2005 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season The 2005 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season began with the team trying to improve on their 5 - 11 record in 2004 . Carnell Williams won rookie of the year . The Bucs made a complete turnaround from last season to make the playoffs . The Bucs would lose in the Wild - Card playoff game at home to the Washington Redskins . Summary . In the 2005 season , the Bucs returned to their winning ways . The Buccaneers selected Carnell " Cadillac " Williams in the first round of the 2005 draft , and the rookie would provide a running game the Buccaneers hadn ' t possessed since the days of James Wilder in the 1980s . Williams set the NFL record for most yards rushing in his first three games with 474 , and was named as the AP ' s 2005 Offensive Rookie of the Year . His shoes and gloves from the third game of the season are now on display in the Pro Football Hall of Fame . With their 2005 campaign marking the Buccaneers ' 30th Season in the NFL , the team won their first four games before entering a midseason slump hampered by a season - ending injury to starting QB Brian Griese during a win over the Miami Dolphins . Replacement starter Chris Simms struggled early as the Bucs lost games to the San Francisco 49ers and Carolina Panthers , but Simms came into his own when he led the team to a last - minute win over the Washington Redskins in a 36 - 35 thriller to break that slump . In a gutsy move , Gruden went for the win with a two - point conversion plunge by fullback Mike Alstott . A booth review of that play was inconclusive , and Redskins coach Joe Gibbs stated after the game his belief that Alstott had not scored . The Buccaneers followed up with important wins over their NFC South division rivals , sweeping both the New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons , as well as defeating the Panthers in a rare victory at Carolina . Even with a tough loss against the Chicago Bears and a humiliating shutout against the New England Patriots , the Bucs finished 11 - 5 and won the NFC South by virtue of a tie - breaker over the Panthers . The Buccaneers ' 30th Anniversary season would end on a sour note , as they lost 17 - 10 at home to the Redskins in the wild - card round . An apparent late Bucs touchdown pass from Chris Simms to Edell Shepherd could have tied the game , but the play was ruled incomplete when a booth review upheld the referee ' s decision . The Buccaneers sent three veteran players to the 2006 Pro Bowl , including cornerback Ronde Barber and punter Josh Bidwell . Outside linebacker Derrick Brooks was named the Pro Bowl MVP , with a 59 - yard interception return for a touchdown . Game summaries . Week 1 at Minnesota Vikings . Rookie Cadillac Williams rushed for 148 yards , including a game - clinching 71 - yard touchdown run with 1 : 23 remaining . Starting quarterback Brian Griese threw touchdowns to Alex Smith . Tampa Bay snapped a four - game losing streak dating back to the 2004 season . Week 2 Buffalo Bills . Tampa Bay dominated the visiting Bills , with Cadillac Williams rushing for 128 yards and one touchdown . Week 3 at Green Bay Packers . Tampa Bay won for the first time at Lambeau Field since 1989 , led by Cadillac Williams ' s 158 rushing yards . Williams went over 100 yards for the first three games , totaling an NFL record 434 yards for a rookie ' s first three starts . A missed extra point by Green Bay early in the game proved to be the deciding margin . Week 4 Detroit Lions . Tampa Bay led 17 - 13 late in the game as Detroit drove to the Tampa Bay 12 yard line . An apparent game - winning touchdown pass from Joey Harrington to Marcus Pollard was called for an instant replay review . After review , the play was ruled incomplete , as Pollard was out - of - bounds , and Tampa Bay held on to win , and improve to 4 - 0 . Cadillac Williams was held to just 13 yards , and suffered a hamstring injury . Week 5 at New York Jets . Tampa Bay lost their first game of the season to the Jets , due in part to injuries to Cadillac Williams and Michael Clayton . Several penalties and missed opportunities led to the defeat . Week 6 Miami Dolphins . Tampa Bay returned to their winning ways , but quarterback Brian Griese was lost for the season with a knee injury . Week 8 at San Francisco 49ers . Chris Simms was named starting quarterback , but despite a 78 - yard touchdown pass to Joey Galloway , the Buccaneers offense sputtered , and fell by a score of 15 - 10 . Week 9 Carolina Panthers . Chris Simms threw two interceptions , one returned for a touchdown , in a 34 - 14 loss at home to division rival Carolina . Week 10 Washington Redskins . Tampa Bay broke their two - game losing streak , and mid - season slump , with a shootout victory against the Washington Redskins . Trailing 28 - 35 with one minute to go , Chris Simms connected with Edell Shepherd for a 30 - yard touchdown pass . As the teams lined up for the game - tying extra point , a Washington defender flinched and prompted a delay - of - game penalty . The five yard penalty was applied to the ensuing kickoff . As the two temas lined up for the second attempt at the extra point , two Washington defenders jumped offsides and blocked Matt Bryant ' s extra point kick . The play was ruled dead , and officials enforced a penalty half the distance to the goal line . The ball was placed at the 1 yard line for yet another conversion attempt . Tampa Bay sent the offensive unit back on the field , and decided this time , to attempt a two - point conversion . Fullback Mike Alstott hit the pile up the middle , but a second effort allowed him to cross the goal line and Tampa Bay took a 36 - 35 lead . Officials called for an instant replay , but the video evidence was inconclusive , and the play was upheld . Week 11 at Atlanta Falcons . With 1 : 55 left , Cadillac Williams tied the game 27 - 27 with a 9 - yard touchdown run . Derrick Brooks then sacked Michael Vick , and forced a fumble , which was recovered by Shelton Quarles . With 42 seconds remaining , Matt Bryant kicked a game - winning 45 - yard field goal . Week 12 Chicago Bears . Matt Bryant missed a game - tying 29 - yard field goal with under three minutes to go , and Tampa Bay fell to the visiting Bears 13 - 10 . Week 13 at New Orleans . New Orleans hosted Tampa Bay at Tiger Stadium . The game was relocated from the Louisiana Superdome due to Hurricane Katrina . The Tampa Bay defense dominated , and the Buccaneers came away with a 10 - 3 victory , a key intra - division win . Week 14 at Carolina Panthers . With 11 : 47 remaining in the fourth quarter , Ronde Barber intercepted Jake Delhomme , which set up a Carnell Williams touchdown . The Buccaneers held on to win 20 - 10 , breaking a five - game losing streak to Carolina , evened the season series 1 - 1 , and moved into a tie for the NFC South lead . Week 15 at New England Patriots . The Buccaneers suffered their worst shutout since 1999 , falling 28 - 0 to New England . Chris Simms was sacked seven times in the defeat . Week 16 Atlanta Falcons . Tampa Bay and Atlanta met on Christmas Eve with playoff berths for both teams at stake . The game turned into a shootout , and Atlanta led 24 - 17 late in the fourth quarter . Facing 4th down and 1 , and trailing by 7 , Cadillac Williams scored a 6 - yard touchdown run with 31 seconds remaining . In overtime , Tampa Bay won the coin toss and elected to receive . Edell Shepherd , however , fumbled the opening kickoff , and Atlanta recovered at the Buccaneers ' 18 - yard line . Fans began to leave the stadium as Atlanta lined up for a chip - shot 20 yard game - winning field goal attempt . Todd Peterson ' s field goal was blocked by Dewayne White , and Tampa Bay recovered . Fans were seen scrambling back to their seats as the Buccaneer ' s hopes for victory were still alive . Tampa Bay quickly drove to the Atlanta 9 yard line , and lined up for a game - winning field goal try . Matt Bryant ' s kick sailed wide left , though , and the game continued . Both teams traded punts , then Atlanta punted to Tampa Bay with 1 : 08 remaining in overtime . Tampa Bay drove to the 23 yard line , and avoided a tie when Bryant connected on a 41 - yard game winning field goal with 15 seconds left in the overtime period . Meanwhile , Dallas defeated Carolina 24 - 20 , which meant that a win by Tampa Bay in week 17 would clinch the NFC South title . Week 17 New Orleans Saints . The Buccaneers swept the Saints for the season , and clinched the 2005 NFC South title . NFC Wild Card Playoff : Washington Redskins . " at Raymond James Stadium , Tampa , Florida " Although the Redskins gained only 120 yards on offense , the lowest total in NFL playoff history for a winning team , they converted two turnovers into touchdowns . Midway through the first quarter , Washington linebacker LaVar Arrington ' s 21 - yard interception return set up running back Clinton Portis ' six - yard touchdown run . Then , Redskins linebacker Marcus Washington recovered Tampa Bay running back Carnell Williams ' fumble and returned it seven yards before losing it himself – into the arms of Safety Sean Taylor who then ran 51 yards for the Redskins ' second touchdown . Early in the second quarter , Tampa Bay drove 38 yards to the Redskins 24 - yard line where Matt Bryant kicked a 43 - yard field goal to cut their deficit to 14 - 3 . The Redskins responded with an 10 - play , 40 - yard drive and scored with 40 - yard field goal from John Hall . In the third quarter , Mark Jones gave the Buccaneers good field position by returning a punt 24 yards to the 49 - yard line . Tamp Bay ' s offense took full advantage of the return , marching on a seven play , 51 - yard drive that ended with quarterback Chris Simms ' two - yard touchdown run . In the fourth quarter , Tampa Bay drove to the Redskins 19 - yard line , but Washington made a huge stand . First , linebacker Lemar Marshall tackled fullback Mike Alstott for no gain on third down and 1 , and then Simms threw an incomplete pass on fourth down . . However , Buccaneers defensive back Brian Kelly gave his team another chance to drive for the tying touchdown by intercepting a pass from Mark Brunell and returning it the Redskins 35 - yard line . With 3 minutes left in the game , Tampa Bay wide receiver Edell Shepherd caught what appeared to be a 35 - yard touchdown reception , but he lost control of the ball as he was coming down in the end zone . The Buccaneers got one last chance to tie the game when they received a punt at their own 46 - yard line with 1 : 05 left in regulation , but Simms threw a pass that was tipped at the line of scrimmage and went into the arms of Washington for an interception . This game was widely regarded by commentators as an " ugly " performance by both teams ' offenses , rendering it a largely defensive game