Dunn puts gains above the pain Ernest Hooper, The St.Petersburg Times, published 16 November 1998 Warrick Dunn stood in front of his locker, wearing a long-sleeve shirt, dress pants, one black leather dress shoe and one bare foot. Dunn's injured right ankle made for an unusual fashion expression, but what mattered most was the statement he had just made on the Alltel Stadium turf before 72,974. Dunn carried 16 times for 107 yards, becoming only the second back this season to go over the century mark against Jacksonville. And he did it on an ankle that was twisted on a second-quarter play you couldn't watch without cringing. Dunn was brought down at the Jacksonville 6-yard line after a 9-yard run. As he tried to break away from a defender, a second Jaguar drove him back. "The guy was trying to tackle me, and I tried to break the tackle, and he had me by the ankle, and another guy came off a block and hit me high, and I just got bent back a little bit," Dunn said in his usual measured tones. X-rays were negative, but Dunn took a wait-and-see attitude, fearful the ankle might swell. During the game, however, he feared little and returned even after the ankle was twisted again in the third quarter. "It's a great inspiration to us to see a guy get hurt (and) still come in because we needed everybody," center Tony Mayberry said. "We really did need everybody." Dunn had 79 yards in the first half, constantly bouncing and skipping through the Jaguars defense. His 17-yard run helped set up the Bucs' first field goal. He rushed three times for 45 yards on a touchdown drive that gave Tampa Bay a 17-14 halftime lead. He added 28 in the third quarter, including runs of 5 and 7 yards after he sat out a series because of the ankle. Dunn added a 5-yard catch in the third quarter. Dunn didn't touch the ball in the fourth quarter. The coaches were being cautious, he said. "I didn't want to hamper the team," Dunn said. "I knew I wanted to get back in the game. I knew I wanted to play, but it's just a matter of being smart. First I was out of the game, and then I started doing third-down nickel stuff. Then when I felt comfortable and took a couple of hits, I felt fine. But I think the coaches were smart for not wanting to hamper it any further." After Jacksonville kicked a 34-yard field goal to cut Tampa Bay's lead to 24-23 in the fourth quarter, the Bucs took over on their 21. Dunn had averaged 6.7 yards a carry, but the first-down call went to the big backfield of fullback Lorenzo Neal and bruising running back Mike Alstott. "That's what we've run the clock out with all year," coach Tony Dungy said. "It's worked well for us in the past. We've had games where we've run four or five minutes off with that group, and we needed to do it tonight and just couldn't get it done." Alstott was stopped on a 1-yard gain; Neal dropped a flare pass. Dunn came in on third down, but a scrambling Trent Dilfer threw the ball away. The Bucs punted, and on the ensuing possession, Jacksonville scored the winner. Dunn said he would like to have been on the field for the critical series but was confident Alstott could get the job done. Dunn remains confident in the team as well. Although the Bucs saw Sunday's game as a must win, Dunn said they have have to keep the faith. "We're reaching a point where we want to be. We just have to maintain and make plays towards the end to keep games in check, and we're not doing that," Dunn said. "I wouldn't say it was a season- breaker, but 9-1-1 was pushed last week. I think we just have to keep trying it, keep pushing it, and one day, hopefully next week, it's going to click and we can get on a roll."