Ouch! Rick Stroud, The St.Petersburg Times, published 8 December 1997 It was not exactly the celebration the Tampa Bay Bucs had planned. As the final seconds ticked off the clock, they saw dancing in the aisles, they heard the screams of adoring fans, they were splashed by the spillover excitement. And they couldn't imagine having a more miserable time. The Green Bay Packers did not just crash the Bucs' little playoff party Sunday. They knocked down the door on the way into their house, spilled drinks on the furniture, broke a lamp and dipped their fingers into the cake. Two-time NFL MVP Brett Favre passed for 280 yards and two touchdowns and the Bucs were kept out of the end zone for the first time since last December as the Packers clinched their third consecutive NFC Central title with a 17-6 win over Tampa Bay. This is what was repeated in the Bucs locker room: You've got to take your hat off to the Packers. Then again, don't bother. After the victory, the Packers ripped open boxes full of new caps with "1997 NFC Central Champions" emblazoned across the front and waved them at their barnstorming fans. One size apparently does not fit all. Half of the record crowd of 73,523 at Houlihan's Stadium wore green and gold, and Favre's heroics set off an explosion among cheese-headed fans. "It's really embarrassing, to be quite honest with you," Bucs quarterback Trent Dilfer said. "I don't know whose fault it is and I'm not going to cast the blame on anybody. But it's embarrassing. They're celebrating an NFC Central championship at our place, and it's loud and obnoxious and it's like they're playing at home. And that's a frustrating thing." While the victory guaranteed the Packers a first-round bye in the playoffs, the Bucs might want to petition for realignment. Despite still needing just one more win in their last two games to clinch a playoff spot, the Bucs continued to struggle against NFC opponents and saw their division record fall to 2-5. The Bucs have more to worry about than how to beat the New York Jets next week. They might have to do it without Dilfer, who was carted off the field late in the first half with a right ankle sprain after being sacked by Reggie White. He returned to play the third quarter, but he had trouble planting on his throws and completed just two of his next seven attempts for 20 yards before being replaced by Steve Walsh in the fourth quarter. Dilfer knew he was done when he missed reading a blitz by the strong safety and was sacked. He got on the phone with offensive coordinator Mike Shula and agreed it was time to hand over the keys. "He wanted to play," Tony Dungy said. "I was tempted to put Steve in after the half. (Dilfer) wanted to go and give it a shot. He showed me that he could at least drop back and move around. But as the game got on his mobility got less and less, so we decided to go to Steve." Dungy said he wasn't sure whether Dilfer would play Sunday against the Jets. He certainly didn't have any reason to feel good about having to start Walsh, who completed 4 of 9 for 50 yards and was intercepted. Dilfer said he plans to play against the Jets, but it's unlikely he can practice before Friday. "It's just a sprained ankle. Everybody gets them, unfortunately I got mine today," Dilfer said. "Next week, I fully intend on playing. But you can only do so much. I'll spend every waking moment trying to get it better and hopefully will." The difference between the Bucs and Packers was evident in the first half. Tampa Bay forced three turnovers and blocked a punt. But all the Bucs offense could produce was field goals of 24 and 48 yards by Michael Husted. In fact, it's hard to imagine the Packers playing much worse. After 10 minutes into the game, they had minus-1 yard of total offense. Then one play after fullback Mike Alstott fumbled, Favre scrambled out of pressure and whistled a 43-yard touchdown pass to Robert Brooks to give Green Bay a 7-3lead. "We had some chances, we had some turnovers that we couldn't convert," Dungy said. "They converted theirs and that was really the difference." You want more differences between the Bucs and the defending Super Bowl champs? Look no further than the touchdown pass rookie receiver Reidel Anthony dropped in the second quarter. Donnie Abraham had just recovered a fumble by running back Dorsey Levens at the Tampa Bay 40. On the next play, Anthony faked an out route, defensive back Tyrone Williams bit on it, and Dilfer delivered a perfect pass that Anthony dropped at the Packers' 15. "Everybody drops a pass, no matter whether you've got someone tight on you or if you're wide open," Anthony said. "But it seems to matter more when you're wide open and you drop them." It seems to matter even more when you drop them in front of the largest crowd to watch a game at Houlihan's Stadium and 61 percent of the national television audience. But as Dilfer said, "You should be able to overcome one play. When that happened, it wasn't the end of the world." It felt, however, the end of the game when Favre drove the Packers 73 yards in 10 plays for a touchdown with 5:13 to play in the third quarter. Favre saw the field the way a fly instinctively seems to avoid the swatter. On third and 3, with defensive tackle Warren Sapp and linebacker Jeff Gooch draped around his ankles, Favre flicked a pass to Levens on his way to the turf for an 8-yard touchdown. "It's crazy. That's why he's so special," safety John Lynch said. "Some of the plays are crazy, but he makes them. That's why he's MVP of the league." Dilfer, who was 6-of-17 passing for 67 yards, was elected president of the Favre fan club. "He's the best. He does things the rest of us can't do," Dilfer said. The Packers defense wasn't too bad either. It sacked Dilfer four times and held Tampa Bay to a season-low 161 yards. In short, it showed the Bucs who was boss. "They're the best in football," Dilfer said. "We wanted to come out today and try to catch them and put ourselves equal to them in the division. We weren't able to do that. I don't think we've caught them yet." They are not alone. The Pack is back. They beat archrival Dallas at Lambeau, ended their jinx at Minnesota on Monday night and polished off the Bucs on Sunday to win the division. They deserve to celebrate. It would just be nice if they picked up after themselves a little bit when the party was over. "It hurts," Lynch said. "And hopefully for everybody in here, it gives you a little extra motivation for the rest of this year."