The Buccaneers proved the old adage true. Defense does win championships.
It was a game that matched up the league's top offense in Oakland versus the league's top defense in Tampa Bay. It was hardly a surprise the Tampa Bay defense came out on top. But the way they did it, though, was startling.
The Buccaneers designed and executed a perfect game plan against Oakland's high-powered offense. The Tampa front seven hassled the Raiders' quarterback Rich Gannon throughout the whole game, sacking him five times and forcing him to make hurried throws. Gannon, the league's MVP this season, was intercepted five times with three of those interceptions being returned for touchdowns. (In the regular season, Gannon threw only ten interceptions in 16 games.)
The secondary, for most of the game, shut down the Raiders' trio of receivers (Jerry Rice, Tim Brown, and Jerry Porter). Only until the Raiders were down 34-3 were any of the receivers able to make any plays at all. The defense also held the Raiders to 19 yards rushing and 11 first downs.
Defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin was not entirely pleased with the performance, citing a few breakdowns, including blown coverages that led to two Oakland touchdowns. But those breakdowns were few and far between. And they only happened when the game was out of reach. Even after three unanswered Oakland touchdowns, the Buccaneers still held a 13-point lead. The next two Oakland possessions ended in Gannon interceptions- and two touchdowns for Tampa's hungry defense, including a 44 yard return by all-pro linebacker Derrick Brooks, who might have been the best defensive player in football all season.
Free safety Dexter Jackson won the game's MVP award by picking off two of the five Buccaneer turnovers. His first one came at the end of the first quarter, which led to a field goal and the Bucs' first lead. His second translated to a Mike Alstott touchdown run.
Give Coach Jon Gruden a lot of credit for this win. He did a fantastic job preparing his team to play, and they performed for him. Credit should also be due to Tampa quarterback Brad Johnson, who responded with a solid effort after a shaky start, and ex-Cardinal halfback Michael Pittman, who ran wild after a mostly disappointing season. But as usual, once again it was the defense that was the main cog. They made a veteran Oakland team look like a bunch of confused rookies and took them completely out of their game plan. In their most important game in franchise history, the Buccaneers defense was truly super.
Reach the reporter at christopher.dizon@asu.edu.
