The Pewter Plank
FanSided

5 worst moments in history of the Buccaneers franchise

By Jonathan Miles

Jon Gruden, Keyshawn Johnson, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
Jon Gruden, Keyshawn Johnson, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
5 of 6
Next
Warrick Dunn #28 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is tackled by Devin Bush #23 and an unidentified defenseman of the St. Louis Rams at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa , Florida. DIGITAL IMAGE. Mandatory Credit: Andy Lyons/ALLSPORT
Warrick Dunn #28 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is tackled by Devin Bush #23 and an unidentified defenseman of the St. Louis Rams at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa , Florida. DIGITAL IMAGE. Mandatory Credit: Andy Lyons/ALLSPORT /

2. 1999 NFC Championship Game

In jFrom the loss in 79’ to the LA Rams until 1996 when coach Tony Dungy arrived, the Buccaneers had many losing seasons throughout the 80s and early 90s, and some would wonder if the Bucs would ever see a winning team again. It took coach Dungy less than three seasons to bring winning culture to Tampa Bay and get the team back to the playoffs.

January 23, 2000. The 1999 NFC Championship between these same two franchises would meet 20 years later in this same game; this time it would be in St. Louis, Missouri as the Rams had relocated to the midwest. The main storyline for this game was the NFL’s #1 defensive unit against “The Greatest Show On Turf,” featuring three Hall of Famers in this game for the Rams in Kurt Warner, Marshall Faulk & Isaac Bruce.

The Rams and Buccaneers would slug it out for most of the game, with the Buccaneers defense holding the Rams highly-potent offense in check. Tampa Bay, weak on offense, would only muster two field goals and gave up a costly safety in the second quarter when a bad snap from the center went over the head of rookie quarterback Shaun King and out of the endzone.

Despite this, the Buccaneers nursed an unusual 6–5 lead into the 4th Quarter. The Rams broke open a defense dominated game when Kurt Warner threw a touchdown pass to Ricky Proehl with 4:44 left in the game.

The Buccaneers would mount a drive on their final possession, however a replay overturned what appeared to be a reception by Buccaneers wide receiver Bert Emanuel. The Bucs never recovered from this as King threw an incomplete pass on the fourth down after the review was reversed.

Home/Bucs All-Time Lists