1998 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season The 1998 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season was seen as a disappointment following their breakthrough 1997 season . It was their first season in Raymond James Stadium . They were the only team to beat the Minnesota Vikings during the regular season . In week 16 they recorded the biggest road win in their history against the Cincinnati Bengals . However , it was not enough to secure a playoff place . The season was marked by close losses in which touchdowns had been called back due to referee error . Game summaries . Week 1 : at Minnesota Vikings . Coming off their playoff season from 1997 , the Buccaneers opened 1998 on the road with high expectations . Receiver Bert Emanuel went out with a sprained ankle , and Tampa Bay lost 31 - 7 . Week 2 : at Green Bay Packers . Jacques Green returned a punt 95 yards for a touchdown ( only his second - career return attempt ) to set a franchise record for longest punt return . However , Green Bay won 23 - 15 . Week 3 : Chicago Bears . The highly - anticipated first game at brand new Raymond James Stadium saw the Buccaneers face the Bears . After falling behind 15 - 0 at halftime , Tampa Bay scored 27 unanswered points to win 27 - 15 . Dave Moore caught a one - handed pass for a 44 - yard touchdown in the third quarter . In the fourth quarter , Warrick Dunn ran for a 44 - yard touchdown . Raymond James Stadium was opened with a victory , and the Buccaneers improved to 1 - 2 . Week 4 : at Detroit Lions . On Monday Night Football , Tampa Bay faced Detroit at the Silvedome . Despite clinging to a 6 - 3 deficit at halftime , Tampa Bay ' s sputtering offense and defensive miscues cost any chance at victory . Barry Sanders rushed for 131 yards , Bryant Westbrook returned an interception 34 yards for a touchdown , and Terry Fair returned a Lions record 105 - yard kickoff return touchdown . Two apparent touchdown passes by Trent Dilfer were called back for penalty , and Tampa Bay fell 27 - 6 . Week 5 : New York Giants . Only a minute and a half into the game , Charles Mincy intercepted Kanell for a 22 - yard touchdown return . Tampa Bay would never trail in the game . The Buccaneer defense held the Giants to only 135 total yards , and picked off Kanell three times in the 20 - 3 victory . Week 7 : Carolina Panthers . Tampa Bay evened their record to 3 - 3 with a win over Carolina . The Panthers led 13 - 3 in the fourth quarter , but Trent Dilfer led the Buccaneers for a rally in the final 5 minutes . On a roll out , Dilfer ran in for a 1 - yard touchdown , then on the next possession , scored the go - ahead touchdown . Karl Williams caught a 29 - yard touchdown pass in the corner of the endzone with 1 : 39 to go to seal the victory 16 - 13 . The Buccaneers improved to 3 - 0 at Raymond James Stadium . Week 8 : at New Orleans Saints . The Tampa Bay offense dropped seven passes , Patrick Hape lost a fumble at the Saints 3 yard line , and Trent Dilfer threw an interception , as offensive futility again plagued the Buccaneers , resulting in a 9 - 3 loss at New Orleans . Three times the Buccaneers had the ball inside the Saints 25 yard line , but came up with zero points . At one point , Bert Emanuel caught a touchdown pass , but the officials ruled it incomplete , saying he " trapped " the ball against the turf . Week 9 : Minnesota Vikings . The Vikings entered week 9 at Tampa Bay undefeated at 8 - 0 . Derrick Brooks intercepted Randal Cunningham , setting up Warrick Dunn ' s first touchdown run . A back and forth game saw the score tied 17 - 17 at halftime . Minnesota took a 24 - 17 lead in the third quarter , but Tampa Bay came back in the fourth . A field goal followed by a Mike Alstott touchdown run with just under six minutes remaining gave the Bucs a 27 - 24 lead . The Buccaneers had two rushers over 100 yards : Alstott ( 128 ) and Dunn ( 115 ) , with Alstott sealing the game late with a rush of 38 yards . Tampa Bay defeated Minnesota 27 - 24 , the Vikings ' first ( and only ) loss of the regular season . The Bucs remained at 0 . 500 , improving to 4 - 4 , and were now 4 - 0 at Raymond James Stadium . Week 10 : Tennessee Oilers . Trailing 24 - 22 at the two - minute warning , Tennessee was facing 3rd down & 8 at their own 29 yard line . A defensive stop by Tampa Bay would have given them the ball back , and an opportunity to drive for a game - winning field goal . However , quarterback Steve McNair broke out for a 71 - yard touchdown run , and the Tennessee Oilers won 31 - 22 . Week 11 : at Jacksonville Jaguars . Tampa Bay was leading 24 - 23 with three minutes remaining . Fred Taylor broke out for a 70 - yard touchdown run with 2 : 40 left , and Jacksonville won 29 - 24 . Week 12 : Detroit Lions . Tampa Bay trailed 21 - 7 , but rallied late . With just over two minutes remaining , Trent Dilfer drove the Buccaneers to the Detroit 11 yard line . He was intercepted in the endzone , and Detroit held on to win 28 - 25 . It was Tampa Bay ' s third straight loss . Week 13 : at Chicago Bears . Tampa Bay got back to their winning ways , winning their first road game of the season at Chicago . Late in the second quarter , the Buccaneers blocked a Bears punt , and Ronde Barber scooped it up . He returned the ball 21 yards for a touchdown . As time expired in the first half , Trent Dilfer threw up a Hail Mary touchdown , which was caught by Brice Hunter , his first career NFL touchdown . The Bucs took a 21 - 14 lead into halftime , and won the game 31 - 17 . Tampa Bay ' s record was now 5 - 7 , still alive for the wild card hunt . Week 14 : Green Bay Packers . Tampa Bay hosted Green Bay in their first Monday Night Football home game since 1982 . Tampa bay forced 8 fumbles , and sacked Brett Favre 8 times . Late in the first quarter , Trent Dilfer connected to Jacquez Green for a 64 - yard touchdown pass . Minutes later , at the beginning of the second quarter , Dilfer passed to Bert Emanuel in a nearly identical 62 - yard touchdown pass . Leading 17 - 15 in the fourth quarter , Dilfer scrambled through the middle of the Packers defensive line to score a 6 - yard touchdown , and a 24 - 15 lead . Green bay would trim the deficit to 24 - 22 , but the Buccaneers held on to win . Tampa Bay improved to 6 - 7 on the season . Week 15 : Pittsburgh Steelers . Tampa Bay won their third game in a row , shutting down the Steelers to just 168 yard of offense . The Tampa Bay defense intercepted Kordell Stewart three times , and Mike Tomczak once . Mike Alstott ran for 78 yards on a wet and rainy day . The Steelers only points came early in the fourth quarter . Tampa Bay won 16 - 3 and evened their record at 7 - 7 . They were now back in the hunt for the wild card . Week 16 : at Washington Redskins . Tampa Bay ' s playoff chances were dealt a big blow in week 16 at Washington . Tampa Bay led the Redskins 16 - 7 early in the fourth quarter , but blew the lead at the end . Leading 16 - 13 with six minutes to go , Jacquez Green fumbled a kickoff , turning the ball over . On the next play , Stephen Alexander caught the game - winning touchdown for Washington . Tampa Bay had two last chances to come back , but both times , Trent Dilfer threw interceptions . The Buccaneers fell to 7 - 8 on the season , and would need to win in week 17 to keep their playoff hopes alive . Week 17 : at Cincinnati Bengals . Tampa Bay clobered Cincinnati 35 - 0 , a franchise best for a road shutout . Mike Alstott scored three rushing touchdowns , and the Bucs defense intercepted the Bengals twice ( including a 56 - yard return by Ronde Barber ) Tampa Bay finished 8 - 8 on the season , winning four out of their last five games , and the end of the game , were still alive for an NFC wild card spot . Tampa Bay needed the Giants to beat the Eagles and the Chargers to beat the Cardinals . The Giants won , helping Tampa Bay , but the Cardinals beat the Chargers 16 - 13 with a 52 - yard field goal as time expired . By the time the Buccaneers ' plane had landed back in Tampa , they were ousted from the playoffs .