Igwebuike makes the most of his second chance Brian Landman, The St.Petersburg Times, published 1988 Where would the Tampa Bay Buccaneers be without placekicker Donald Igwebuike? Instead of a 2-3 record, the Bucs might be in last place in the NFC Central Division at 0-5. That's just where he has kicked the winless Green Bay Packers, who otherwise might be 2-3. Igwebuike has singled-footedly beaten the Pack twice: a last-second 28-yard field goal two weeks ago for a 13-10 win and, on Sunday, a 44-yarder with 12 seconds to play for a 27-24 win. “It's the least I can do,” said Igwebuike, who also hit a 45-yarder. “The other guys are out there for 59 minutes. All I have to do is go out for three seconds to kick a field goal. I'm just happy I had a second chance.” With the game tied 17-17 midway through the fourth quarter, Igwebuike confidently trotted out to try a 54-yard field goal. He hit it long enough, which would have been his second-longest ever (55 against Minnesota in 1986), but the ball carried just wide to the left. “I feel very comfortable in that range and I expect to make it,” said the Bucs' all-time leading scorer (272 points). “The coach wouldn't send me out if he didn't think I could make it. But it was just a bad kick. I was very upset. I don't know what I would have felt it we lost.” The Bucs almost did. Green Bay promptly marched downfield as quarterback Randy Wright, who was 4-for-4 for 63 yards on the drive, ran in from the 1-yard line for a 24-17 lead. But Vinny Testaverde capped an eight-play, 72-yard drive with a 19-yard touchdown pass to Bruce Hill to tie the game at 24 with 1:52 left. The Bucs defense stopped the Packers and took over at their own 42 with 47 seconds to play. Hill caught a 26-yard pass and Jeff Smith caught one for six more, squirming and stretching for extra inches and a better placement near the middle of the field. “I wanted to get him a good angle,” Smith said. “I knew he'd make it. You could see it in the expression in his face. He doesn't miss too often.” Igwebuike has converted all 26 of his extra-point attempts and has never missed a field goal from within 35 yards. Overall, he has converted 61 of 85 in his four-year career. “When coming on the field, I felt scared and bad after missing the 54-yarder,” Igwebuike said. “But the team came back. I felt I had to have it. I was scared, but I wasn't nervous. I couldn't afford to be nervous. I was worried about overtime. I wasn't worried about that last one (the previous miss). I was just concentrating on this one and I'm very happy I had another chance.” Something Igwebuike knows his counterpart, Max Zendejas, would have relished. Zendajas, a third-year pro from Arizona, hit a 44-yard field goal but then missed from 32 late in the first half and from 43 in the third quarter. “I sure do (sympathize with him),” Igwebuike said. “I was surprised he missed. He's a good kicker. But (for me), it feels great.”