Win and In! Scott Smith, Buccaneers.com, published 16 December 2002 Tampa Bay didn’t need any outside help to qualify for the playoffs Sunday, outlasting the Detroit Lions, 23-20, at Ford Field to earn their fifth postseason berth in the last six years. For one excruciating second, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ 2002 Super Bowl dreams hung in the air, 15 feet over the Ford Field turf. Shelton Quarles stared patiently up at the football he had just batted in the air near the line of scrimmage on a fourth-quarter Mike McMahon pass. Eventually, after an endless wait as Detroit Lions linemen closed in, the ball turned over and tumbled down to Quarles, who secured it for an interception and the game’s only touchdown. The play set up Tampa Bay’s go-ahead drive in the fourth quarter, and though a 91-yard kickoff return by Eddie Drummond would force the Bucs to score again in order to win, it was that interception-derived touchdown drive that symbolically put the visitors over the top. Martin Gramatica’s 38-yard field goal with 3:08 left gave the Buccaneers a 23-20 victory. After Quarles’ pick put Tampa Bay at its own 42, QB Brad Johnson led a 58-yard touchdown drive, highlighted by WR Keyshawn Johnson’s 30-yard catch over the middle, on which he was briefly shaken up by twin hits from Eric Davis and Andre` Goodman. Three plays later, RB Michael Pittman got his first touchdown of the season on a four-yard run, recalling WR Keyshawn Johnson’s last-minute touchdown to win last year’s Detroit-Tampa Bay game in Raymond James Stadium. That score was Johnson’s first of the 2001 campaign, in the season’s 12th game. The win, Tampa Bay’s second in a row in Detroit but their first ever in the Lions’ brand new dome, Ford Field, clinched a playoff berth for the Buccaneers. Tampa Bay will head to the postseason for the fifth time in the last six years, and the team remains in first place in the NFC South and tied for the best record in the entire league. The Bucs tied a team record for wins in a regular season and at 11-3 are tied with Philadelphia, also a winner on Sunday. The 10-3 Green Bay Packers were in action as the Bucs were leaving Detroit. The Bucs also widened their lead in the division, as New Orleans lost to Minnesota on a last-second touchdown and two-point conversion. The Saints are now two back with two games to play, though they do own a tiebreaker over the Bucs. Atlanta also lost, to Seattle in overtime, and fell 2.5 games back. After Pittman’s touchdown gave Tampa Bay a 20-13 lead, Drummond’s long return set up McMahon’s two-yard touchdown run to tie the game with roughly nine minutes to play. The Bucs then drove 46 yards on nine plays to set up Gramatica’s game-winner. The key play on the drive was a 23-yard reception by TE Ken Dilger on third-and-three from the Vikings’ 41. Detroit, playing an impressively focused game despite a 3-10 record coming in, drove down to the Buccaneers’ 41 with two minutes to play, thanks in large part to McMahon’s 19-yard pass to WR Bill Schroeder on third-and-15 from the Detroit 38. CB Brian Kelly broke up the Lions’ next third-down pass, and Detroit elected to give their veteran kicker, Jason Hanson, a 57-yard attempt to tie the game. The kick was on line but short and the Bucs gained one first down to run out the clock. McMahon, who also nearly beat the Buccaneers last year, was in the game only because rookie starter Joey Harrington left in the first quarter due to an irregular heartbeat. Lion physicians indicated Harrington was in good health after the game, but he was held out for precautionary reasons. Before he left, Harrington threw just one incompletion in one attempt and was sacked once for 10 yards. The Lions still hung in the game in the first quarter thanks to a surprisingly effective running game powered by the likes of Aveion Cason (10 carries for 62 yards), Rafael Cooper (eight for 50) and Cory Schlesinger (six for 31). In all, Detroit racked up 144 yards on two carries and finished with 292 total yards against the Bucs’ top-ranked defense. Tampa Bay’s offense picked up 376 yards a week after ringing up 446 on the Falcons, but the passing game was a little more hit-and-miss than in recent weeks. QB Brad Johnson completed 24 of 41 passes for 253 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions, and nearly all of his incompletions were forced by immediate Detroit pressure. Johnson was hit repeatedly throughout the game, but he avoided taking a single sack or turning the ball over once. Keyshawn Johnson caught six passes for 90 yards and Pittman picked up 46 yards on the ground and 47 through the air. Mike Alstott also ran well, picking up 47 yards on 11 carries. In the second quarter, he ended a 96-yard touchdown drive with a touchdown run on third-and-goal from the one, the 57th touchdown of his career. It was the first rushing touchdown for the Bucs, however, since October 13. That drive ranked as the second-longest in team history, trailing a 97-yarder at Tennessee last season. The Bucs took a 10-0 lead on Alstott’s touchdown. Detroit, however, answered immediately and impressively despite the loss of Harrington. McMahon came on to engineer a 79-yard touchdown drive, hitting WR Bill Schroeder three times for 77 yards, including an 18-yard touchdown. The big play was a 46-yarder on the right sideline that found Schroeder when S Dexter Jackson mistimed his jump in front of the receiver. The Lions then tied the game with a 43-yard drive on their next possession, powered by 16 and 18-yard runs by RB Rafael Cooper. Detroit’s quick 10 points were as many as the Bucs have given up in a first half since opening day, when New Orleans got 13 in the first two quarters. The Bucs did manage to regain the lead before halftime with a methodical, 14-play field goal drive that covered 67 yards, mostly in small chunks. The key play was a 15-yard shovel pass to Pittman on third-and-10, a play the Bucs have tried to master throughout the season with little previous success. After gaining a first down at the Detroit nine, however, Tampa Bay again failed to put the ball in the end zone and had to settle for Martin Gramatica’s 28-yard field goal and a 13-10 halftime lead. Detroit tied it on the first drive of the third quarter on Hanson’s 25-yard field goal after Cason’s 40-yard run on the first play from scrimmage. The Bucs played the game without Pro Bowl S John Lynch and his replacement, John Howell, led the team with six tackles and two passes defensed. CB Ronde Barber had two tackles, a sack and a pass defensed and Quarles added six stops to his interception. The team also lost DT Anthony McFarland and LB Nate Webster during the game, but the Lions were playing without many injured players, including RT Stockar McDougle and RB James Stewart. Tampa Bay returns home next weekend to play the Pittsburgh Steelers, where they will try to break the franchise record for wins.