NFC EAST NFC CENTRAL NFC WEST Dallas 12-4 Tampa Bay 9-7 San Francisco 13-3 Philadelphia 10-6 Detroit 8-8 Atlanta 7-9 NY Giants 9-7 Green Bay 8-8 LA Rams 6-10 Washington 8-8 Minnesota 7-9 New Orleans 4-12 St Louis 7-9 Chicago 6-10 AFC EAST AFC CENTRAL AFC WEST Miami 11-4-1 Cincinnati 12-4 San Diego 10-6 NY Jets 10-5-1 Pittsburgh 8-8 Denver 10-6 Buffalo 10-6 Houston 7-9 Kansas City 9-7 Baltimore 2-14 Cleveland 5-11 Oakland 7-9 New England 2-14 Seattle 6-10 WILD CARD GAMES NY Giants 27 Philadelphia 21 Buffalo 31 NY Jets 27 DIVISIONAL GAMES Dallas 38 Tampa Bay 0 San Francisco 38 NY Giants 24 San Diego 41 Miami 38 Cincinnati 28 Buffalo 21 CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES San Francisco 28 Dallas 27 Cincinnati 27 San Diego 7 SUPER BOWL XVI at the Silverdome, Detroit San Francisco 26 Cincinnati 21

After the disappointment of 1980, the Bucs won their second division title in three years with a thrilling winner-takes-all success in Detroit on the final day of the season. They got hammered by the Cowboys when they got to the post-season but John McKay's defense had done it when it counted and the Doug Williams-led offense was a ton better than the 1981 division-title winning version. But it was still more success for a franchise that was doing far better than its fellow expansionists Seattle. The draft brought a pair of studs in LB Hugh Green and RB James Wilder and the popularity of the Buccaneers in the Bay area was now well established. They were no longer seen as the team that lost 26 straight to open their history.