page_title: History of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
section_title: A brief period of success (1979 to 1982)
hierarchical_section_title: History of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers / A brief period of success (1979 to 1982)
caption_attribution_description: English: A football card from the 1986 Jeno's Pizza NFL football card stickers set of Tampa Bay Bucaneers' linebacker Cecil Johnson tackles Philadelphia Eagles' running back Leroy Harris during the 1979 NFC Divisional Playoff Game on December 29, 1979. The card is numbered #20 in the set. The back of the card reads: TAMPA BAY: FROM WORST TO FIRST Tampa Bay linebacker Cecil Johnson leads a defensive charge that smothers Eagles' running back LeRoy Harris, as the Bucaneers stop Philadelphia 24-17 in their 1979 NFC Divisonal Playoff Game. Tampa Bay, which won the Central Division title in 1979 after finishing last the previous three years, held the Eagles to just 48 yards rushing.
context_section_description: The Bucs’ situation improved rapidly in 1979. With the maturation of quarterback Doug Williams, the first 1,000-yard rushing season from running back Ricky Bell, and a smothering, league-leading defense led by future NFL Hall of Famer Lee Roy Selmon, the Bucs kicked off the season with five consecutive victories, a stunning performance that landed them on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
  With four games left in the season, the Bucs only needed to win one of them to make the playoffs, and did so in their final contest at home against the Kansas City Chiefs, which was played in the worst downpour in Bucs history. Finishing with a 10–6 record, the Bucs had their first winning season, and indeed won the Central Division in a tiebreaker over the Chicago Bears. In an upset, the Bucs defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 24–17 in the divisional round of the playoffs. Because the Los Angeles Rams defeated the Dallas Cowboys in the other NFC playoff game, the Bucs hosted the NFC Championship Game the following week in Tampa. The Bucs lost to the Rams 9–0, thanks to great defense by the Rams. In only their fourth season, the Bucs seemed on the verge of fulfilling McKay's five-year plan.
  Injuries plagued the team again in 1980, and the Bucs were limited to five wins, ten losses, and one tie against the also injury-plagued Packers.
  The Bucs made the playoffs again despite mediocre performance in the 1981 season, winning a weak division and entering the first round during the strike-shortened 1982 season. The 1981 season came down to a thrilling final game at Detroit. The winner would take the Central Division crown and the loser would miss the playoffs. The Lions had not lost at home all season. Although the Bucs trailed early, an 84-yard touchdown bomb from QB Williams to WR Kevin House and a fumble recovery for a touchdown by David Logan sealed the shocking win for the Bucs. The Dallas Cowboys rewarded the Bucs’ efforts with a 38–0 blowout in the divisional round of the playoffs.
  The 1982 season started just as poorly, as the Buccaneers went 0–3 before a players’ strike shut down the NFL for seven weeks. When the league resumed play, the Bucs were nicknamed the “Cardiac Kids” for winning five of their next six games all in the final moments to go 5–4 and qualify for the expanded playoff slate. In the first round, the Bucs once again faced the Cowboys at home in Dallas, but the Bucs put up a much better fight, actually leading the game at the half but lost 30–17.
  The Bucs did not return to the playoffs, nor have another non-losing season under Culverhouse's ownership.
caption: The Buccaneers defeated the Eagles in their first playoff appearance in 1979 after suffering three consecutive losing seasons.
exif: {"Image Make": "HP", "Image Model": "HP Scanjet G4010", "Image XResolution": "300", "Image YResolution": "300", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ReferenceBlackWhite": "[0, 255, 128, 255, 128, 255]", "Image ExifOffset": "658", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2016:09:12 14:18:43", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "1047", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "747", "EXIF Saturation": "Soft", "EXIF Sharpness": "Soft", "EXIF DeviceSettingDescription": "[1, 0, 19, 0, 32, 32, 32, 48, 65, 48, 32, 32, 32, 55, 65, 48, 32, 32, 32, 56, ... ]"}