Pats stop Bucs cold in OT
Michelle Kaufman, The St.Petersburg Times, published 1988

By 3:56 p.m. Sunday, the temperature at Sullivan Stadium had dropped to 17 degrees, and the wind-chill factor had fallen to 25-below zero. But the thought of an overtime victory kept the Tampa Bay Buccaneers warm. The fact it was the coldest Sunday in team history made the Bucs that much prouder they were deadlocked 7-7 with the playoff-hopeful New England Patriots after four quarters.

Just about everyone on the Bucs' sideline was convinced that within a matter of minutes they'd eliminate the Pats from the playoffs and be on their way to sunny Tampa Bay with their second-straight upset win. Instead, the Bucs again were sent home wondering what might have been, after New England took the overtime kickoff and quickly drove for Jason Staurovsky's 27-yard field goal and a 10-7 victory.

The Bucs won the coin toss to start the overtime and elected to defend the north goal. Considering the 25-mph wind gusts the Pats would face and the stingy play of the Tampa Bay defense through regulation (167 yards and nine first downs allowed), coach Ray Perkins' choice seemed the logical one.

But Sammy Martin returned the kickoff 34 yards to the Patriot 35. New England quarterback Tony Eason, in his first start this year, hit Irving Fryar for a 21-yard gain to the Tampa Bay 44, then found him again on third down for a 26-yard gain. A minute later, Staurovsky's field goal went through the uprights and the Patriots (9-6) had survived. “I'm not sure I'm feeling anything right now, to tell you the truth,” Pats coach Raymond Berry said minutes after the win. “This game was very hard on the emotions.”

The chill that had forced the 39,889 fans to bundle up with blankets, ski masks, snow boots and several layers of clothing made its way to the Bucs' bench as the Patriots celebrated across the field. “It's a tough thing when your team plays as hard as we did and loses,” Perkins said. “I really felt we were going to win it, especially when we went into overtime.”

He said he wouldn't second-guess his decision to take the wind instead of the ball in the end. “I would've done the same thing 10 out of 10 times,” he said.

Berry said he would've made the same call had the Patriots won the toss. The Bucs' loss was their seventh by seven points or less this season. “When you play the way we played, you're supposed to win,” said linebacker Ervin Randle. “We just couldn't do it in the end, when we had to.”

“We poured our guts out out there,” said safety Mark Robinson. “That's why it's so hard to accept a loss.”

“The bottom line is, we lost, but we have nothing to be ashamed of,” said running back William Howard, who had a career-best 23 carries for 101 yards.

New England scored its touchdown on a 6-yard run by Robert Perryman with 7:36 to go in the third quarter. Tampa Bay got on the board with 2:09 left in the game when Mark Carrier caught a 15-yard pass from Vinny Testaverde. “It was a good experience for us, playing in this really cold weather, but we didn't do what we came here to do - win,” said Testaverde, who threw his 32nd interception of the year during the fourth quarter to tie Fran Tarkenton's 10-year-old NFC record for interceptions in a season. Testaverde finished the game 10-of-19 for 145 yards and a touchdown.

The Bucs outplayed the Patriots much of the game, leading in total yardage (262 to 223) and first downs (14 to 11). The defense held running back John Stephens to 10 yards on 12 carries, by far his season low. But there were a few other numbers on the Bucs' stat page that weren't as impressive - like 1-of-11 on third-down conversions and seven second-half penalties for minus-50 yards. “Everyone played hard, but we made a few key mistakes that cost us the game,” said wide receiver Don Smith, one of the culprits with an illegal motion penalty that negated a 20-yard pass completion with 35 seconds remaining.

Another glaring error was Jackie Walker's tripping penalty that erased John Carney's 46-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter. The Bucs moved back 10 yards and punted, a decision that disappointed Carney. “I wanted a shot at it (a 56-yarder),” said Carney, who had missed a 40-yarder in the first quarter. “I was still on the field when the punting team came on.”

A few seconds earlier, a communication mix-up between snapper Dan Turk and holder Ray Criswell caused a delay of game, which pushed the field goal attempt back 5 yards. Later in the fourth quarter, Testaverde threw a pass intended for Carrier into the hands of Roland James at the New England 7-yard line. “We had a lot of opportunities where we just didn't cash in,” Perkins said.

The play of the defense made up for some of the miscues. In the first quarter, Kerry Goode fumbled a handoff from Testaverde at the Bucs' 27, but cornerback Ricky Reynolds intercepted Eason's pass in the end zone on the very next play. In the third quarter, Criswell punted just 23 yards from deep in Bucs territory, and the punt-coverage team allowed Fryar to return it 25 yards to the Bucs' 18. Two plays later, Harry Hamilton intercepted Eason's pass at the Tampa Bay 1-yard line.

The Bucs' sole scoring drive happened so quickly folks waiting in line for coffee probably missed it. Testaverde and Carrier connected for 26 yards on the first play, and for 15 yards to score. “I prepared for the cold a little better this time,” said Carrier, referring to the Chicago loss last month in which the receivers dropped an uncharacteristic number of passes. “I wore the same things, but I was ready mentally. I knew what to expect.”

Rookie defensive end Reuben Davis said the past two weeks have been uplifting. “We beat one playoff team, and came very, very close to beating another potential playoff team today,” he said. “That means something to me. It means we can play with anyone, and have a good chance to win. We've got to keep our heads up, try to beat Detroit next week, and get ready for next year.”