NFL Old School Game of the Week: Alstott's Two-Point Conversion Gives Bucs Win over Redskins

Buccaneers fullback Mike Alstott prepares to punch it in the end zone for the game-winning two-point conversion against the Redskins in 2005.

 Nine times out of 10 when a team scores a touchdown in the final minutes of a game and needs one point to tie, they opt to play it safe and kick the extra point.

But every once in a while, someone will gamble and go for two to try and win the game in regulation.

That's exactly what happened in Week 10 of the 2005 NFL season when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers hosted the Washington Redskins.

The Bucs came into the game with a 5-3 record but having lost their previous two games and three of their last four after jumping out to a 4-0 start.

The Bucs were led by head coach Jon Gruden, who was in his fourth season at Tampa Bay, and was looking to return to the playoffs for the first time since the Bucs won it all after the 2002 season.

If Tampa Bay was going to return to the postseason, they would need backup quarterback Chris Simms, the son of former New York Giants quarterback Phil Simms, to step up his game after Simms had thrown for four interceptions in the Bucs' previous two losses after taking over for Brian Griese, who had been lost for the rest of the season with a torn ACL.

Simms would need help from his backfield which featured eventual offensive rookie of the year Cadillac Williams at tailback and the "A-Train", veteran fullback Mike Alstott if the Bucs were going to stop their two-game losing streak.

The Redskins came into the game with a 5-3 record under head coach Joe Gibbs, who had returned to the sidelines after a 11-year absence to once again become the head coach of the Redskins.

After a disappointing 6-10 season in 2004, the Redskins jumped out to a 3-0 start thanks to an offense that featured quarterback Mark Brunell at the the helm and running back Clinton Portis.

With both teams evenly matched, the game figured to be a close one and would not be decided until the final minutes.

After both teams punted on their opening possessions of the game, the Redskins had the ball at their 30-yard-line when Brunell handed the ball off to Portis, who busted loose for a 31-yard run to give Washington a 1st down at the Tampa Bay 39-yard-line.

However, the Redskins would turn it over three plays later when Brunell was picked off by Buccaneers defensive back Juran Bolden on a pass intended for David Patten.

Bolden returned the interception 28 yards to the Washington 47-yard-line as it took the Bucs six plays to get into the end zone as Alstott punched it in from the two-yard-line to give Tampa Bay a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter.

The Redskins would begin their ensuing possession at their 30-yard-line as Brunell would hit Patten for nine yards to start the drive, which was followed by a 11-yard run by Portis to give Washington at the 50-yard-line.

Brunell would then connect with tight end Chris Cooley for 16 yards, then with Santana Moss for 22 yards to give the Redskins a 1st & 10 at the Tampa Bay 12-yard-line.

However, the Tampa Bay defense would stiffen and not allow another 1st down as a quarterback sack by Bucs defensive end Simeon Rice would sack Brunell on 3rd & 6 to force the Redskins to settle for a 33-yard field goal by John Hall which trimmed the Tampa Bay lead to 7-3 with 3:38 left in the first quarter.

Redskins quarterback Mark Brunell completed 23 of 35 passes for 226 yards and threw two TDs.

The Redskins would force a three-and-out to get the ball back at their 26-yard-line and proceed to drive to the Tampa Bay 30-yard-line until Rice picked off a Brunell pass and returned it six yards to give the Bucs the ball back at their 36-yard-line.

The Bucs would unable to cash in on the turnover as they punted the ball back to the Redskins, only to have Rice strike again as he forced Brunell to fumble on a quarterback sack, with fellow Tampa defensive end Dewayne White recovering the ball at the Washington five-yard-line.

Alstott would get the ball on 1st down as he carried it to the one-yard-line then punched it in for the one-yard touchdown to increase the Bucs' lead to 14-3 midway through the second quarter.

Having turned the ball over on their previous three possessions, the Redskins needed a spark and would get it on the ensuing kickoff as Ladell Betts returned the kick 94 yards for a touchdown to cut the Tampa lead to 14-10.

The Bucs would get the ball at their 33-yard-line to start their next drive as it took them only two plays to get into Redskins territory as Simms completed a short screen pass to Alstott on 2nd & 6, who turned into a 18-yard gain that got 15 yards added to it as Washington defensive end Nic Clemons was called for roughing the passer, giving Tampa Bay a 1st down at the Redskins' 30-yard-line.

Then after two running plays picked up six yards, Simms fired a 24-yard touchdown pass to Joey Galloway to push the Tampa Bay lead back to double digits at 21-10 with 5:16 left in the second quarter.

The Redskins would get the ball back at their 25-yard-line where after an one-yard run by Portis to start the drive, Brunell would complete four of his next five passes for 44 yards to push the Redskins to the Tampa Bay 30-yard-line.

But after two runs by Portis picked up eight yards, Brunell threw an incomplete pass on 3rd & 2, forcing the Redskins to settle for a 40-yard field goal by Hall to cut the Buccaneers' lead to 21-13 with 1:40 left before halftime.

Despite having two timeouts and nearly a minute and a half on the clock, Gruden was content with a 21-13 lead as running back Michael Pittman ran the ball three straight times to end the first half as the Bucs were set to get the ball to start the second half.

However on the first play of the second half, Williams fumbled the football after he was hit by Redskins defensive tackle Joe Salave'a as defensive end Demetric Evans made the recovery to give the Redskins a 1st & goal at the Tampa Bay seven-yard-line.

Three plays later, the Redskins were in the end zone as Brunell connected with Mike Sellers for a seven-yard touchdown to make it 21-19 when Gibbs decided to go for two.

The two-point conversion was successful as Brunell completed a pass to Portis for the two points to tie the game at 21 just 93 seconds into the second half.

Redskins running back Clinton Portis ran for 144 yards on 23 carries and scored one touchdown.

The Redskins would force the Bucs to punt on their next possession to get the ball back at their 27-yard-line where after two runs by Portis netted three yards, Brunell scrambled for 11 yards and a 1st down at the Washington 41-yard-line.

Brunell would then complete a 47-yard pass to Moss only to have called because of a holding penalty which pushed the Redskins back 10 yards to their 37-yard-line where the Redskins lost three more yards when Betts was dropped for a three-yard-loss after catching a screen pass from Brunell to set up 2nd & 23.

The Redskins would get half of those yards back when Portis ran for 12 yards to set up 3rd & 11 when Brunell connected with Moss for a 42-yard gain and a 1st down at the Tampa Bay 22-yard-line.

Then on 3rd & 9, Brunell would hit Betts for a 17-yard touchdown to give the Redskins their first lead of the game at 28-21 with 5:25 remaining in the third quarter.

The Bucs would get the ball back at their 30-yard-line as Simms would complete a 16-yard pass to Ike HIlliard for a 1st down at the Tampa 46-yard-line, then hit Edell Shephard with a 46-yard bomb on 3rd & 9 to give the Bucs a 1st & goal at the Redskins' seven-yard-line.

Then after a three-yard run by Alstott, Simms connected with Hilliard on a four-yard touchdown which tied the game 28-28 with 1:58 left in the third quarter.

The Redskins would begin their next possession at their 24-yard-line as Washington would pick up a 1st down when Brunell ran for two yards on 3rd & 1 to end the third quarter.

As the fourth quarter began, the Redskins turned the left arm of Brunell, who would complete seven of his next eight passes for 32 yards which included a four-yard completion to Cooley on 4th & 3 from the Tampa Bay 35-yard-line.

After the 4th down conversion, Brunell would the ball off to Betts, who carried the ball three straight times for a total of 23 yards to set up an eight-yard touchdown run by Portis to cap off the 16-play, 76-yard drive and give Washington a 35-28 lead with 8:26 left in the third quarter.

The Bucs would get the ball back at their 24-yard-line as Simms completed a four-yard pass to Galloway to start the drive, then handed the ball off to Williams who was stopped for no gain to force 3rd & 6 when Simms connected with Galloway for 18 yards and a 1st down at the Tampa Bay 46-yard-line.

Simms would go back to Galloway on the next play, this time connecting on a 33-yard gain to push the Bucs to the Redskins' 21-yard-line.

The Bucs would pick up one more 1st down until they were faced with a 4th & goal from the Washington 12-yard-line with 3:44 left in the game.

Simms would try to hit Galloway again but his pass fell incomplete forcing a turnover on downs and giving the ball back to the Redskins with 3:37 to play and a chance for Washington to run out the clock.

However, the Bucs would force a three-and-out to get the ball back at their 46-yard-line with 1:52 remaining in regulation.

The drive would begin with a 13-yard pass from Simms to Galloway for a Tampa Bay 1st down at the Redskins 41-yard-line, followed by an incomplete pass, then an 11-yard pass from Simms to Shephard for another Tampa Bay 1st down at the Redskins' 30-yard-line as Simms spiked the ball to stop the clock with 65 seconds left.

That is when Simms dropped back and fired a pass toward the end zone, intended for Shephard, who made a diving catch for the 30-yard touchdown to make it 35-34 with 58 seconds remaining and all but academic extra point that would tie the game at 35.

Buccaneers quarterback Chris Simms would complete 15 of 29 passes for 279 yards and throw three TDs and zero INTs.

But the Redskins broke through the line of scrimmage to block the extra point only to have nullified because cornerback Walt Harris jumped offsides to put the ball at the Washington one-yard-line.

That is when Gruden decided to send his offense back on the field and go for the two-point conversion that would give Tampa Bay the lead.

Gruden called "14 Blast" a run specifically for Alstott to run behind the right tackle and hopefully for the Bucs into the end zone.

Simms took the snap and handed the ball off to Alstott, who was initially stopped at the line of scrimmage, but kept his legs moving to sneak his way into the end zone for two-point conversion to give the Bucs a 36-35 lead.

The Redskins would get the ball at their 20-yard-line with two timeouts in their pocket and 58 seconds to drive into field goal range.

The drive got off to a good start as Brunell completed a 24-yard pass to Cooley, only to have his next three passes fall incomplete to force a 4th & 10 from the Washington 44-yard-line.

Unable to find anybody, Brunell tried to run for the 1st down, but could only get two yards as he was tackled by Dewayne White and Sheldon Quarles to force a turnover on downs and give the ball back to Tampa Bay as Simms would take a knee to run out the clock to give the Bucs the 36-35 win.

The loss seemed to send Washington's season into a tailspin as they would lose their next two games to fall to 5-6 until the Redskins went on a five-game winning streak to clinch their first playoff berth since 1999.

In the playoffs, the Redskins would travel to Tampa Bay again to take on the Buccaneers, who finished with a 11-5 record good enough to earn the right to host an NFC Wild Card Game against Washington.

In that game, the Redskins would get revenge for their heartbreaking loss in November as they defeated the Bucs 17-10 to advance to the Divisional Round where Washington fell to the Seattle Seahawks 20-10.