2004 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season The 2004 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season began with the team trying to improve on their 7 - 9 record in 2003 . Brian Griese set a number of franchise records for passing . Michael Clayton set a rookie record for receiving . Summary . Offseason . Before the 2004 training camp , personnel issues and the salary cap became primary concerns . Gruden successfully lobbied the Glazers to hire his former general manager from Oakland , Bruce Allen . After Allen ' s arrival in the Buccaneers ' front office , the team announced that it would not re - sign two of their notable defensive players ( John Lynch and Warren Sapp ) . Both of their contracts were expiring , and younger players would fill their positions . Lynch was released after medical exams indicated ongoing injury problems . Many Buccaneers fans were stunned by the move , as Lynch was a very popular player whose aggressive , intelligent play earned him several Pro Bowl appearances . He was also well regarded for his philanthropic work in the Tampa - area . Lynch was quickly signed by the Denver Broncos , where he had consecutive injury - free Pro Bowl seasons . Sapp signed with the Oakland Raiders , where he played in a limited role in 2004 , and sat out much of the 2005 season with injuries but returned to form in 2006 . Since wide receiver Keenan McCardell refused to play until he was given a better contract or traded , he was sent to the San Diego Chargers for draft compensation . Preseason . In August , Hurricane Charley brought training camp to a screeching halt . The Buccaneers ' first preseason game was also postponed ( from Saturday to Monday ) due to the storm . After returning to Disney ' s Wide World of Sports Complex , it was determined that the soaked fields and disrupted schedule was too much to overcome . The team broke camp over a week early , and returned to Tampa . A " rump " week of camp took place at the team facilities , and at the same time , some players and team officials tended to damaged homes in the wake of the storm . Regular season . The distracted Buccaneers began the 2004 season with a 1 - 5 record , their worst start since 1996 . The fading accuracy of kicker Martin Gramatica did not help matters , as the team lost many close games en route to a 5 - 11 record . The Buccaneers became the first NFL team to follow up a Super Bowl championship with back - to - back losing seasons . The lone highlights of 2004 were the high - quality play of rookie wide receiver Michael Clayton and the return of Doug Williams , who joined the Bucs front office as a personnel executive . Preseason . The Buccaneers played four preseason games . The home team is in caps . The game against Cincinnati scheduled for Saturday August 14 was postponed until Monday August 16 due to Hurricane Charley . Game summaries . Week 1 : at Washington Redskins . Opening day saw Tampa Bay visit Washington . In the second quarter , Brad Johnson threw deep for an apparent 29 - yard touchdown pass to newly - acquired wide receiver Joey Galloway . Galloway , was unable to secure the ball , and suffered a groin injury on the play . After a Martin Gramatica field goal , the Buccaneers entered halftime trailing 10 - 3 . Ronde Barber tied the score at 10 - 10 after he recovered a Mark Brunell fumble 9 yards for a touchdown . After an interception , Washington , managed two field goals in the fourth period , and held on to win 16 - 10 . Week 2 : Seattle Seahawks . Brad Johnson struggled mightily , completing only 4 - of - 7 for 34 yards and one interception . Jon Gruden pulled Johnson after the first quarter and replaced him with second year player Chris Simms , to the delight of fans . Simms drove the Buccaneers to the Seattle 1 yard line . Attempting a quarterback sneak on third - and - goal , Simms fumbled the snap . Tampa Bay settled for a field goal and a 10 - 3 halftime deficit . In the fourth quarter , another field goal narrowed the game to 10 - 6 . With just over two minutes left , Simms drove the Buccaneers to the Seattle 26 . The game ended , however , after he was intercepted with 1 : 11 to go . Simms debut yielded mixed results ; 175 yard passing , but no touchdowns , and two costly turnovers . The Buccaneers started the season 0 - 2 . Week 3 : at Oakland Raiders . Tampa Bay traveled to Oakland , for a rematch of Super Bowl XXXVII on " Sunday Night Football " . The game saw the Buccaneers face former player Warren Sapp ( who signed with Oakland in the offseason ) for the first time . This game was being played while central Florida , including Tampa , was being impacted by Hurricane Jeanne . Brad Johnson was back in place at starting quarterback , but his numbers were again mediocre . He threw two interceptions ( one was returned for a touchdown ) . Trailing 30 - 6 , Johnson managed two fourth quarter touchdown passes ( Tampa Bay ' s first offensive touchdowns of the season ) , but the comeback stalled , and the Buccaneers started the season 0 - 3 . Also , Tim Brown , playing his swan song season in Tampa Bay , scored his 100th career touchdown against his old team , the Raiders . Week 4 : Denver Broncos . Tampa Bay ' s dismal start continued , as they dropped to 0 - 4 on the season . Brad Johnson connected with Michael Clayton for a 51 - yard touchdown in the first half , but three Jason Elam field goals proved to be the winning edge for Denver . Week 5 : at New Orleans Saints . Tampa Bay broke a six - game losing streak ( dating back to 2003 ) , defeating the Saints 20 - 17 . Slumping Brad Johnson was benched for the season , and Chris Simms started at quarterback . Simms ' first NFL start was short - lived , however , as he left the game in the first quarter with a sprained shoulder . Brian Griese took over at quarterback , later connecting on a 45 - yard touchdown to Ken Dilger , which proved to be the winning margin . Week 6 : at St . Louis Rams . Tampa Bay faced St . Louis on Monday Night Football for the fourth time in five seasons . A Michael Pittman fumble was returned 93 yards for a touchdown by Adam Archuleta , and Martin Gramatica missed two field goal attempts , sinking the Buccaneers ' chances at victory . With a final rating of 7 . 7 , this was the lowest - ever rated " MNF " game on ABC . Week 7 : Chicago Bears . Michael Pittman rushed for 109 yards , and Brian Griese threw a touchdwon pass as Tampa Bay prevailed over the visiting Chicago Bears . Week 9 : Kansas City Chiefs . The lone highlight game of Tampa Bay ' s forgetful 2004 season came against Kansas City in week 9 . Brian Griese threw for 296 yards and two touchdowns , while Michael Pittman rushed for 128 yards on the ground . Late in the first quarter , Trent Green connected to Eddie Kennison for a 59 - yard gain to the Tampa Bay 11 yard line . Dwight Smith forced a fumble , and Brian Kelly returned the fumble 32 yards for the Buccaneers . The turnover led to a touchdown and a 14 – 7 lead . Early in the third quarter , Pittman broke away for a 78 - yard touchdown run , the longest in Buccaneer history . Tampa Bay took the lead 34 – 31 after another Pittman score with 12 minutes to go . Jermaine Phillips sealed the game for Tampa Bay , intercepting Green with just under six minutes left . Kansas City had one final chance , but the Buccaneer defense forced a turnover on downs with only 1 : 15 to go . Week 10 : at Atlanta Falcons . Michael Vick rushed for 76 yards , and had 176 yard passing , as Tampa Bay fell to division rival Atlanta . Week 11 : San Francisco 49ers . Tampa Bay crushed the lowly 49ers 35 - 3 . Brian Griese passed for 210 yards and two touchdown passes , and Michael Pittman rushed for 106 yards and two touchdown runs . Tampa Bay won their fourth game out of the last six , and improved to 4 - 6 on the season . Week 12 : at Carolina Panthers . Brian Griese threw for 347 yards and two touchdowns , but mistakes cost the Buccaneers dearly , and they fell to Carolina 21 - 14 . A Griese interception was returned for a touchdown , and Martin Gramatica ' s kicking woes continued . He missed two field goal attempts during the game , which brought his season total to 8 misses . Week 13 : Atlanta Falcons . Kicker Martin Gramatica was benched for the season , and journeyman veteran Jay Taylor took his place . Tampa Bay crushed Atlanta 27 - 0 , knocking Michael Vick out of the game for a play , forcing two fumbles , and one interception . At 5 - 7 , Tampa Bay found themselves only one game out of the NFC wild card hunt . Week 14 : at San Diego Chargers . Brian Griese threw for 392 yards , but four turnovers foiled Tampa Bay ' s chances for victory against the San Diego Chargers . Tied 21 - 21 with 4 minutes remaining , Griese ' s pass was intercepted and returned for a game icing touchdown . Week 15 : New Orleans Saints . Former Buccaneer Aaron Stecker returned the opening kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown ( something he never accomplished playing for Tampa Bay ) as New Orleans beat Tampa Bay 21 - 17 . Tampa Bay fell to 5 - 9 , guaranteed themselves of their second consecutive losing season , and effectively eliminated themselves from playoff contention . The Buccaneers led 17 - 7 with just over 3 minutes to go , but late - game miscues on offense and defense sunk the Buccaneers . Aaron Brooks connected on two touchdowns in the final three minutes , lifting the Saints to victory . Week 16 : Carolina Panthers . Carolina routed Tampa Bay 37 - 20 in front of an only partially - full Raymond James Stadium . Trailing 24 - 7 , Brian Griese connected for two touchdown passes , but the comeback was for naught . Week 17 : at Arizona Cardinals . Chris Simms returned from injury to start his second game . A 75 - yard touchdown pass to Michael Clayton gave the Buccaneers a 7 - 6 lead . Four turnovers , however , kept the game out of reach , and Tampa Bay lost to the four field goals by Arizona . Tampa Bay started the season with 4 straight losses , ended the season with 4 straight losses , and finished a hapless 5 - 11 .