NFL Old School Game of the Week: Bucs Beat Lions To Clinch NFC Central Championship

 

Bucs cornerback John Holt celebrates after Tampa Bay knocks off Detroit to win the NFC Central Divsion title.

While the playoffs for the 1981 NFL season were not officially underway, there was a de facto playoff game in the final week of the regular season as the 8-7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers traveled to Detroit to take on the 8-7 Lions where the winner would clinch the NFC Central Division title and a playoff spot while the loser's season would end.

The Buccaneers were looking to return to the postseason after a disappointing 1980 season in which they finished with a 5-10-1 one year after playing in the NFC Championship Game.

The Bucs were led by head coach John McKay, who had been the head coach since the Bucs' inception into the NFL back in 1976, and featured one of the best defenses in the league led by defensive tackle Lee Roy Selmon and rookie linebacker Hugh Green.

On the offensive side, the Bucs relied on the passing game as quarterback Doug Williams had thrown for nearly 3,400 yards prior to the Lions game with his top targets being wide receiver Kevin House and tight end Jimmie Giles.

While the Bucs were looking for a second division title in three seasons, the Lions were hoping to clinch their first division title since 1957 and make the playoffs for the first time since 1970.

Detroit was led by head coach Monte Clark, who was in his second season as the Lions' head coach having led Detroit to a 9-7 season in 1980 after going 2-14 in 1979.

The Lions' best player was running back Billy Sims, who had surpassed his rushing total from his rookie season in 1980 as he had ran for 1361 yards in the first 15 games of the '81 season after rushing for 1303 the year before.

However it was not until third-string quarterback Eric Hipple was inserted into the starting lineup that the Lions took off as they rebounded from a 2-4 start to enter the regular season finale with a chance at the NFC Central title.

Even though the two teams were considered to be evenly matched, the Lions had the advantage as this game would be played at the Pontiac Silverdome, home to the Lions where Detroit had lost during the 1981 season and only once since the arrival of Clark in 1980.

 The Bucs got the ball to start the game as they held the ball for nearly seven minutes as they drove 53 yards in 13 plays, culminating with a 40-yard field goal by Bill Capece to give Tampa Bay a 3-0 lead.

The two teams would trade punts for the rest of the first quarter as Tampa maintained its 3-0 lead when the Lions got the ball in Buccaneer territory to start their first drive of the second quarter.

Starting at the Tampa Bay 48-yard-line, Hipple would find Freddie Scott for 16 yards, then hit Leonard Thompson for six more yards, before handing it off to Sims, who ran for 10 yards to give Detroit a 1st down at the Buccaneers' 16-yard-line.

After back-to-back running plays which totaled seven yards, Hipple kept it himself and ran for a nine-yard touchdown to give the Lions a 7-3 lead with 12:20 left in the second quarter.

Lions running back Billy Sims ran for 76 yards on 19 carries and caught three passes for 39 yards.

The two teams would again trade punts until midway through the second quarter when the Lions took the ball from their 23-yard-line to the Tampa Bay'10-yard-line when on 3rd & 3, Hipple was intercepted by Tampa Bay free safety Cedric Brown on a pass intended for Scott at the Bucs' three-yard-line.

Brown would return the pick 13 yards to the Bucs' 16-yard-line where Williams and the offense would take over with 2:55 left before halftime.

That is when Williams went deep as he threw a pass downfield for Kevin House, who made the catch at the Lions' 46-yard-line, and then outraced the Detroit defense for a 84-yard touchdown to give Tampa Bay a 10-7 lead with 2:44 left in the first half.

Neither team would mount a scoring threat in the remaining time in the first half as the Bucs would go into the locker room ahead 10-7 and just 30 minutes from a division championship.

The Lions would get the ball to start the second half as they drove from their 34-yard-line to the Tampa Bay 16-yard-line until they started going backwards as Sims lost four yards on a running play which was followed by a holding penalty on left tackle Karl Baldischweiler pushed the Lions back another 10 yards to the Bucs 30-yard-line where they faced a 3rd & 24.

A 13-yard pass to Dexter Bussey would give the Lions a shot at a 34-yard field goal only to have Eddie Murray sail the kick wide left and no good to keep the score 10-7 in favor of the Bucs with 7:48 left in the third quarter.

The Lions would force a three-and-out to get the ball back in Buccaneer territory after Robbie Martin returned the ensuing punt 26 yards to the Tampa Bay 36-yard-line.

However, the Bucs' defense would hold the Lions to six yards on three plays, forcing them to settle for a 47-yard field goal attempt by Murray, which he made to tie the score at 10 with 5:10 remaining in the third quarter.

The Bucs would begin their next possession at their 20-yard-line as running back James Owens ran for nine yards on two carries to set up 3rd & 1 when Williams snuck for two yards and the 1st down.

A holding penalty would push the Bucs back 10 yards which they back on an Owens run which was followed by an incomplete pass to set up 3rd & 10 when Williams went deep again, this time looking for Owens who made a 35-yard reception despite falling to the ground to give Tampa Bay a fresh set of downs at the Lions' 34-yard-line.

An eight-yard pass to running back James Wilder followed by an offsides penalty on the Lions gave Tampa Bay another 1st down at the Detroit 21-yard-line as two runs by Owens for six yards and a three-yard scramble by Williams set up a 30-yard field goal by Capece to give the Bucs a 13-10 lead just 12 seconds into the fourth quarter.

The Lions would get the ball back at their 34-yard-line as an incomplete pass followed by a holding penalty and then an eight-yard pass to Bussey which picked up the lost yardage from the holding penalty set up 3rd & 10 and the biggest play of the game.

That is when Selmon sacked Hipple to cause a fumble that was scooped up by nose tackle Dave Logan who ran it in for a 21-yard touchdown to increase the Bucs' lead to 20-10 with 13:05 left in the fourth quarter.

Buccaneers nose tackle Dave Logan runs for the 21-yard fumble return touchdown.

Now trailing by two scores, the Lions would start their next possession at their 17-yard-line as a four-yard run by Thompson followed by a Sims 10-yard run would give Detroit a 1st down at its 31-yard-line.

Sims would get his hands on the ball on the next two plays as he caught an 11-yard pass, then ran for four yards, before Hipple found David Hill for 13 yards and a 1st down at the Tampa Bay 41-yard-line.

Four straight running plays picked up 25 yards to put Detroit at the Tampa Bay 16-yard-line as an offsides penalty on the Bucs gave the Lions another five yards to set up 1st & 5 when Sims was dropped for a two-yard loss to force 2nd & 7 from the 13-yard-line.

That is when disaster struck as Hipple's pass for Scott bounced off his hands and into the arms of Cedric Brown for his second interception to end the drive and give Tampa Bay the ball at its 20-yard-line with 7:02 left in regulation.

The Bucs would milk the clock as they ran the ball nine straight times, gaining 45 yards until they faced a 4th & 2 at the Detroit 35-yard-line when McKay decided to go for the 1st down instead of kicking a field goal that would increase the lead to 13 points.

The gamble backfired as Williams was tackled for a three-yard-loss to give the ball back to the Lions with 2:26 left on the clock and needing two scores.

Detroit would go no-huddle as Hipple completed passes of 16 and 24 yards to Scott to put the Lions at the Tampa Bay 22-yard-line as the two-minute warning hit.

A false start penalty would push the Lions back five yards as Hipple tried to connect with Scott, only to have the pass go off his hands and into the arms of Sims for a 19-yard reception to give Detroit a 1st & goal at the eight-yard-line.

After two incomplete passes, Hipple found Thompson in the end zone for the eight-yard touchdown to make it a 20-17 game with 1:26 left in regulation.

The Lions would attempt an onside kick on the ensuing kickoff but it was to no avail as Tampa Bay wide receiver Theo Bell recovered the football to allow the Bucs to run out the clock and came away with the 20-17 win to clinch the second division title in three years for the Buccaneers.

The Buccaneers would be greeted with a hero's welcome when they returned to Tampa Bay as 5,000 fans greeted the team at their headquarters following their win over the Lions.

But this would be the peak for the Buccaneers as two weeks later they were soundly defeated 38-0 in the NFC Divisional Playoffs to the Dallas Cowboys.