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For the briefest of moments late Sunday afternoon. It looked as if the mice really would stampede the elephants. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were about to atone for all the cats that had ever been chased by dogs, all the canaries that had ever been swallowed by cats.
With a minute to play it looked as if the meek were about to inherit the Earth or at least Florida, as the Bucs and the Miami Dolphins struggled with a tie game. Only Garo Yepremian's field goal with 55 seconds remaining gave the Dolphins a 23-20 victory and prevented total humiliation for the once-invincible Miamians.
"We made a mediocre team good" said Miami guard Bob Kuechenberg which was partly true. It is also partly true that a Buccaneer offense which had been considered a joke in poor taste ground out 354 yards and three touchdowns.
ALTHOUGH losing for the seventh time in many starts, the provided a Tampa Stadium crowd of
61.437 with more offense and more excitement than in any of their three previous home stands. And the Dolphins, now 3-4 on the year, provided their Suncoast admirers with a taste of what it's like to be on the way down from the National Football League summit.
It was a gimpy-kneed Steve Spurrier who had not practiced during the week. who came off the bench the second half to throw touchdown of 20 and seven yards to former Dolphin Morris Owens end lead the Bucs to within a whisker of their first regular season victory.
"We played our best and it wasn't enough. We lost," said Buc Head Coach John McKay, who did admit however, that this effort was his team’s finest to date. "I've told people all along that we're progressing as a team and we are progressing."
McKay-went to Spurrier, who completed 13 of 21 pass attempts for 203 yards, in the second half because of an ankle injury to rookie quarterback Parnell Dickinson. Dickinson led the Bucs 74 yards on nine plays on their first possession capping it with a pinpoint 18-yard pass to Owens in the corner or the end zone (his first of three touchdown catches for the afternoon) that sent the Bucs ahead 7-3 with 1:06 to play in the first quarter.
Miami scored on its initial possession also, with Yepremian kicking his first of three field goals, a 29-yarder, following a drive that had carried to the Bucs' two yard line. A sack by Curtis Jordan of Miami quarterback Bob Griese on a third and goal from the two forced the field goal.
Jordan's sack was the first -of six by a Buc defense which kept constant pressure on Griese and enabled hit only eight of 15 pass attempts for 132 yards and no touchdowns. However those completions by Griese were sufficient to fuel Miami drives in the second period that enabled the Dolphins to pull into a 17-7 half-time lead.
Following Dickinson's scoring toss to Owens, Griese took the Dolphins G7 yards in eight plays for another score, hitting Larry Seiple for 20 on a third and six and then connecting With Nat Moore for 20 on a third and 16. That pass to Moore carried to the Bucs' 25 and was immediately followed by a 19-yard scamper up the middle by Benny Malone, one of 22 carries for 118 yards on the day for him. Two plays later Malone scored from the six to make it 10-7.
On Miami's next possession, Griese hit Moore for 16 on first down, handed to Malone for 20 two plays later, then hit Freddie Solomon for 19 yards, carrying to the Bucs' 10-yard line. But at that point progress slowed and Yepremian was called on for a 27-yard field goal. The attempt was good, but the Bucs' Steve Young was called for pushing off another player to gain a height advantage and the Dolphins took the penalty and a first down at the four. Three plays later Don Nottingham rolled in from the one for the score and a 17-7 lead.
The Dolphins pushed the score to 20-7 on Yepremian's 24-yard field goal in the third period before the Bucs began their move. On a third and 10 on their next possession tight end Bob Moore ran the ball for 22 yards before Spurrier hit him for a 15-yard pass that carried to the Miami 34. Louis Carter got nine, a pass to Moore fell incomplete and on third and one the Dolphins were penalized for encroachment, giving the Bucs a first down at the 20.
After one incomplete pass Spurrier hit Owens over the middle, who squirmed free of three tacklers to complete the 20-yard scoring play. Defensive back Mark Cotney gave the Bucs the ball back on the first play of the fourth quarter. With Miami driving, Cotney stepped between Nat Moore and
Bob Griese and intercepted at the goal line. Spurrier immediately drove the team yards in 15 plays,
overcoming a fourth and one (with a three-yard Rod McNeill sweep), a third and nine, (with a 19-yard pass , to Carter) and a third and six (with a seven-.yard rifle shot to Morris in the end zone) to tie the score at 20-20 with Dave Green's placement.
With the Miami defense bearing down on Griese, the Dolphins got the ball at the Bucs' 48-yard line, with 4:29 to play and a chance to put the first-year team in its place. And the Bucs, the most penalised team in the NFL, found themselves the victim of another untimely yellow flag when defensive end Pat Toomay was called for an illegal head slap on Miami tackle Wayne Moore. That gave the Dolphins a first down at the Bucs' 26 and seven plays later Yepremian knocked through the 29-yard decider.
Veteran safety Dick Anderson eliminated any further attempt at successful surprising by the NFL upstarts when ho intercepted a Spurrier pass over the middle and ran around the field until only 13 seconds remained on the clock. "We just keep coming up short," said McKay. Which was the game thing the canary said just before being swallowed by the cat in predictable fashion.
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