2003 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season The 2003 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season began with the team trying to defend its Super Bowl XXXVII title of 2002 . Despite high expectations , several last - minute losses led to locker room tension and front - office struggles . The Buccaneers finished 7 - 9 , and missed the playoffs for the first time since 1998 . Combined with the Oakland Raiders ' dismal 4 - 12 performance , neither Super Bowl team reached the playoffs that year . Front office tension . Soon after the Super Bowl victory , a growing number of press reports had indicated Gruden ' s lack of patience with general manager Rich McKay . McKay was a major architect of the Buccaneers rebuilding effort over the previous ten years , and he , like Gruden , had long - established ties to the Tampa Bay - area . However , as the 2003 season wore on , Gruden / McKay relationship deteriorated as the Buccaneers struggled on the field . In November , Keyshawn Johnson was deactivated by the team ten games into the season for his conduct , which included sideline arguments with coaches and players . Johnson was eventually traded to the Dallas Cowboys for wide receiver Joey Galloway . Along with the Johnson de - activation , injuries sidelined several players during the season . The starting roster from Opening Day looked drastically different come November , particularly on offense . Opening day starters such as Mike Alstott , Brian Kelly , Greg Spires , and Kenyatta Walker , along with Joe Jurevicius , John Howell , Tim Wansley , Darian Barnes , Ellis Wyms all ended up on injured reserve . By Thanksgiving , the starting running back became lesser - known Thomas Jones , with on - again , off - again third - string receiver Charles Lee elevated to starter . Though quarterback Brad Johnson started all 16 games - a feat not accomplished by him in the Buccaneers Super Bowl season the previous year - he was benched while losing in the final week during a " meaningless " game against Tenneesee . In December , the Glazers allowed McKay to leave the Buccaneers organization before the end of the regular season . He promptly joined the Atlanta Falcons as president and general manager . Thus , McKay watched his first game as a Falcons executive sitting next to owner Arthur Blank in a Raymond James Stadium skybox in December 2003 . The Falcons defeated the Buccaneers 30 - 28 . Preseason . A demanding off season was exacerbated by a trip overseas to the American Bowl in Tokyo , Japan . Despite the busy preseason , the Buccaneers finished their exhibition games 4 - 1 . Game summaries . Week 1 : at Philadelphia Eagles ( won 17 - 0 ) . The Buccaneers appeared to start the 2003 regular season where they left off . The Buccaneers opened on Monday night , against the Eagles , at the new Lincoln Financial Field . It was a rematch of the previous season ' s NFC Championship . The Buccaneers impressively beat the Eagles 17 - 0 . Joe Jurevicius led the team with two touchdown catches . His second came via a " circus catch " in which he tipped the ball up into the air , rebounding it to himself , and making the reception . Week 2 : Carolina Panthers ( lost 9 - 12 ) . The Buccaneers home opener against division foe Carolina turned into an embarrassment . A defensive - oriented game saw young Carolina quarterback Jake Delhomme held to only 9 - for - 23 , 96 yards and two interceptions . Meanwhile , Brad Johnson threw for 339 yards . Unfortunately , special teams breakdowns cost the team dearly . Contributing to the frustrating day , the Buccaneers committed 17 penalties for 168 yards . After two earlier botched field goal attempts , the Buccaneers trailed 9 - 3 late in the fourth quarter . On the last play of regulation , Brad Johnson connected to Keenan McCardell for a dramatic game - tying touchdown pass in the back of the endzone time expired . The extra point would have given Tampa Bay the win . Martin Gramatica ' s extra point attempt , however , was blocked . The game went to overtime tied 9 - 9 . Both teams traded possessions , and with just over 6 minutes left in the overtime period , Tampa Bay punted to Carolina . Steve Smith returned the punt 52 yards to the Tampa Bay 40 yard line . Five plays later , Carolina won 12 - 9 after a 47 - yard field goal . Week 3 : at Atlanta Falcons ( won 31 - 10 ) . Falcons quarterback Michael Vick was sidelined due to an injury in the preseason . Doug Johnson took over , and the Buccaneers dominated . They held Doug Johnson to only 95 passing yards , and three interceptions . His fourth quarter replacement , Kurt Kittner did not fare any better . The Tampa Bay offense rebounded with Warren Sapp playing tight end and scoring his first career offensive touchdown catch . Mike Alstott put the game well out of reach with two third quarter touchdown runs . Week 5 : Indianapolis Colts ( lost 35 – 38 , OT ) . On October 6 , the Buccaneers hosted the Indianapolis Colts on Monday Night Football . It marked former coach Tony Dungy ' s return to Tampa Bay , and he was well - received by fans . During pre - game warm - ups , Warren Sapp stirred up controversy when he skipped through the Colts players , who were spread out over the field stretching . It was Sapp ' s second such " skipping " incident ( the first in 2002 against the Steelers ) , and he drew considerable criticism . Most of the game was one - sided , with the Buccaneers dominating the first half . On the first play of their second drive , Brad Johnson connected with Keenan McCardell for a 74 - yard touchdown , and a 7 - 0 lead . On the next drive , at their own 33 yard line , Johnson was intercepted by Mike Doss at the Colts 41 yard line . Doss , however , was tackled by John Wade , who punched the ball out and forced a fumble . The ball bounced into the hands of Keenan McCardell , and McCardell ran 57 yards for an improbable fumble recovery touchdown and a 14 - 0 score . Tampa Bay entered halftime leading 21 – 0 . With 5 : 09 remaining in the fourth quarter , Ronde Barber intercepted Peyton Manning and returned the ball 29 yards for a touchdown , and put the Buccaneers up 35 – 14 . With most of the fans beginning to head for the exits , Indianapolis started an improbable rally . Tampa Bay kicked off , and the ball was returned 90 yards to the 11 yard line . Four plays later , with 3 : 37 remaining , Indianapolis scored a touchdown on a fourth - down play , to narrow the lead to 35 – 21 . Colts kicker Mike Vanderjagt then attempted an onside kick , which sailed airborne and was caught by Colts safety Idrees Bashir at their own 42 yard line . It was later determined by NFL officials that the onside kick was recovered illegally , since it never touched the ground , nor was touched by a Tampa Bay player . The critical error by the officiating crew led by referee Johnny Grier was overlooked , and the game continued . The Colts scored another touchdown , and narrowed the margin 35 - 28 . Another onside kick attempt was made , but this time it was recovered by Tampa Bay . Tampa Bay attempted to run the clock down to the two - minute warning , but a personal foul by Kenyatta Walker stopped the clock at 2 : 04 remaining . The Buccaneers were forced to punt with 1 : 48 to go . Manning then led the Colts on an 87 - yard touchdown drive to tie the score 35 – 35 with 0 : 35 remaining . In overtime , kicker Mike Vanderjagt missed a 40 - yard field goal , but umpire Ed Coukart called a penalty on Simeon Rice for leaping , a rarely - seen unsportsmanlike conduct infraction for running and jumping to block a kick and landing on other players . Vanderjagt ' s subsequent kick was batted and hit the upright , but fell in good , winning the game for the Colts . It was the largest comeback in NFL history ( 21 points ) in that little amount of time ( under 4 minutes to go ) . With the game - winning field goal , Vanderjagt went on to become the first kicker in NFL history not to miss a kick attempt in a complete season , including the playoffs . Week 6 : at Washington Redskins ( won 35 - 13 ) . The devastating loss to the Colts seemed to start a downward trend for the team . Injuries sidelined several players , including Mike Alstott and Brian Kelly . Before the game , Warren Sapp was involved in his second " skipping " incident in two weeks , and third overall , as he bumped into an NFL referee . The incident drew a $ 50 , 000 fine . Despite the growing trouble , the Buccaneers managed to beat Steve Spurrier ' s slumping Redskins . Brad Johnson threw four touchdown passes , and Derrick Brooks iced the game with a 44 - yard interception return touchdown . Week 7 : at San Francisco 49ers ( lost 7 - 24 ) . Brad Johnson threw three interceptions , and the Buccaneer defense gave up 212 yards rushing , falling to the San Francisco 49ers . Tampa Bay ' s only highlight , and only score , was a 75 - yard touchdown pass to Keenan McCardell in the first quarter . Week 8 : Dallas Cowboys ( won 16 - 0 ) . In a largely defensive game , so - called " Buc ball " prevailed . Tampa Bay shut out Bill Parcells ' Dallas Cowboys by a score of 16 - 0 . The defense forced three turnovers , and held the # 4 - ranked Dallas offense to just over 200 total yards and no points . Week 9 : New Orleans Saints ( lost 14 - 17 ) . After a touchdown pass , and an interception return , the New Orleans Saints held a 14 - 0 lead . With under 8 minutes to go in regulation , Brad Johnson threw two touchdown passes ( 26 and 30 yards ) to Michael Pittman and Keenan McCardell to tie the score at 14 - 14 . With 2 : 08 to go New Orleans took over . The Buccaneer defense failed to hold ground , and the Saints kicked a game - winning field goal with 8 seconds left . Week 10 : at Carolina Panthers ( lost 24 - 27 ) . Carolina broke out to a 20 - 7 lead through three quarters . Brad Johnson led the Buccaneers on a rally , scoring two touchdown passes of 23 yards and 36 yards . One each to Keyshawn Johnson and Keenan McCardell , and Tampa Bay took a 21 - 20 lead with 4 : 52 remaining . Two plays later , Tim Wansley intercepted Jake Delhomme for the second time in the game . The turnover led to a Martin Gramatica field goal , and a Tampa Bay lead of 24 - 20 with 2 : 45 to go . The Buccaneer defense , however , failed to keep Carolina at bay , and Delhomme swiftly led the Panthers to a game - winning touchdown with 1 : 11 left . Early in the fourth quarter , Simeon Rice sacked Jake Delhomme for a 9 - yard loss . It marked the 69th consecutive game the Buccaneer defense registered a quarterback sack , a new all - time NFL record . Week 11 : Green Bay Packers ( lost 13 - 20 ) . The longtime rival Green Bay Packers came to town in November , and Tampa Bay appeared to be poised for a win . A 17 - play , 98 - yard fourth quarter touchdown drive by the Packers wore out a tired Buccaneer defense , and Tampa Bay lost to Green Bay for the first time at Raymond James Stadium . The loss dropped Tampa Bay to 4 - 6 , and severely hampered their playoff chances . During the game , Martin Gramatica became the franchise ' s all - time scoring leader . One distinction came to an end , however . The Tampa Bay defense had , one week earlier , set the all - time NFL record for consecutive game with a quarterback sack . They achieved no sacks in this game , and the streak ended at 69 games . Wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson finished the game with only three catches for 34 yards . He was also heckled and booed by fans during the game . The following day , after several weeks of growing intra - team tension , Johnson was deactivated with pay from the playing roster for the balance of the season . Week 12 : New York Giants ( won 19 - 13 ) . On Monday Night Football , Tampa Bay hosted the New York Giants . Thomas Jones scored early in the second quarter , and Charles Lee scored a touchdown catch . Just when they though the season was finished a week before , the Buccaneers pulled out an important victory and moved to 5 - 6 , snapping a three - game losing streak . Week 13 : at Jacksonville Jaguars ( lost 10 - 17 ) . An uninspired performance against in - state rival Jacksonville ( who had a 2 - 9 record going into the game ) on " Sunday Night Football " saw 80 yards of penalties , turnovers , and blown chances . Tampa Bay fell to 5 - 7 on the season Week 14 : at New Orleans Saints ( won 14 - 7 ) . The Buccaneers took on division foe New Orleans , and beat them for the first time since December 2001 . The Tampa Bay defense sacked Aaron Brooks seven times and forced three fumbles , meanwhile running back Deuce McAllister was held to just 88 yards . Tampa Bay ' s offense performed well , with Brad Johnson throwing two touchdown passes . The second of which was to tight end Warren Sapp , his second touchdown reception of his career . After losing the ball in the lights , he grabbed it and was able to pull it in as he fell to the turf . New Orleans was in the game until the waning seconds of the first half . With 1 : 49 to go in the second quarter , Joe Horn dropped a sure touchdown pass in the end zone . On the next play , Aaron Brooks was sacked and fumbled . Jermaine Phillips recovered the fumble , and returned it 20 yards . Tampa Bay took a 14 - 7 lead into halftime , and neither team scored again . A couple days after the game , general manager Rich McKay was released by the team , allowed to pursue work elsewhere . Week 15 : Houston Texans ( won 16 - 3 ) . Tampa Bay kept their postseason hopes alive , beating the second - year Texans 16 - 3 , and improving to 7 - 7 on the year . The rainy day saw Thomas Jones take over the primary rushing duties , and run for 134 yards and one score . Warren Sapp sat out the game with a strained foot , his first game missed in 73 starts . For the second time in five weeks , the Buccaneer defense ended a long streak . Dating back to October 19 , 2000 , Tampa Bay had a streak of 54 consecutive games with a turnover ( takeaway ) . Against the Texans , there were no forced turnovers , and the streak fell short of the all - time NFL record ( 71 by Philadelphia ) . With the victory , Tampa Bay improved to 7 - 7 , and were still in the wild card hunt . Week 16 : Atlanta Falcons ( lost 28 - 30 ) . While still mathematically alive for the playoffs , the Buccaneers scored a touchdown with 34 seconds remaining . A two - point conversion would have tied the game , and forced overtime . The pass failed , and Tampa Bay was eliminated from playoff contention , losing the game 30 - 28 to the Falcons . Just six days before the game , former Buccaneers general manager Rich McKay was named the president and general manager of the Falcons . He spent the game in the visitor ' s press box , and presided over the Falcon ' s defeat of Tampa Bay . Week 17 : at Tennessee Titans ( lost 13 - 33 ) . After being eliminated from the playoffs , the Buccaneers traveled to take on the Titans in a largely meaningless game . Brad Johnson and Shaun King shared quarterback duties , but neither seemed able to get into a rhythm , throwing a combined 4 interceptions . With the loss , Tampa Bay finished 7 - 9 , and missed the playoffs for the first time since 1998 .