1999
The Bucs, alone in first place, have the inside track to an NFC Central title and a first-round bye after beating Detroit 23-16. In the first place, there is no reason to wonder if rookie quarterback Shaun King can just lead the Bucs to the playoffs. The young monarch has his eyes on the larger, more decorative NFC Central crown.
In the first place, Detroit never figured King, making only his second NFL start, would pass for 297 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Bucs to their second come-from-behind victory in six days. In the first place, everyone knew the Bucs defense would score, create a turnover and protect the lead in Sunday's dramatic 23-16 victory over the Lions the way it has in five previous wins at Raymond James Stadium. But if there ever was a reason not to doubt the Bucs anymore, it's this: They're alone in first place.
The 22-year-old King led the Bucs to a pair of second-half touchdowns to give his team sole possession of first with three games remaining in the regular season. The Bucs have won a franchise-record six straight. The Lions dropped a game behind at 8-5. Green Bay's loss to Carolina and Minnesota's defeat at Kansas City left them two games back at 7- 6. It is the first time Tampa Bay has held the division lead in December since 1981, the last time it won a division title. "Who would've thought?" defensive end Chidi Ahanotu said. "With the adversity we came back from (and) with Shaun King, a rookie quarterback coming in, it's a storybook season. And it's just great being in first place and being in charge of our own destiny. We're trying to get this franchise to new levels, and we're well on our way."
After posting consecutive victories over first-place teams in the Central, it is clear that King will be the one who pilots the Bucs into the post-season. "That's what I've told you. He has some magic to him, which is why we wanted him in the draft," quarterbacks coach Clyde Christensen said. "Because he's a guy who you watched through high school and college do the same thing he just keeps doing in this league, which is impressive. The second half at Seattle, I think the team said, 'Hey, this is the hand we're dealt, we're going to make this kid successful.' They took it on themselves. All the defensive guys coming up to him saying, 'You just play, we'll win the game for you.' "
The Bucs were outplayed in nearly every facet for most of the first half. They trailed 10-0 after yielding 114 yards and two scores on the Lions' first two possessions. A 13-yard sack by defensive end Marcus Jones finally forced Detroit to punt and seemed to stop the bleeding. The Lions managed 151 yards on their next 10 possessions. The Bucs virtually were forced to abandon the running game in the first half after rushing for 21 yards. But King made good use of his backs in the passing game, and it was a screen pass to running back Warrick Dunn late in the first half that turned the game around.
Dunn, who did not play Monday night against Minnesota because of an ankle sprain, took the pass in the right flat and followed blocks of guard Frank Middleton and receiver Bert Emanuel for a 68-yard reception. That play set up King's first touchdown pass, a 3-yarder to rookie fullback Kevin McLeod that cut the Lions' lead to 10-7 with 1:34 remaining in the half. "It took us a little while to regenerate that energy," coach Tony Dungy said. "I think we left a lot on the field Monday night and it wasn't until maybe Warrick's run, the screen pass got us back going and got some energy in the stadium."
For Dunn, who has been plagued by injuries and had not produced a play of more than 30 yards this season, his career-long 68-yard reception was overdue. "That screen pass was the first big play I've made all year," Dunn said. "I've been nicked up a little bit this year and that humbles you a little bit. "I watched a lot of Seminoles highlights and broke out some high school highlights," Dunn said. "Coach (Bobby) Bowden's favorite quote is 'Great players make great plays in big games.' I was used to doing that in college, so it was just motivation."
Even when King messed up royally, it turned out okay. He tried to force a ball deep to receiver Jacquez Green early in the third quarter and was intercepted at the Detroit 2-yard line by safety Mark Carrier. But on the next play, nose tackle Brad Culpepper sacked quarterback Gus Frerotte for a safety to trim Detroit's lead to 10-9 just 1:52 into the second half. Behind Frerotte, who passed for 241 yards, the Lions nearly blew the game open with second-half drives that ended at the Tampa Bay 7 and 9 yard lines. But Detroit had to settle for field goals of 25 and 27 yards by Jason Hanson.
Finally, the Bucs offense broke through. After a penalty for a chop block against center Tony Mayberry put them in a hole, King dug them out on third and 17 when he threaded a 30-yard pass between two defenders to a leaping Reidel Anthony at the Lions 42. Anthony credited King with the throw and can be counted among the believers in the Bucs rookie. "Shaun used to always sit around and say, 'Wait until I get in there. I'm going to do this, I'm going to do that.' We were like, 'Yeah, yeah, whatever,' " Anthony said. "But then when he goes out there and proves it to us, you have to give him a lot of credit."
King fired consecutive completions to Emanuel, who also drew a pass-interference penalty on cornerback Bryant Westbrook. Two plays later, Alstott slammed in for the game-tying 1-yard touchdown run. The final blow was landed by the defense. Safety John Lynch, playing with a knee sprain, intercepted Frerotte and returned it 28 yards to the Lions 24. Again, Alstott delivered the touchdown. This time, he took a screen pass and, using another block by Middleton on linebacker Chris Claiborne, rumbled 22 yards to give the Bucs their only lead, 23-16, with 4:18 remaining.
As they had done in their five previous wins at home, the Bucs defense closed it out. Culpepper and Sapp, who each had 1.5 sacks, dumped Frerotte for an 11-yard loss on third down and he was pressured into an incompletion to end the game. "It's a great feeling to be in first place," Dungy said. "I told the team, it's like we're in the Indianapolis 500 and we're on the pole. But they don't pay you for being on the pole, they pay you to finish in front. We've got a lot of work to do. We've got two road games, and it's going to be tough. But I'd certainly rather be one up than one down."
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