NFL Old School Game of the Week: Bucs Clinch Division Title in Monsoon Game

Buccaneers Ricky Bell is tackled during the 1979 "Monsoon Game".

When the Tampa Bay Buccaneers entered the National Football League in 1976, they were clearly not ready for primetime as they would lose their first 26 games in team history before defeating the New Orleans Saints 33-14 in the next-to-last week of the 1977 season(To read all about that game click on the link right here: https://oldschoolsportsblog.blogspot.com/2017/11/nfl-old-school-game-of-week0-26-bucs.html).

The Bucs got a little bit better in 1978 as they finished with a 5-11 record, but in 1979 they took a giant leap forward as they became contenders for a playoff spot thanks to a stingy defense led by defensive end Lee Roy Selmon and a strong running game led by third-year running back Ricky Bell, who would finish with 1,263 yards in the 1979 season.

Tampa Bay stunned the NFL with a 5-0 start and were 9-3 by Thanksgiving needing just one win to clinch a playoff spot.

But that is when the Buccaneers reverted to their old selves as kicker Neil O' Donoghue had two extra points blocked, including one with 19 seconds left as the Bucs lost a 23-22 heartbreaker to the Minnesota Vikings in week 13.

The next two weeks would be worse as the Buccaneers would only score seven point in the next two games as quarterback Doug Williams threw a combined nine interceptions in the Bucs' 14-0 loss to the Chicago Bears and 23-7 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, leading to Tampa reporters to nickname the team the "Chokeneers".

If the Bucs were going to save themselves and clinch a playoff spot, they needed to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs in the final week of the regular season.

The Chiefs entered the game with a 7-8 record, hoping to win so they could finish with the season at .500 for their best season since 1972.

Kansas City was led by head coach Marv Levy who was in his second season and rookie Steve Fuller at quarterback.

The Chiefs also had a stingy defense which meant that points were going to be tough to come be in this game which if the Bucs won not only would send them to the playoffs but also give them the NFC Central division title.

However, there was one more element that stood in the Bucs' way of the postseason: the weather.

A low pressure system had developed in the Gulf of Mexico, leading to the game being played in a torrential downpour that caused poodles to form all over the field and make waterfalls out of the steps of Tampa Stadium.

However, more than 63,000 fans withstood the downpours to see if their Bucs could complete the miracle and go from worst to first.

Buccaneers running back Ricky Bell(42) would run the ball 39 times for 137 yards.

 Neither team was able to move the ball offensively until the Bucs did there on their second possession of the game which began at their 22-yard-line as Bell carried the ball four consecutive times, picking up 27 yards.

Then it was backup running back Jerry Eckwood's turn as he got the ball 17 yards to the Kansas City 34-yard-line, marking the first time either team had driven into their opponent's territory.

Following Eckwood's run, it was back to Bell, who ran for 14 yards and another 1st down at the Chiefs' 20-yard-line.

After two more runs picked up five more yards, the Bucs decided to put the ball in the air as Williams' pass for tight end Jim Obradovich was underthrown and incomplete, forcing the Bucs into a 4th down situation.

Bucs head coach John McKay decided to sent in the field goal unit in hopes of getting Tampa on the scoreboard but O' Donoghue never got a kick away as the snap was too low for holder Tom Blanchard to handle, as the ball ended up in O' Donoghue's hands before he was tackled for a five-yard loss as the Bucs came away with zero points despite driving into the Kansas City red zone.

The Chiefs took over at their 20-yard-line and were able to pick up their initial 1st down of the game when Fuller connected with running back Earl Gant for a 20-yard completion on 3rd & 9 from the Kansas City' 21-yard-line that became a 35-yard play when an unnecessary roughness penalty was called on the Bucs giving the Chiefs 15 extra yards and a 1st down at the Tampa Bay 44-yard-line.

However, the Chiefs would not be able to take advantage of the opportunity as Fuller was picked off by Tampa Bay linebacker Richard Wood who give the Bucs the  ball back at their 46-yard-line.

But a clipping penalty pushed helped kill the drive as the Bucs were forced to punt as the game moved into the second quarter.

The Chiefs would get another excellent scoring opportunity in the second quarter when Williams was intercepted by Chiefs cornerback Tim Collier, whose 40-yard return set up shop for the Chiefs at the Tampa Bay 34-yard-line.

Kansas City would drive to the Bucs' 18-yard-line until they were pushed back a few yards when Levy called on future Hall of Fame kicker Jan Stenerud to attempt a 39-yard field goal, which was blocked by Selmon to keep the game scoreless.

Lee Roy Selmon tries to get to sack Chiefs quarterback Steve Fuller during the 1979 "Monsoon Game".

Then later in the second quarter, the Bucs had the ball at their 31-yard-line when Williams handed the ball off to Eckwood who took a pitch from Williams and ran around the right side where he appeared on his way to a 69-yard touchdown run.

But because of the wet conditions, Eckwood dropped the ball at around the Kansas City 40-yard-line, leading to a fumble that was recovered by Chiefs cornerback M.L. Carter at the KC 28-yard-line.

Neither team would mount another scoring threat for the rest of the half as both teams went into the locker room with game in a scoreless deadlock.

After the Bucs went three-and-out on their opening possession of the second half, the Chiefs got the ball at their 34-yard-line only to give it right back to Tampa Bay when tight end Tony Samuels lost control of the football after a 12-yard catch which was recovered by Wood to give the Bucs the ball at the Kansas City 43-yard-line.

The Bucs could not move the ball and were forced to punt only to get a reprieve when a running into the kicker penalty gave them a 1st down at the Chiefs' 41-yard-line.

However, the Bucs could not take advantage of their second chance and were forced to punt the ball away to the Chiefs, who took over at their 20-yard-line.

The Chiefs got one 1st down until a quarterback sack by Tampa Bay strong safety Mark Cotney dropped Fuller for an eleven-yard loss leading to another Kansas City punt to the Bucs' 40-yard-line.

But the drive never got on track as Bell fumbled the ball on 1st down which he recovered for a four-yard loss, followed by a one-yard loss by Eckwood, and then ending with another interception from Williams, with Chiefs strong safety Herb Christopher picking it off on a deep pass at the Kansas City 23-yard-line.

The Chiefs would go three-and-out to give the ball back to the Bucs who took over at their 35-yard-line with 39 seconds left in the third quarter.

That is when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers put together its most important drive in team history up to that point.

After a two-yard run by Johnny Davis to begin the drive, Bell took a pitch from Williams and ran around the left side for nine yards and a 1st down as the third quarter came to a end.

Bell would get the ball on the next two plays, picking up seven yards to set up 3rd & 3 at the Chiefs' 46-yard-line when Williams dropped back and fired a pass to tight end Jimmie Giles, who made the catch at the 40-yard-line, broke a tackle and ran to the KC 30-yard-line for a 16-yard gain and another Tampa Bay 1st down.

Disaster nearly struck on the next play when Bell dropped Williams' pitch, only for left guard Greg Horton to fall on it at the KC 32-yard-line.

Bell would make up for the fumble with a 12-yard run on the very next play to pick up another Tampa 1st down, then pick up four yards on back-to-back carries leading to 3rd & 6 when Williams hit Giles again for seven yards as he slid out of bounds at the Chiefs' nine-yard-line to set up 1st & goal.

A four-yard run by Eckwood and two runs by Bell for three yards set up 4th & goal from the two-yard-line as McKay sent O' Donoghue to attempt a 19-yard field goal that with the soggy conditions was anything but a sure things.

Again the snap was low, but this time Blanchard was able to recover to get a good hold for O' Donoghue to make the 19-yard field goal to give Tampa Bay a 3-0 lead with 8:50 left in the fourth quarter after an impressive 13-play, 63-yard drive.

Neil O' Donoghue kicks what would be the only points of the game.

The Chiefs would go three-and-out again on their next series giving the Bucs the ball at their 44-yard-line when two straight runs gained six yards to set up 3rd & 4 at the 50-yard-line.

That is when Eckwood took a pitch from Williams and was stopped for no gain, only because Chiefs linebacker Frank Manumaleuga grabbed him by the face mask, drawing a five-yard penalty and a 1st down for the Bucs.

Two straight runs by Bell for six yards lead to a 3rd & 4 when Williams fake a handoff and ran a bootleg around the left side for a five-yard gain and another Tampa Bay 1st down at the Chiefs' 33-yard-line.

Bell would run for four more yards on 1st down, followed by another five-yard run by Williams, then a two-yard run by Williams to give Tampa a 1st & 10 at the KC 22-yard-line as the two-minute warning hit.

One more 1st down and the Bucs would be NFC Central Champions.

Bell got the ball on 1st down and ran for six yards, then was stopped for no gain on 2nd down, setting up a crucial 3rd & 4.

That is when Eckwood took the handoff from Williams, ran to his right, then broke a tackle at the 13-yard-line which knocked the ball loose, only to have Giles recover it at the nine-yard-line for another Buccaneer 1st down.

After that, Williams took two knees to run out the clock as the Bucs came away with a 3-0 victory to clinch the NFC Central title and send Tampa Bay to the playoffs for the first time in team history.

The Buccaneers' Cinderella season would continue two weeks later when in much drier conditions the Bucs knocked off the Philadelphia Eagles 24-17 in the Divisional Round thanks to a 38-carry, 142-yard, two-touchdown performance by Bell to send Tampa Bay to the NFC Championship Game where the clock struck midnight as the Bucs fell to the Los Angeles Rams 9-0.