Bucs catch 2-minute chill
Rick Stroud, The St.Petersburg Times, published 4 November 1996

Four scores and seven years from now, Trent Dilfer may thrive in the situation quarterbacks live for. The defense will give him the ball back with two minutes or less remaining and he only will need to direct a game-winning touchdown drive to lead the Bucs to a stirring fourth-quarter comeback. It won't necessarily take the fire of Marino. Or the athleticism of Elway. Or the artistry of Montana.

But there will come a day when everything is riding on his right arm in the closing minutes and it will be strong enough to carry his team to the end zone and to victory. "I would love to be a quarterback the team looked at and said, `Okay, it's a two-minute situation, we're going to be fine. Trent's going to take us down there and score.' That's obviously a dream. I think one day it'll be that way, but right now it's got to fall on my shoulders."

For the third straight game, Dilfer and the offense failed to deliver in that critical two-minute situation and wound up losing 13-10 Sunday to the Bears. Thirteen is the unluckiest of numbers for the Bucs. It was the fourth straight time Tampa Bay's defense held an opponent to that number; the Bucs have one victory and three consecutive losses to show for it.

There was a particular agony to this defeat. It dropped the Bucs' record to 1-8, tying them for the worst mark in the NFL with Atlanta and the New York Jets. It also extended the Bucs' remarkable streak of non-winning seasons to 14. "We don't worry about history too much," Bucs coach Tony Dungy said. "We just need to start winning some games."

As bad as the offense was again Sunday, it wasn't the worst unit on the field. That distinction belonged to the officiating crew headed by referee Ed Hochuli. Two questionable calls that went against the Bucs and weren't supported by instant replay led directly to 10 Bears points and turned the game around.

The most damaging one came with 8:10 left in the third quarter with the Bucs leading 10-6 and driving for another score. Errict Rhett appeared to have been down by contact after a 1-yard run to the Chicago 46. But no whistle was blown and the ball came loose in the pile. Bears linebacker Vinson Smith scooped it up as stunned players watched and he ran 34 yards before Dilfer finally tackled him at the Tampa Bay 19.

Four plays later, Chicago running back Raymont Harris scored on a 1-yard run to give the Bears a lead they would never relinquish. "There's no way I remember the ball coming out while I was running," Rhett said. "I know that for sure. But like I say, I shouldn't have ever put myself in that position to leave the ball on the ground. Sometimes you get the call and sometimes you don't get the call. We didn't get any all day. It's very frustrating. You can't let one call determine the game."

Okay, how about two calls? Leading 7-3, the Bucs appeared to have stopped the Bears on fourth and 5 at the Tampa Bay 23 when Charles Dimry broke up a Dave Krieg pass intended for Michael Timpson. But Dimry was flagged for pass interference, a call Dungy termed "ridiculous."

Just as silly was safety Melvin John-son, who kicked the ball about 40 yards coming off the field and was flagged 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct. The penalties set up Jeff Jaeger's 23-yard field goal and cut the lead to 7-6. Johnson, who immediately was benched by Dungy, said he wasn't protesting Dimry's interference penalty.

"The ball was spinning around and I actually went over and kicked it," Dimry said. "I didn't know they had called a personal foul on me until Tony Bouie was sent in the game to get me out of the game. It had nothing to do with me being frustrated. I didn't even see the flag for the pass-interference call. I guess they assumed I was throwing a temper tantrum or something."

The Bucs had six possessions after Rhett's fumble, but failed to produce any points. Once again, another good defensive effort was wasted. Despite allowing Harris to rush for 118 yards and yielding 185 yards on the ground overall, the Bucs buckled down. They forced the Bears to punt on their last five possessions and allowed only one first down in the fourth quarter. Krieg was held to 11 completions for 84 yards.

Dungy wouldn't allow his team to blame the officials for the loss. "They don't blow the whistle and you've just got to hold on to the ball," Dungy said. "If you don't fumble it, you don't put it in the officials' hands. We're not good enough right now to overcome bad calls or overcome bad breaks so we've got to make sure we don't fumble the ball."

The Bucs had the ball at midfield or better six times in the second half, but were shut out. Dilfer, who completed 15 of 32 passes for 184 yards, staked the Bucs to a 7-3 lead with his 17-yard pass to tight end Dave Moore. It came one play after rookie cornerback Donnie Abraham intercepted a Krieg pass intended for Curtis Conway. But when the game was on the line, Dilfer and the offense didn't deliver again. The Bucs took over at their 39 with 2:50 remaining, needing just a field goal to send the game to overtime and a touchdown for victory. Dilfer began by throwing a 15-yard pass to receiver Robb Thomas for a first down. But Courtney Hawkins dropped a pass at the Bears' 33 on the next play. And Dilfer threw incomplete three straight times to end the comeback attempt.

Add it to the list of blown opportunities to win games in the final two minutes. There was the groaner in Arizona. He was sacked against the Pack. No Chicago. Un-bear-able. "Although it's not me throwing interceptions or whatnot, I think ultimately the quarterback has to be the one who maintains the team's composure in those situations and gets it done," Dilfer said. "And we're unable to do that. And I'll take responsibility for that."