NFL Old School Game of the Week: Chargers Keep Playoff Hopes Alive with Win over Buccaneers

 

Rolf Benirschke kicks the game-winning field goal for the Chargers in their 1981 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Week 15 meeting between the San Diego Chargers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers had playoff implications for both teams even though they were in different conferences.

The Chargers came into the game with a 8-6 record, one game behind the Denver Broncos in the race for the AFC West division title, which San Diego had won the previous two seasons.

The Chargers were led by head coach Don Coryell, whose pass-oriented offense was lead the NFL in passing yards every year since Coryell became the Chargers' head coach early in the 1978 season.

At the controls of the "Air Coryell" offense was quarterback Dan Fouts who was in the middle of his third straight 4,000 yard passing offense, whose targets featured tight end Kellen Winslow, wide receivers Charlie Joiner and Wes Chandler, and running backs James Brooks and Chuck Muncie, help lead San Diego to an average of 32 points per game up to this point in the '81 season.

Despite their dominant offense, the chargers' defense was one of the worst in the league having given up an average of 25.5 points per game.

If the Chargers were going to win the AFC West for the third year in a row, they would some help from their defense to go along with their high-powered offense.

While the Chargers were trying to stay alive in the race for the NFL postseason, the Buccaneers were just one win away from clinching a playoff spot as a win over San Diego would give the 8-6 Buccaneers the NFC Central division title.

The Buccaneers were led by head coach John McKay, who had been the Buccaneers' head coach since their inception in 1976 which started with Tampa Bay losing its first 26 games of their existence, before McKay turned it around and help lead Tampa Bay to the NFC Championship Game after a 10-6 season in 1979 where the Bucs won the NFC Central division title.

The Buccaneers' strength was their defense which led by All-Pro defensive end Lee Roy Selmon and rookie linebacker Hugh Green, as Tampa Bay gave up an average of 16.2 points per game through the first 14 weeks of the 1981 NFL season.

On offense, the Buccaneers were led by quarterback Doug Williams, who had thrown for 3,070 yards up to this point in the season with his favorite target being wide receiver Kevin House who had caught 52 passes for 1,031 yards and eight touchdowns.

After both teams went three-and-out to start the game, the Chargers would get the ball at their 48-yard-line as two runs by Muncie for 16 yards and a nine-yard pass from Fouts to Joiner moved San Diego to the Tampa Bay 27-yard-line when Fouts fired a 27-yard touchdown pass to tight end Eric Seivers to give the Chargers a 7-0 lead.

The Buccaneers would start their next possession at their 27-yard-line as they overcame a 3rd & 12 situation when Williams scrambled for 17 yards to give Tampa Bay a 1st down at their 42-yard-line.

That is when Williams completed a short pass to wide receiver Theo Bell, who caught the ball at the Tampa Bay 46-yard-line, then outran the Chargers defense for a 58-yard touchdown that with the extra point tied the game at seven with 7:03 left in the first quarter.

The two teams would exchange punts until early in the second quarter when the Chargers took over at their 10-yard-line as they would drive down the field behind the Fouts-to-Joiner connection.

The drive would begin with Fouts hitting Joiner for 22 yards as the two would hook up again on 3rd & 11 for 16 yards to put San Diego at its 47-yard-line.

The Chargers would drive to the Tampa Bay 29-yard-line when Fouts find Joiner on back-to-back plays, totaling 21 yards to set up a eight-yard touchdown run by running back John Cappelletti to cap off the 12-play 90-yard drive and give San Diego a 14-7 lead midway through the second quarter.

Following a Tampa Bay punt, the Chargers got the ball back at their three-yard-line with 5:03 to go before halftime as they would once again drive down the field with Fouts' favorite target on this drive being  Chandler as the two hooked up on four completions for 57 yards to help San Diego advance to the Buccaneers' 15-yard-line.

However, the Chargers could not punch into the end zone as Fouts would be intercepted by Buccaneers free safety Cedric Brown to end the 17-play, 82-yard drive as Tampa Bay would take over at their 20-yard-line with 35 seconds left in the first half.

The Buccaneers would drive to the Chargers' 40-yard-line until time ran out in the first half with San Diego still ahead 14-7 but with Tampa Bay set to get the ball to start the second half.

Buccaneers quarterback Doug Williams completed 22 of 35 passes for 321 yards and threw one touchdown but two interceptions.

Tampa Bay would start their initial possession of the second half at its 29-yard-line as a 17-yard pass from Williams to House was the longest play of the 10-play, 41-yard drive that culminated with a 49-yard field goal by Bill Capece that cut the Chargers' lead to 14-10 with 10:17 left in the third quarter.

After both teams punted on their ensuing possessions, the Chargers got the ball back at their 20-yard-line as they moved to the Tampa Bay 42-yard-line until Brooks fumbled the football which was recovered by Brown to give the Buccaneers the ball at their 38-yard-line.

Tampa Bay would advance to the San Diego 39-yard-line until running back James Owens fumbled the football as Chargers free safety Glen Edwards would make the recovery as San Diego would take over at its 33-yard-line with 31 seconds to go in the third quarter.

From there, the Chargers would drive 67 yards in seven plays as passes of 22 yards to Dwight Scales and 20 yards to Chandler would help set up a two-yard touchdown run by Brooks to extend San Diego's lead to 21-10 with 11:52 to go in the fourth quarter.

Needing a touchdown, the Buccaneers would move down the field on the right arm of Williams who would complete five straight passes for 72 yards to set up James Wilder's eight-yard touchdown run to cut the Chargers' lead to 21-16 as Capece would miss the extra point which would prove costly when it came to the outcome of the game.

The Chargers would get the ball back at their 24-yard-line as Fouts would throw his second interception of the game as linebacker Dave Lewis would pick off the pass and return it 10 yards to the San Diego 23-yard-line.

It would take the Buccaneers one play to cash in on the turnover as Williams pitched the ball to Wilder, who took around the right side for a 23-yard touchdown, his second in a span of 27 seconds, that with Capece's extra point gave Tampa Bay its first lead of the game at 23-21 with 8:06 left in the fourth quarter.

It seemed like the control of the game was now in the hands of the Buccaneers, especially after Lewis recovered a Cappelletti fumble to gave Tampa Bay the ball at the San Diego 36-yard-line with a chance to put the game out of reach with 6:28 to go in the fourth quarter.

But after a two-yard run by Jerry Eckwood, disaster would strike for the Buccaneers as Williams completed a pass to Jimmie Giles, only for Edwards to pop the ball into the air when he made contact with the tight end leading to an interception by Chargers linebacker Woodrow Lowe to give San Diego the ball back at its 29-yard-line and 5:39 left on the clock.

Following an incomplete pass to start the drive, Fouts would find Winslow for 10 yards and a 1st down as a three-yard run by Brooks and an incomplete pass would set up 3rd & 7 when Fouts completed a 15-yard pass to Joiner to give the Chargers a fresh set of downs at the Tampa Bay 43-yard-line.

A seven-yard pass from Fouts to Winslow followed by two runs by Cappelletti for two yards would set a 4th & 1 when Coryell decided to go for the 1st down which he got when Fouts found Winslow for three yards and a 1st down at the Tampa Bay 31-yard-line.

After Brooks was dropped for an one-yard loss on 1st down, Fouts would complete two straight passes to Winslow for a total 14 yards to put the Chargers at the Tampa Bay 18-yard-line and in range for a potential game-winning field goal by Rolf Benirschke.

San Diego would go conservative as they ran the ball three straight times, picking up seven yards before calling on Benirschke to attempt a 29-yard field goal that would give the Chargers the lead.

Benirschke's kick would just sneak past the right upright to end the 16-play, 60-yard drive and give San Diego a 24-23 lead with just 45 seconds to go in the game.

Chargers quarterback Dan Fouts completed 33 of 49 passes for 351 yards and throw one touchdown to go along with two interceptions.

The Buccaneers would get the ball back at their 29-yard-line as they could only move eight yards before Williams fired a desperation Hail Mary pass on the final play of the game which was intercepted by Edwards to seal the 24-23 win for the Chargers and deny Tampa Bay's chances of clinching the NFC Central division title on this day.

Despite the loss, the Buccaneers would get a reprieve on wining the NFC Central division title as the following week they defeated the Detroit Lions 20-17 in a winner-take-all game to earn Tampa Bay its second trip to the NFL Playoffs in three years(To read about that game, click on the link which is highlighted here: https://oldschoolsportsblog.blogspot.com/2023/10/nfl-old-school-game-of-week-bucs-beat.html).

However, the Buccaneers would be eliminated in the divisional round of the NFC Playoffs by the Dallas Cowboys in a 38-0 rout.

As for the Chargers, they would end up winning the AFC West for the the third year in a row as a 23-10 win over the Oakland Raiders coupled with a 35-24 loss by the Broncos to the Chicago Bears in the final week of the regular season, caused San Diego and Denver to finish with identical 10-6 records, with the tiebreaker going to the Chargers as they finished with a better division record than the Broncos.

The Chargers would play the Miami Dolphins at the Orange Bowl in one of the greatest games in NFL history as they would Benirschke would kick a 29-yard field goal in overtime to give San Diego a 41-38 win in the "Epic in Miami" as the Chargers advanced to the AFC Championship Game for the second consecutive year.

But the Chargers' Super Bowl dreams would end in the "Freezer Bowl" as they lost 27-7 to the Cincinnati Bengals in a game where game-day temperature was nine degrees below zero with a wind chill of -59.

NFL Old School Game of the Week: Dolphins Survive Giles' 4 TD Performance to Narrowly Beat Bucs

 

Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino completed 27 of 39 passes for 302 yards and threw three touchdowns in the Dolphins' win over the Buccaneers in 1985.

Sometimes when a Super Bowl contender plays one of the worst teams in the league, they tend to overlook them and not their best or the bad team rises up to play one of their best games of the season.

The latter was the case in Week 7 of the 1985 NFL season when the winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers traveled down to the Orange Bowl to take on the defending AFC champion Miami Dolphins.

The Dolphins entered the game with a 4-2 record but were coming off a disappointing 23-7 loss to the New York Jets the previous week in which quarterback Dan Marino, who had broken numerous records the year before, threw for only 136 yards and zero touchdowns.

Marino had struggled throughout the first six games of the season as he thrown for eight touchdowns and eight interceptions with one half of the "Marks Brothers", wide receiver Mark Duper out with a fractured left tibia, leaving Marino to rely on the other "Marks Brother" in Mark Clayton and running back Tony Nathan

Marino was hoping to have a bounce-back game against the 0-6 Buccaneers who had lost a heartbreaker to the Los Angeles Rams the week before as quarterback Steve DeBerg was picked off by Rams cornerback LeRoy Irvin who returned the interception for a 34-yard pick-six to give LA the 31-27 win.

 If the Bucs were going to pull off an upset of the Dolphins, they were going to need a big day from tight end Jimmie Giles, who after only catching four passes for 53 yards in the team's first four games, had caught 10 passes for 160 yards in team's previous two games, but no touchdowns.

The Buccaneers got the ball to start the game and promptly went three-and-out to punt the ball to the Dolphins, which was partially blocked by Miami backup wide receiver Jim Jensen to give the Dolphins offense the ball inside Tampa Bay territory at the Bucs' 48-yard-line.

From there, it would take the Dolphins six plays to get into the end zone as Marino hit three of his passes for 31 yards on the drive, including the 16-yard touchdown to Nat Moore to give Miami a 7-0 lead four minutes into the game.

The Dolphins would get the ball back at their 42-yard-line after forcing another Buccaneer punt as the Dolphins would drive 58 yards in 11 plays culminating with a four-yard touchdown pass from Marino to Jensen to increase the Dolphins' lead to 14-0 with 2:31 left in the first quarter.

The Bucs would start their next possession at their 20-yard-line as DeBerg hit Jerry Bell for a 13-yard completion to start the drive, which was followed by an illegal use of hands penalty on Green to give Tampa Bay 10 yards and a 1st down, then followed by a 27-yard pass to Bell and a 20-yard run by running back James Wilder to set up 1st & goal at the Miami 10-yard-line as the first quarter came to a close.

Following an incomplete pass to start the second quarter, DeBerg handed the ball off to Wilder, who ran around the left side for the 10-yard touchdown to cut the Dolphins' lead to 14-7 just 12 seconds into the second quarter.

The Dolphins would respond with a 11-play, 80-yard touchdown drive that featured running back Lorenzo Hampton carrying most of the load as he touched the ball on four plays as he caught two passes for 21 yards and carried the ball twice for 27 yards to set up Ron Davenport's one-yard touchdown run to push the Miami lead back to 14 points at 21-7 with 10:04 left in the second quarter.

Disaster would strike for the Buccaneers on the opening play of their next drive as DeBerg's pass bounced off the hands of Kevin House and was intercepted by Dolphins linebacker Hugh Green, who had been traded to the Dolphins from Tampa Bay before the season began.

Green returned the pick 28 yards to the Tampa Bay two-yard-line, giving the Dolphins a 1st & goal and a chance to blow the game open.

However, the Tampa Bay defense would rise and not permit a single yard, leading the Dolphins to settle for a 20-yard field goal by Fuad Reveiz to make it 24-7 in favor of Miami.

Buccaneers quarterback Steve DeBerg would complete 19 of 32 passes for 365 yards and throw four touchdowns.

After both teams punted on their ensuing possessions, the Bucs got the ball at their 32-yard-line with 2:10 left before halftime and two timeouts in their pocket.

DeBerg connected with Bell for seven yards to start the drive, then gave the ball to Wilder, who ran for six yards and the 1st down at the Tampa Bay 45-yard-line, which was followed by a 23-yard pass to Gerald Carter for another Buccaneer 1st down at the Miami 32-yard-line.

Then after two straight incomplete passes, DeBerg found Bell again, this time for 22 yards to give Tampa Bay a 1st & goal at the Dolphins' 10-yard-line.

A holding penalty pushed the Bucs back 10 yards but after they got five of the yards back, DeBerg connected with Giles for the first time in the game for a 15-yard touchdown with 12 seconds left in the first half.

The extra point made it 24-14 in favor of the Dolphins as the first half came to an end with the Dolphins set to get the ball to start the second half.

Miami would start its first drive of the second half at their 20-yard-line where after two plays picked up six yards, Marino connected with tight end Joe Rose for a 42-yard gain to give the Dolphins a 1st down at the Tampa Bay 32-yard-line, which was followed by a 18-yard pass to Clayton for another 1st down at the Bucs' 14-yard-line.

From there, running back Tony Nathan would get the ball on the next two plays, first running for 13 yards and then diving in for the one-yard touchdown to make it a 31-14 lead for the Dolphins exactly three minutes into the third quarter.

Back came the Bucs, who began their next drive at their 18-yard-line with two runs by Wilder for 10 yards which were followed by back-to-back completions to Bell for 20 yards and then House for 19 yards to give Tampa Bay a 1st down at the Miami 33-yard-line.

A holding penalty would push the Bucs back seven yards to the Dolphins' 40-yard-line where one play after Wilder picked up just one yard, DeBerg found Giles across the middle for a 39-yard touchdown to trim the Miami lead to 31-21 midway through the third quarter.

The Dolphins would respond with a 10-play, 79-yard drive where Marino completed five of six passes for 49 yards on the drive which concluded with Marino firing a three-yard touchdown pass to tight end Bruce Hardy to push the lead back to 17 points at 38-21 with 2:46 left in the third quarter.

It looked like the track meet was going to continue as the Bucs drove inside Miami territory again on their next possession, only to have DeBerg throw an incomplete pass intended for Giles on 3rd & 5 at the Dolphins' 45-yard-line, forcing Tampa Bay to punt as the fourth quarter got underway.

Needing three scores, the Bucs needed a defensive stop and they got it when Marino fumbled a snap from center which was recovered by Tampa Bay defensive end John Cannon to give the Buccaneers the ball at the Miami 21-yard-line.

An illegal procedure penalty and a five-yard-loss by Wilder pushed the Bucs back 10 yards where they faced a 3rd & 20 situation when DeBerg found Carter for 22 yards and a 1st down at the Dolphins' nine-yard-line.

Following a two-yard run by Wilder, DeBerg connected with Giles for their third touchdown of the game, a 7-yarder to bring the Bucs to within 10 points at 38-28 with 12:08 remaining in the fourth quarter.

The Dolphins would get the ball back at their 20-yard-line as they tried to put the fumble on their previous possession behind them only to turn it over again when Marino was picked off by Tampa Bay cornerback Jeremiah Castille to give the Bucs the ball at the Miami 38-yard-line.

After DeBerg connected with Giles for 12 yards to start the drive, Wilder carried the ball on the next three plays, gaining 10 yards to set up Giles' fourth touchdown catch of the game as he caught DeBerg's pass for a 16-yard touchdown to bring the Bucs to within a field goal at 38-35 with 7:32 left in the fourth quarter.

Buccaneers tight end Jimmie Giles caught seven passes for 116 yards and four touchdowns.

Marino looked to atone for his two turnovers by driving the Dolphins from their 10-yard-line to the Tampa Bay 45-yard-line as he completed his next four passes for 38 yards until back-to-back incomplete passes forced the Dolphins to punt the ball to the Bucs who took over at their 11-yard-line with 3:04 left and all three timeouts in their pocket.

The drive began with a 13-yard scramble by DeBerg for a 1st down, followed by two straight runs by Wilder that picked up seven yards to set up 3rd & 3 at the Tampa Bay 31-yard-line when the two-minute warning hit.

That is when DeBerg found House over the middle for a 22-yard completion to give the Bucs a 1st down inside Miami territory, which was followed by a 23-yard pass to House for another 1st down at the Dolphins' 24-yard-line.

However, the Bucs could pick only four more yards as DeBerg tried to connect with Giles on two separate plays but failed to connect, forcing to Bucs to settle for a 38-yard field goal by Donald Ikwebuike that tied the game at 38 with 48 seconds left in regulation.

The game seemed destined for overtime but the Dolphins still had all three timeouts and Dan Marino to lead them down the field and set up a potential game-winning field goal.

A 25-yard return by Hampton on the kickoff set the Dolphins up at their 34-yard-line as Marino hit Duriel Harris for six yards before Harris tried to lateral the ball back to Nathan, only to have go out of bounds.

Nathan would get his hands on the ball on the next play as he caught a screen pass up the middle for 19 yards to give Miami a 1st down at the Tampa Bay 41-yard-line as the Dolphins called timeout with 22 seconds left.

Then, Marino connected with Nathan again, this time for 15 yards and another 1st down at the Bucs' 26-yard-line as Miami called timeout with 11 seconds left.

The Dolphins could have run one more play then called timeout to possibly make Reveiz' s kick a little bit easier and gave Tampa Bay no time on the clock, but head coach Don Shula decided to send in the field goal unit following Nathan's two catches for 34 yards.

Reveiz would come on and make the 43-yard field goal to seemingly give the Dolphins a 41-38 win as six seconds remained on the clock.

After Reveiz's kickoff landed in the end zone for a touchback, the Bucs got the ball at their 20-yard-line with six seconds to pull off a miracle.

Dolphins running back Tony Nathan carried the ball 12 times for 62 yards and caught eight passes for 80 yards and scored one touchdown.

That is when DeBerg fired a "Hail Mary" pass that was tipped in the air by Carter and caught by House at the Miami 23-yard-line, only to have House be immediately tackled by Miami defensive back Don McNeal as time expired, allowing the Dolphins to escape with the 41-38 win.

The Buccaneers would have to wait three more weeks to collect their first win of the season, a 19-16 overtime win over the New York Giants, which was one of only two victories of the season as the Bucs finished with a 2-14 record which included a 21-0 loss to the Green Bay Packers in the infamous "Snow Bowl(To read about that game, click on the highlighted link: https://oldschoolsportsblog.blogspot.com/2020/10/nfl-old-school-game-of-week-packers.html).

This gave the Bucs the worst record in the league meaning that would get the #1 pick in the 1986 NFL Draft, which they used to pick 1985 Heisman Trophy winner Bo Jackson, only to have Jackson not sign with the Bucs and play baseball with the Kansas City Royals.

Jackson would eventually play in the NFL when he signed with the then Los Angeles Raiders in 1987.

As for the Dolphins, they would lose their next two games to drop 5-4 until an eight-catch, 242-yard performance by Duper which included the game-winning 50-yard touchdown with 41 seconds left gave Miami a 21-17 win over the New York Jets(To read about that game, click on the highlighted link here: https://oldschoolsportsblog.blogspot.com/2017/10/nfl-old-school-game-of-week-dolphins.html) which kickstarted a seven-game winning streak as the Dolphins finished the regular season with a 12-4 record and a third straight AFC East division title.

In the playoffs, the Dolphins would come from back from a 18-point deficit to defeat the Cleveland Browns 24-21 in the Divisional Round, but would fall to the "Cinderella" New England Patriots 31-14 in the AFC Championship Game, denying Miami a second straight trip to the Super Bowl.

NFL Old School Game of the Week: Packers Dominate Buccanners in Infamous "Snow Bowl"

 

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Green Bay Packers played their Week 13 game of the 1985 NFL season in a blizzard.

Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin is nicknamed the "Frozen Tundra" because of its notoriously cold games that are played during the winter.

That was the famous "Ice Bowl" in 1967 when the Packers beat the Dallas Cowboys for the NFL Championship with a kickoff temperature of -13 and a wind chill of -35, which was followed by the 2007 NFC Championship Game with the Giants where the kickoff temperature was -1.

Then there is the "Mud Bowl" where a mix of rain and snow which made the field muddy in the Packers' 1996 NFC Divisional Playoff win against the San Francisco 49ers.

And then there is the "Snow Bowl" a game played on December 1, 1985 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that was played in blizzard-like conditions.

The Packers entered the game with a 5-7 record, needing a win to keep their slim playoff hopes alive as they were coached by Hall-of-Fame offensive lineman Forrest Gregg, who was a part of the Packers' dynasty in the 1960s which won five NFL championships and the first two Super Bowls.

On the field, the Packers were led by quarterback Lynn Dickey, who was in his 15th and final NFL season and all-pro wide receiver James Lofton.

Meanwhile, the Buccaneers entered the game with a 2-10 record under first-year head coach Leeman Bennett, who had been hired to replace John McKay, who had retired after coaching the Bucs since their inception in 1976.

Tampa Bay had sadly secured its third straight losing season but hope was alive for the future as the Bucs had signed quarterback Steve Young from the rival United States Football League, or USFL, in hopes he would Tampa Bay back to its winning ways like it had from 1979-82 where they made the playoffs three times in four years.

But as Young and the Bucs traveled to Green Bay to take on the Packers, a blizzard hit the city the night of the game dumping nearly a foot of snow before kickoff.

With snow continuing to fall and a 25 miles per hour wind plus the fact the team was from Florida, it seemed like the Buccaneers were going to be in for a long day at the office.

If there was one thing the Bucs had going for them, it was that only about 19,000 fans showed up to Lambeau Field, leaving the stadium about two-thirds empty, so crowd noise was not going to be a big factor.

The Bucs got the ball to start the game and ran the ball three straight times with James Wilder, who gained nine yards on three carries, forcing Tampa to punt the ball to the Packers who took over at their 23-yard-line.

Unlike the Bucs, the Packers came out throwing as Dickey throw passes on the first two plays of Green Bay's drive, with the second one hitting Lofton along the left sideline, who seemed to be on his way to an easy touchdown until he fumbled the ball at midfield at the end of a 27-yard reception.

The ball was recovered by Tampa Bay linebacker Ervin Handle at exactly the 50-yard-line, but the Bucs could not pick up a 1st down and punted the ball back to the Packers who took over at their 25-yard-line after a 19-yard punt by Frank Garcia.

This time the Packers would drive 80 yards in 15 plays as Dickey completed all three of his passes on the drive for 42 yards with two of those completions going to Lofton for 31 yards to help set up a 25-yard field goal attempt by Al Del Greco.

However, Buccaneer cornerback John Holt would around the Packers' offensive line and block the kick to keep the game scoreless.

Packers wide receiver James Lofton caught six passes for 106 yards.

The Bucs would get the ball at their nine-yard-line and would pick their initial 1st down of the game when Wilder got two yards on a 3rd & 1 from the 18-yard-line, but would punt the ball again as the Packers would take over at their 39-yard-line.

Green Bay drove to the  Tampa Bay 43-yard-line until they had to punt only to have Randle run into the Packers' punter, Don Bracken, to draw a running into the kicker penalty, which gave the Packers five yards on 4th & 3 and a 1st down at the Tampa Bay 38-yard-line.

After Ivery was stopped for no gain on 1st down, Dickey connected with Lofton over the middle for 18 yards and a 1st down, then on 3rd & 12 from the 22-yard-line found tight end Paul Coffman for 19 yards to give the Packers 1st & goal at the three-yard-line.

Following a two-yard run by Jessie Clark, Dickey looked to pass on 2nd down, but found nobody open, so he decided to run it in for the touchdown to give the Packers a 7-0 lead with 7:16 left in the second quarter.

The Bucs would get good field position for their next drive as Phil Freeman returned the ensuing kickoff 20 yards to the Tampa Bay 45-yard-line, but the Bucs went three-and-out to give Green Bay the ball back at their five-yard-line with 4:55 left before halftime.

Despite the blizzard-like conditions, Dickey would complete four passes in a row totaling 47 yards to lead Green Bay to the Tampa Bay 46-yard-line until an incomplete pass on 2nd & 2, followed by a quarterback sack forced the Packers to punt the ball away to the Bucs with 1:23 left in the first half.

Once again, the Bucs would go three-and-out, giving the Packers one more chance to get points on the scoreboard before halftime as they took over at their 36-yard-line with 22 seconds left.

After an incomplete pass on 1st down, Gerry Ellis would run for 36 yards to the Tampa Bay 28-yard-line giving the Packers at a chance at a Hail Mary, since a 45-yard field goal would be next to impossible in these conditions.

Dickey would throw a pass toward the end zone intended for Phil Epps as time expired but it was incomplete keeping a 7-0 game in favor of the Packers who would get the ball to start the second half.

Ellis would return the opening kickoff of the second half 40 yards to the Packers' 45-yard-line where disaster nearly struck on the first offensive snap as Dickey fumbled the snap, only to recover it two yards back.

The next play would go much smoother as Dickey hit Coffman for 19 yards and a 1st down at the Tampa Bay 38-yard-line.

Then after Clark ran for three yards on 1st down, Ellis took the ball on a sweep to the left side and ran 35 yards for the touchdown to increase the Packers' lead to 14-0 just a little over two minutes into the second half.

Green Bay quarterback Lynn Dickey completed 22 of 36 passes for 299 yards and ran for a touchdown.

The Packers defense would force another three-and-out as Green Bay defensive end Alphonso Carreker sacked Young on 3rd down to force another punt from the Buccaneers.

Starting at his own 48-yard-line, Dickey would lead Green Bay down the field  as he completed a 12-yard pass to Clark to start the drive, then hit Preston Dennard for 10 yards on 3rd & 10 from the Tampa Bay 40-yard-line.

After Lofton drew a pass interference penalty for 17 yards, Dickey found Eddie Lee Ivery for 10 yards to give the Packers a 1st & goal at the Buccaneers' three-yard-line.

But that is when the drive fell apart as Dickey was sacked on 1st down for a nine-yard-loss, forcing the Packers to settle to try a 24-yard field goal by Del Greco, which sailed wide left and no good to keep it 14-0 with 6:06 left in the third quarter.

Another sack by Carreker lead to another  Tampa Bay three-and-out as the Packers would begin their next drive in Buccaneer territory, taking over at the Tampa 46-yard-line.

A 20-yard-pass from Dickey to Epps would give the Packers a 1st down at the Tampa Bay 20-yard-line, but Dickey would be intercepted on a pass intended for Lofton in the end zone by Buccaneers free safety Ivory Sully to give Tampa Bay the ball at their 20-yard-line.

But two plays later, the Packers had the ball again as tight end Jimmie Giles could not handle a Young pass which landed in the hands of Green Bay cornerback Tim Lewis to give the Packers the ball at the Tampa Bay 38-yard-line.

But after a nine-yard-run by Ivery on 1st down, the Packers turned it over again as Clark fumbled the ball which was recovered by the Buccaneers at their 36-yard-line.

That is when the Tampa Bay offense put together their best drive of the game which started with a 34-yard pass interference penalty on Tim Lewis to give the Buccaneers a 1st down at the Packers' 30-yard-line.

Then Young completed a 10-yard pass to Kevin House to give the Buccaneers another 1st down at the Green Bay 20-yard-line.

The next three plays would only gain four yards to force the Buccaneers into a 4th & 6 situation as the third quarter coming to a close.

Even though kicking would been very difficult and his team was down two touchdowns, Bennett decided to send in the field goal unit and have Donald Igwebuike attempt a 33-yard field goal on the first play of the fourth quarter.

But Igwebuike's kick sailed wide left to give Green Bay the ball at their 20-yard-line where Ivery ran for 11 yards to begin the drive, which was followed by a 15-yard run by Ellis on 2nd down to put the Packers at their 46-yard-line.

From there, Dickey would complete three straight passes for 34 yards to lead the Packers to the Tampa Bay 25-yard-line.

After a four-yard run by Ellis, Dickey found Epps for 18 yards to give Green Bay 1st & goal at the three-yard-line where Clark would run it for the touchdown to extend the Packers' lead to 21-0 with 9:52 left in the game.

The Bucs would drive into Green Bay territory on their next drive but two sacks by Carreker, giving him a total of four for the game, forced another Tampa Bay punt.

Packers defensive end Alphonso Carreker celebrates after one of his four quarterback sacks.

The Packers took over at their 13-yard-line but would turn it over for the fourth time in the game as Dickey was intercepted by Tampa Bay cornerback Jeremiah Castille, whose 20-yard return gave the Buccaneers the ball at the Green Bay 25-yard-line with 3:33 left and a chance to end the shutout.

But the Packers defense held the Bucs to just three yards on four plays, forcing a turnover on downs and giving Green Bay the ball at their 22-yard-line as Ivery ran the ball five times for 61 yards to run out the clock as the Packers came away with the 21-0 win.

The Buccaneers were lucky it was only 21-0 as the Packers outgained Tampa Bay 512-65 and had 31 1st downs compared to the Bucs' five.

The Bucs would not win another game for the rest of the season as they finished with a 2-14 record, earning the #1 pick in the NFL Draft which they used to pick 1985 Heisman Trophy winner Bo Jackson.

But Jackson refused to sign with the Bucs and instead went to play baseball with the Kansas City Royals as Tampa Bay forfeited their rights to him which allowed the then Los Angeles Raiders to pick him in the seventh round of the 1987 NFL Draft.

Jackson's refusal to play with Tampa Bay and Young's continuing struggles lead to another 2-14 season and the firing of Bennett as head coach.

Young would be traded to the 49ers as the Buccaneers would not have a winning season until 1997.

As for the Packers, they would win their final two games of the regular season to finish with a 8-8 record for the third straight year.

However, the Packers would win only nine more games over the next two seasons leading to Gregg resigning as head coach and taking over the SMU coaching job as they were coming off the "Death Penalty" for NCAA violations.

The Packers would not return to the playoffs until 1993 when head coach Mike Holmgren and a quarterback named Brett Favre helped bring back the glory days to Green Bay.