2001 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season The 2001 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season began with the team trying to improve on a 10 - 6 season . It was Tony Dungy ' s final season as the Buccaneers head coach . He was fired after losing in the playoffs to Philadelphia for the second straight season . Game summaries . Preseason ( 1 - 3 ) . The Ryan Leaf experiment ended about as fast as it started . Tampa Bay signed the troubled quarterback during the offseason . The Buccaneers were intrigued by his physical talent and planned to develop his abilities more slowly by having him watch and learn . However , Leaf ' s wrist still had not healed , and he refused to have surgery despite doctors ' strong recommendations . After mediocre performances in the Buccaneers ' four preseason games , the club asked Leaf to accept a lower salary . He refused , and the club released him just five days before the start of the 2001 season . Week 1 : at Dallas Cowboys ( won 10 - 6 ) . Brad Johnson started his first game for the Buccaneers , and led them to a 10 - 6 victory . Despite holding a poor Cowboys club to only 127 yards , a fourth quarter touchdown run by Johnson was needed to seal the victory . It was the Bucs ' first ever victory in Dallas . Week 2 : Philadelphia Eagles . Initially the game was a highly - anticipated rematch from last season ' s wild card round . However , after 9 / 11 , all week 2 games were postponed and eventually rescheduled to become week 18 . Week 3 : Bye . The NFL resumed play in week 3 , but Tampa Bay was scheduled for their bye week . Week 4 : at Minnesota Vikings ( lost 16 - 20 ) . After 21 days , the Buccaneers finally played their second game of the season . Three Martin Gramatica field goals and a Warrick Dunn touchdown run game the Buccaneers a 16 - 13 lead in the fourth quarter . However , Vikings quarterback Daunte Culpepper capped off a 96 - yard drive with an 8 - yard touchdown run with 1 : 03 remaining , and Minnesota took the victory 20 - 16 . Week 5 : Green Bay Packers ( won 14 - 10 ) . Tampa Bay finally played their first home game , five weeks into the season . Shelton Quarles intercepted Brett Favre and returned the ball 98 yards for a touchdown , the longest such in franchise history . The Buccaneers intecepted Favre a total of three times , and Mike Alstott clinched the victory with a 39 - yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter . Week 6 : at Tennessee Titans ( lost 28 - 31 , OT ) . Brad Johnson passed for 287 yards and three touchdown passes ( including two in the final 6 minutes ) and forced overtime . However , the Titans kicked a field goal and won the game on their first possession of overtime . Week 7 : Pittsburgh Steelers ( lost 10 - 17 ) . The Steelers sacked Brad Johnson ten times , and Jerome Bettis rushed for 143 yards , as the Buccaneers fell to 2 - 3 on the season . After trailing 17 - 3 , Tampa Bay finally got into the endzone with 28 seconds to go , but the result was not as close as the score indicated . Week 8 : Minnesota Vikings ( won 41 - 14 ) . After slumping for several weeks , the Buccaneers rolled over their division rivals , the Minnesota Vikings . Mike Alstott rushed for 129 yards , and three touchdowns , while Brad Johnson threw two touchdown passes and no interceptions . Week 9 : at Green Bay Packers ( lost 20 - 21 ) . Tampa Bay looked to break a winless streak against Green Bay at Lambeau Field that dated back to 1989 . Brad Johnson connected on two touchdown passes , and Martin Gramatica scored two field goals for a 20 - 14 lead late in the fourth quarter . The Buccaneer defense also performed , intercepting Brett Favre twice . With 3 : 03 to go , however , Allen Rossum scored a game - winning 55 - yard punt return touchdown to foil the Buccaneers ' chances at victory . Week 10 : at Detroit Lions ( won 20 - 17 ) . Tampa Bay traveled to the Silverdome for the final time to take on a pitiful 0 - 9 Lions team . With 4 seconds to go , Martin Gramatica scored a 35 - yard field goal to pull out the victory , and avoid the upset . Tampa Bay improved to 4 - 4 . Week 11 : Chicago Bears ( lost 24 - 27 ) . Tampa Bay trailed 24 - 16 entering the fourth quarter , but Brad Johnson rallied the Buccaneers to a 3 - point deficit . As time expired , Martin Gramatica attempted a 48 - yard game - tying field goal to force overtime . The ball hit the upright and fell no good , and Chicago held on for a 27 - 24 win . Week 12 : St . Louis Rams ( won 24 - 17 ) . Tampa Bay traveled to St . Louis on Monday night . It was the second rematch of the 1999 NFC Championship , and the latest installment of an increasingly popular rivally between the Buccaneers and Rams . The game went back and forth , and was tied 17 - 17 after three quarters . Warrick Dunn scored a 21 - yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter , which proved to be the winning margin . Week 13 : at Cincinnati Bengals ( won 16 - 13 , OT ) . Following the short week , Tampa Bay traveled to Cincinnati to take on the less - than - mediocre Cincinnati Bengals . Despite the poor opposition , Tampa Bay ' s only touchdown came from a blocked punt . Martin Gramatica scored two field goals , and the Buccaneers held a 13 - 6 lead , With 8 seconds left in regulation , Jon Kitna connected with Corey Dillon for a game - tying 6 - yard touchdown pass , and forced overtime . In the overtime period , Tampa Bay won the toss and received . They drove to the Cincinnati 35 yard line , where they punted . Punter Mark Royals pinned the Bengals at their own 4 yard line . On the first play of the Bengals drive , Dillon fumbled the ball , and it was recovered by John Lynch at the 3 yard line . Without hesitation , Gramatica came on to the field , and kicked a chip - shot 21 - yard field goal to win the game . Week 14 : Detroit Lions ( won 15 - 12 ) . The Lions came into the game 0 - 11 and were led by rookie quarterback Mike McMahon . The Lions never managed to reach the endzone , however , Tampa Bay ' s offense struggled all day and found themselves trailing 12 - 7 . With just over a minute to go , the Buccaneers faced 4th & 8 at the Detroit 28 yard line . Brad Johnson completed a 15 - yard pass to Keyshawn Johnson to keep the drive alive . With 45 seconds to go , the Johnson and Johnson duo connected again , this time for a game - winning touchdown pass . Week 15 : at Chicago Bears ( lost 3 - 27 ) . Tampa Bay gave up 27 unanswered points , and was swept by the Bears , who clinched the NFC Central title . Week 16 : New Orleans Saints ( won 48 - 21 ) . After hitting their low point the previous week , Tampa Bay rebounded during Christmas week with a record - setting performance against the visiting Saints . Aaron Stecker took back the opening kickoff a then - franchise record 86 yards , but failed to make the endzone , continuing the Buccaneers ' then - streak of never having a kickoff returned for a touchdown . Though he was tackled , the long return was not for naught , as two plays later , Brad Johnson connected with Karl Williams for a 14 - yard touchdown , and a lead the Buccaneers never surrendered . In the first half , Williams , Mike Alstott and Warrick Dunn each scored touchdowns , while Martin Gramatica added three field goals . The Buccaneers took a 30 - 0 lead into halftime . The scoring continued into the second half , and the Saints finally got onto the board . With 2 minutes remaining in the game , Ronde Barber intercepted Aaron Brooks pass , and returned it 36 yards for a " icing - on - the - cake " touchdown . Adding a little " insult to injury " , back - up quarterback Shaun King attempted a two - point conversion , and with its success , the Buccaneers tied the franchise record for most points in a game at 48 . The win improved Tampa Bay ' s record to 8 - 6 , and put them in control of a wild card spot . One win in the final two games ( coupled with an Atlanta loss ) would send the Buccaneers to the playoffs . Week 17 : Baltimore Ravens ( won 22 - 10 ) . Though it was part of the Monday Night Football schedule , the game was held on a Saturday night due to New Year ' s Eve . The Tampa Bay defense intercepted Elvis Grbac twice , and held the Ravens to under 100 yards rushing . The victory game Tampa Bay their third consecutive win against a defending Super Bowl champion : ( Broncos - XXXIII , Rams - XXXIV , Ravens - XXXV ) Week 18 : Philadelphia Eagles ( lost 13 - 17 ) . Originally this game was to be played back in week 2 and was thought to be a highly - anticipated rematch from last season ' s wild card round . But due to 9 / 11 , it was rescheduled for week 18 . With possible playoff implications on the line , the game was moved to " Sunday Night Football " . Going into the game though , both teams found themselves locked into their respective playoff seeds . Regardless of the outcome of this game , Tampa Bay would be the # 6 seed in the NFC , and Philadelphia would be the # 3 seed , and they would meet six days later at Veterans Stadium . Therefore , both teams rested many of their starters , and the game was largely considered meaningless and lost a lot of its lustre . With several players inactive , such as Keyshawn Johnson , Warrick Dunn , Martin Gramatica , and with quarterback Brad Johnson playing only in the first drive , the offense sputtered . Tampa Bay held a 13 - 3 lead deep into the fourth quarter . With 2 : 19 to go , Eagles back - up quarterback A . J . Feeley connected with Dameane Douglas for their first touchdown , and narrowed the lead to 13 - 10 . On the ensuing kickoff , Karl " The Truth " Williams fumbled the return at the Tampa Bay 24 yard line , and it was recovered by Philadelphia . Two plays later , Feeley and Douglas took the lead with their second touchdown . Philadelphia managed to score 14 points in 25 seconds , and held on to win the unusual , rather lackadaisical game . Wild Cards Playoffs : at Philadelphia Eagles ( lost 9 - 31 ) . " at Veterans Stadium , Philadelphia " Eagles QB Donovan McNabb threw for 194 yards and 2 touchdowns , while also rushing for 54 yards , as Philadelphia dominated Tampa Bay from start to finish . Bucs quarterback Brad Johnson was intercepted four times , twice by Damon Moore . It was the second consecutive season in which Philadelphia eliminated Tampa Bay from the playoffs during the wild card round , and two days later , Buccaneers coach Tony Dungy was fired . On the Eagles first drive of the game , Buccaneers safety Dexter Jackson intercepted a pass from McNabb and returned it 9 yards to the Eagles 36 - yard line , setting up a 36 - yard field goal from Martin Gramatica . But McNabb made up for his mistake with a 39 - yard run on third down and 5 on Philadelphia ' s ensuing possession , setting up a field goal for David Akers that tied the game , 3 - 3 . In the second period , McNabb completed 4 of 4 passes for 70 yards on a 73 - yard drive , including a 41 - yard completion to Todd Pinkston , that ended with a 16 - yard touchdown pass to tight end Chad Lewis . Tampa responded with a 10 - play , 65 - yard drive , but once again could not dent the end zone and had to settle for another Gramatica field goal , cutting their deficit to 10 - 6 . Later in the quarter , Eagles punter Sean Landeta pinned the Buccaneers back at their own 5 - yard line and Tampa Bay could not get a first down with their next drive . After receiving Mark Royals ' short 28 - yard punt at the Buccaneers 31 - yard line , McNabb threw a 23 - yard touchdown pass to Duce Staley with 35 seconds left in the half . But Tampa bay managed to respond with Gramatica ' s third field goal before halftime , set up by a 46 - yard reception from Keyshawn Johnson , cutting their deficit to 17 - 9 . But Tampa Bay was completely dominated in the second half . Moore recorded his first interception from Brad Johnson at the Eagles 38 - yard line on the Buccaneers opening drive of the third quarter . Later on , the Eagles drove 60 yards in six plays and scored on a 25 - yard touchdown run from rookie Correll Buckhalter . Johnson tried to rally his team back with a pair of drives deep into Eagles territory , but both of them were ended with interceptions . First , defensive back Troy Vincent picked off a pass from Johnson in the end zone with 4 : 09 left in the third quarter . Then late in the fourth quarter , safety Brian Dawkins intercepted Johnson on Philadelphia ' s 3 - yard line . Following a punt , Moore put the game away by recording his second interception and returning it 59 yards for a touchdown .