NFL Old School Game of the Week: Bucs Get Revenge on Rams in Monday Night Thriller

 

Tampa Bay running back Warrick Dunn would run for 145 yards and score three touchdowns in the Bucs' memorable win over the Rams.

On January 23, 2000, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers traveled to St. Louis to take on the Rams in the NFC Championship Game with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.

The Buccaneers defense would the explosive Rams offense, nicknamed the "Greatest Show on Turf" to just 11 points but it was not enough as Tampa would fall to St. Louis 11-6 in a controversial finish as Bert Emanuel had a key catch reversed and called incomplete even though he had control of the ball.

Almost 11 months later, the Buccaneers would have a chance to get some revenge on the Rams on Monday Night Football.

The Buccaneers come into the game with a 9-5 record needing just one more win to clinch a spot in the playoffs which would give Tampa Bay its third playoff appearance in four years.

The Bucs were led by head coach Tony Dungy, who had turned the franchise around after 14 consecutive losing seasons from 1983-1996, with one of the top defenses in the NFL with a lineup which featured defensive tackle Warren Sapp, linebacker Derrick Brooks, cornerback Ronde Barber, and strong safety John Lynch.

While the Bucs' defense was championship level, the offense still faced a lot of questions as second-year quarterback Shaun King had thrown for just over 2,000 yards despite starting all the games in the regular season to this point.

The Bucs would King to have a big game if they were to avenge their NFC championship game loss

St. Louis also came into the game with a 9-5 record needing a win to return to the playoffs were the Rams would try to win the Super Bowl for the second year in a row.

While the Rams had the same explosive offense as the year before, which was led by quarterback Kurt Warner, running back Marshall Faulk, and wide receivers Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt, their defense was not as it had gone from one of the league's best in 1999, giving up only 15 points per game, to the worst in the league as it was now giving up nearly 29 points per game.

So, it was strength against strength and weakness against weakness as the Bucs and Rams meet again this time in Tampa Bay.

The Rams got the ball to start the game but quickly gave it back to the Bucs when on 3rd down, Warner was intercepted by Barber, who returned it nine yards to put the Bucs at the St. Louis 20-yard-line.

The Bucs would only pick up three yards on three plays, forcing to them to settle for a 35-yard field goal by Martin Gramatica to give Tampa Bay a 3-0 lead just 1:52 into the game.

The Bucs would force the Rams to go three-and-out to get the ball back at their 32-yard-line when King threw a deep pass intended for Jaquez Green, only to have cornerback Dexter McCleon make the interception to give the ball back to the Rams but at their 24-yard-line.

From there, the "Greatest Show on Turf"  would get on track as they drove 76 yards in nine plays with Warner completing five of six passes for 70 yards to set up Faulk's two-yard touchdown run to give the Rams a 7-3 lead with 6:25 left in the first quarter.

The Bucs would start its next ensuing possession at their 18-yard-line by running the ball four straight times gaining only 12 yards until they put the ball in the air as King completed a 32-yard pass to Keyshawn Johnson putting Tampa in Rams territory at the 38-yard-line.

After a two-yard run by Dunn on 1st down, King would connect with Johnson again, this time for 23 yards which was followed by a 11-yard pass from King to Dunn to give Tampa a 1st & goal when King handed the ball off to Dunn who punched it in for a two-yard touchdown to give the Bucs a 10-7 lead with 40 seconds to go in the first quarter.

Following a 1st quarter where both teams combined for 17 points, equaling the total from the NFC championship game, the Rams would start their ensuing possession at their 28-yard-line as Warner hit passes of 29 yards to Ricky Proehl and 14 yards to Holt to help St. Louis get to the Tampa Bay 18-yard-line where they would face a 4th & 1 when head coach Mike Martz decided to go for the 1st down instead of kicking the field goal.

Warner would hand the ball off to Faulk, who got two yards and the 1st down, which was followed by Faulk's 16-yard touchdown run to give the Rams a 14-10 lead with 11 minutes left in the second quarter.

Marshall Faulk would account for 132 yards of total offense and four touchdowns.

With a track meet starting to develop, the Bucs would be more methodically on their next possession as they drove 69 yards in 12 plays in a drive that took nearly seven minutes off the clock and ended with King throwing an eight-yard touchdown pass to Johnson to give the lead back to the Bucs at 17-14 with 4:02 left before halftime.

The long drive seem to rejuvenate the Bucs' defense as they forced the Rams to go three-and-out to get the ball back at their 42-yard-line as King would lead Tampa on a six-play, 58-yard drive as he completed three of four passes for 48 yards with the drive being capped off with a 17-yard touchdown pass from King to Johnson to increase the Tampa Bay lead to 24-14 with exactly one minute to go in the first half.

The Rams would not mount a drive in the final minute of the first half as they went into the locker room down 10 points and set to play defense to start the second half.

The Bucs would drive from their 33-yard-line to the Rams' 41-yard-line until a four-yard loss by fullback Mike Alstott, an incomplete pass, and a quarterback sack pushed Tampa back into its own territory and forced to punt back to St. Louis who took over at its 26-yard-line.

The Rams would drive to the 50-yard-line thanks to four runs by Faulk for 20 yards until Warner was picked off by Tampa Bay strong safety Damien Robinson to give the Bucs the ball at their 32-yard-line, only to go three-and-out to punt the ball back to the Rams who took over at their 37-yard-line.

From there, the Rams would drive 63 yards in seven plays with the drive being capped off with a 27-yard touchdown pass from Warner to Faulk to cut the Tampa Bay lead to 24-21 with 20 seconds left in the third quarter.

It would not take long for the Bucs to get back into the end zone as Karl Williams returned the ensuing kickoff 41 yards to the Tampa Bay 48-yard-line when Dunn took a King handoff and ran for a 52-yard touchdown to push the Bucs' lead back to 10 points at 31-21 as the third quarter came to an end.

The Rams would respond with a seven-play, 73-yard drive where Warner would complete three passes to Holt for 42 yards to help set up a nine-yard touchdown run by Faulk to cut the Tampa Bay lead to 31-28 with 10:53 left in the fourth quarter.

Rams quarterback Kurt Warner completed 20 of 32 passes for 316 yards.

The Bucs would start its ensuing possession at their 27-yard-line with a 20-yard run by Dunn, followed by a nine-yard pass from King to Green and then a two-yard run by Dunn for a 1st down at the Rams' 42-yard-line.

An intentional grounding penalty and an incomplete pass would force a 3rd & 20 where King completed a 30-yard pass to Green to give the Bucs a 1st down which was followed by a 21-yard run by Dunn to give Tampa a 1st & goal at the St. Louis one-yard-line.

The Rams' defense would not only keep the Bucs out of the end zone but would force a turnover when King was intercepted on a 3rd down pass by McCleon in the end zone to give St. Louis the ball on its 20-yard-line.

Following an eight-yard pass to Roland Williams to start the drive, Warner went deep and connected with Holt for a 72-yard touchdown to give the Rams a 35-31 lead with 5:18 to go in the game.

The Bucs looked to respond on their ensuing possession as King connected with Johnson for 23 yards on 2nd & 16 to give Tampa a 1st down at its 41-yard-line when King threw three straight incomplete passes to force 4th & 10 when Dungy decided to go for the 1st down instead of punting the ball away.

The gamble would not pay off as King's pass intended for Johnson fell incomplete to give the ball to the Rams at the Bucs' 41-yard-line with 3:33 left in the game.

The Rams would run the ball three straight times picking up only five yards to force a 4th & 5 as the Rams would punt the ball back to the Bucs who would take over at their 20-yard-line with 2:22 left on the clock and needing a touchdown.

After an incomplete pass to start the drive, King would complete a seven-yard pass to Johnson then a eight-yard pass to Green for a Tampa Bay 1st down at the Bucs' 35-yard-line.

Following an incomplete pass, King handed the ball off to Dunn, who looked to be dropped for a loss as Rams defensive end Kevin Carter got his hands on Dunn's jersey, only for Dunn to lateral the ball back to King who would then ran for 15 yards before he went out of bounds at the 50-yard-line when he was hit late by linebacker Mike Jones to put the Bucs at the St. Louis 35-yard-line.

A six-yard pass to Dunn and two incomplete passes would force the Bucs into a 4th & 4 situation when King would run for six yards to move the chains with a 1st down at the Rams' 23-yard-line where King would find Reidel Anthony for 22 yards to set up 1st & goal at the one-yard-line.

King would then hand the ball off to Dunn who punched it in for an one-yard touchdown to give Tampa Bay a 38-35 lead with 48 seconds left in regulation.

Bucs quarterback Shaun King would finish with 256 yards passing and 58 yards rushing in leading Tampa Bay to the victory over the Rams.

The Rams would get the ball back at their 21-yard-line with a chance to at least send the game into overtime only to have Warner be picked off by Lynch, allowing the Bucs to run out the clock as they would come away with the 38-38 win and a spot in the playoffs.

One week later, the Rams would defeat the New Orleans Saints 26-21 to clinch the final spot in the NFC playoffs where they would met the Saints again in the Wild Card Round, this time losing to New Orleans 31-28 to end St. Louis' chances of a second straight Super Bowl title.

Meanwhile, the Bucs would lose their final game of the regular season to finish with a 10-6 record, earning them the #5 seed in the NFC playoffs and a trip to Philadelphia to take on the Eagles who would hold Tampa to just a field goal in their 21-3 victory in the Wild Card round.

However, when Buccaneer fans think of the 2000 season, the first thing that comes to the minds of many is their win over the Rams on Monday Night Football.