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Rick Stroud, The St.Petersburg Times, published 22 December 1997
It was not just that the Buccaneers gave their long-suffering fans an early gift Sunday.
Heaven knows the Tampa Bay area has waited 18 years to feel the excitement of hosting an NFL playoff game.
It's not simply the fact that there will be one more fiesta in the Big Sombrero. Everyone has known this team would be part of the post-season for more than a week.
Deciding the location of next weekend's NFC wild-card game against Detroit was not the most important thing the Bucs did.
Resembling a team that could make an impact in the playoffs, the Bucs blasted the Chicago Bears 31-15 before 70,930 in the final regular-season game ever at Houlihan's Stadium.
"I think it hit us with four minutes left in the fourth quarter that we just won 10 games and we had a home game for the playoffs," Trent Dilfer said. "We didn't reach all our goals, but we reached two of them so far.
"It was neat. I think this city and I have had a weird relationship the past three years. All I can say is I'm as happy for them as I am for any member in this locker room. They've been through a lot and they deserve this, they deserve a home game. They deserve the opportunity to line up tomorrow at 10 and get those tickets and the excitement that's going to go with this week. I was probably as happy for them as I was for anybody."
Karl Williams returned a punt 61 yards for a touchdown and caught a 7-yard pass for another score in the first half, igniting the Bucs to one of their most convincing wins.
In tying for the best record in club history at 10-6, the Bucs earned the opportunity to host their NFC wild-card game against the Lions at 4 p.m. Sunday.
That might not seem like much of a reward. The Bucs have the privilege of trying to stop running back Barry Sanders, who on Sunday became only the third NFL player to rush for 2,000 yards in a season.
Sanders rushed for 215 yards and two touchdowns Oct. 12 at Houlihan's Stadium. But he was held to a season-low 20 yards on 10 carries in the Bucs' win Sept. 7 at Pontiac. Since then, Sanders has an NFL-record 15 straight 100-yard games.
"We're not the only ones feeling good right now," Dilfer said. "They'll be feeling good and they won't be scared of us."
But until Sunday, there was no reason to think the Bucs wouldn't go one and out in the playoffs.
"We needed this," Dilfer said. "Not only to win, but to win the way we won."
Fresh off a 31-0 loss to the New York Jets and having gone two games without a touchdown, the Bucs didn't just want to warm up the offense Sunday - they needed to microwave it.
The big plays came in bunches.
Williams' spinning, darting, 61-yard punt return on the final play of the first quarter staked the Bucs to a 14-0 lead. But he first made his presence known as a receiver, with two of three consecutive third-down passes from Dilfer on the first touchdown drive.
Snapshots the Bucs will take with them into the playoffs will include left tackle Paul Gruber escorting a gimpy-legged Dilfer into the end zone for a 7-yard touchdown run.
The images will include rookie Warrick Dunn breaking tackles and knifing outside to race 76 yards - the longest run from scrimmage in club history. Dunn finished with 119 yards on 16 carries.
They can draw on the masterfully engineered, 2-minute drive to end the first half. Dilfer floated a pass to Williams in the back of the end zone with 11 seconds remaining to send the Bucs to the locker room ahead 21-7.
"I think what happens is your pride is wounded a little bit," Bucs coach Tony Dungy said. "Our guys knew we didn't play anywhere near our type of game last week. So we were determined to come out and play. Karl got us going with a couple of returns. The defense I think played well. But you could see we had a little more spark, a little more desire, and the home fans helped that as well."
The Bucs defense made the lead stick by holding the Bears to 203 yards, 62 in the fourth quarter long after the issue had been decided.
Warren Sapp had two of the Bucs' three sacks, forced a fumble, recovered it and almost ran it into the end zone before being tackled after a 20-yard return.
It was somehow fitting that Sapp's two sacks gave him 10.5 for the season, the most on the team.
Meanwhile, Williams dominated on special teams. His 116 punt-return yards also included a pair of 23-yard efforts. His four catches for 47 yards led all receivers.
"After coming off last week, when we definitely weren't peaking, we wanted to use this game as a springboard into the playoffs, and we really did," nose tackle Brad Culpepper said. "We've got a lot of confidence going into this next game. It was a great way to go out, to dominate the way we did. It'll definitely get us ready for the playoffs and have the idea stamped in our mind that this is how we've got to do it."
Of course, Dungy and the Bucs will not just be satisfied to host a playoff game.
With the exception of Green Bay, they have beaten every NFC playoff team. They also should be healthy, having had the chance to rest Dilfer in the second half and play fullback Mike Alstott in spurts. "We are happy to be in, but just getting there, we've had higher expectations than that all year," Dungy said. "We felt we had that type of team, we felt we were going to be in the playoffs, and now that we're here we want to do some damage."
But not everybody is convinced the Bucs will take a step in the playoffs. Bears quarterback Erik Kramer, for instance.
Kramer was knocked out of the game with a bruised shoulder in the third quarter and got an earful from Tampa Bay fans when he returned to the field in street clothes.
"You guys s---. You're going to get your ass kicked next week," Kramer yelled to Bucs fans as he left the field.
Kramer did not sugarcoat his comments when asked about the Bucs' playoff prospects. "They can expect to walk off with their heads low next week," he said.
Even Bears coach Dave Wannstedt suggested his 4-12 team was as talented as the 10-6 Bucs.
"Tampa did a great job today in a lot of areas. But are they more talented than we are?" Wannstedt said. "I don't think so."
But it didn't matter what Wannstedt, Kramer or anyone else thought. It was Dungy's head the Gatorade bucket was being lifted over by Hardy Nickerson and Culpepper.
"We talked about it after last year, at the same time of the year, we were 6-10 and we said we wouldn't have another one until it was meaningful and this one you could take with a smile on your face," Dungy said.
Those smiles were also on the faces of fans who began lining up at the ticket office immediately after the game. Some, like Bob and RaeLyn Whitehead of Brandon. They had been there since 6 p.m. Saturday with blankets and lawn chairs. They slept outside the stadium and were so pumped "we didn't even feel the concrete," Bob said.
The Bucs hope there are more days like Sunday. More celebrations, more home playoff games to earn for their fans. But it was special. It was long overdue.
"I think this is the day I'll remember my entire career," Dilfer said. "Obviously, it won't feel as good if we don't accomplish what we want to accomplish in the playoffs. But this was a pretty amazing season regardless of what happens. I think we've defied the odds and proven a lot of people wrong and made a whole lot of people happy."
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