2000: Eagles Defeat Bucs in NFC Wild Card Playoff Game

The Philadelphia Eagles were back in the playoffs for the first time in four years as they hosted the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a NFC Wild Card playoff game on December 31, 2000. In their second season under Head Coach Andy Reid, the Eagles had gone from 5-11 to 11-5 and finished second in the NFC East. QB Donovan McNabb (pictured above) was the key to the offense with his passing and running ability. The ground game had suffered since RB Duce Staley went down with a foot injury in the fifth week, and ex-Seattle and Dallas RB Chris Warren joined the club late in order to try and upgrade the position for the postseason. Key players on the opportunistic defense were DE Hugh Douglas, MLB Jeremiah Trotter, and FS Brian Dawkins. Following an uneven start, Philadelphia was hot coming into the postseason, having won six of its last seven games.

Tampa Bay was coached by Tony Dungy and placed second in the NFC Central at 10-6. A strong defense was the key to the club’s recent success and was especially adept at pressuring opposing quarterbacks. All-Pro DT Warren Sapp accounted for 16.5 sacks and DE Marcus Jones another 13. The offense was conservative and keyed by the ground game that featured the running back tandem of Warrick Dunn and Mike Alstott. But WR Keyshawn Johnson was talented, QB Shaun King was unexceptional. The Buccaneers also had difficulty playing in weather under 40 degrees, and they faced temperatures in the thirties with a wind chill that made it seem much colder in Philadelphia.

There were 65,813 fans present on a chilly night at Veterans Stadium. The teams exchanged punts through a scoreless first quarter. On their first possession of the second quarter, the Buccaneers advanced into Philadelphia territory for the first time. Shaun King completed passes to Warrick Dunn for 12 yards, Keyshawn Johnson for 14, and Mike Alstott for eight yards, after which Alstott ran for 18 yards to the Philadelphia 17. The drive stalled at the 11 and Martin Gramatica kicked a 29-yard field goal for the first points of the game.

The Eagles had to punt following their next possession but got the ball back at the Tampa Bay 15 when King fumbled while being sacked by Hugh Douglas and DE Mike Mamula recovered. It was the culmination of a series in which the Philadelphia defense pushed the Buccaneers back nine yards on two running plays. Four plays later, Donovan McNabb ran up the middle for a five-yard touchdown. David Akers added the extra point to give the Eagles a 7-3 lead.

The Bucs punted again and, after RB Brian Mitchell returned the kick 16 yards, the Eagles had the ball at their 31 with 1:43 remaining in the first half and drove 69 yards in eight plays. McNabb completed back-to-back passes to Mitchell for 13 and 11 yards and, following an incompletion, it was Mitchell running for six yards and then grabbing another pass for nine yards to the Tampa Bay 30. McNabb connected with WR Charles Johnson for 25 yards and with WR Na Brown in the end zone for a five-yard TD (pictured below) with 12 seconds remaining on the clock. Akers again kicked the point after to give Philadelphia a 14-3 halftime lead.

The Eagles had the first possession in the third quarter and put together a long drive. McNabb completed seven passes, none longer than nine yards, and Chris Warren had a pair of seven-yard runs. But Philadelphia came up empty when Akers missed a 36-yard field goal attempt.

The Buccaneers again had to punt and, in a series that stretched into the fourth quarter, the home team advanced 57 yards in 10 plays, helped along by a pass interference call on the Bucs. McNabb threw to TE Jeff Thomason for a two-yard touchdown, Akers converted, and the Eagles held an 18-point advantage.

Following another Tampa Bay punt, the Buccaneers got the ball back when CB Donnie Abraham intercepted a McNabb pass at the Philadelphia 47. King passed to TE Dave Moore for nine yards on first down, but an offensive pass interference penalty moved the visitors back ten yards on the next play, and while a throw to WR Reidel Anthony gained back six yards, two more passes fell incomplete and the Bucs turned the ball over on downs.

The Eagles were able to run almost four minutes off the clock as Warren carried on every play, gaining 27 yards on five carries before being tossed for a three-yard loss on third down at the Tampa Bay 35. Sean Landeta’s punt pinned the Bucs back at their six, but three plays later King passed to Keyshawn Johnson for a 41-yard gain to midfield. But once again the visitors had to give up the ball on downs, this time at the Philadelphia 21, in what proved to be their last gasp with 3:50 left on the clock. The Eagles were able to run out the clock behind Warren’s running and won by a final score of 21-3.

Philadelphia led in total yards (277 to 199), first downs (20 to 11), and time of possession (34:53 to 25:07). The Eagles rushed for 126 yards while the defense held Tampa Bay to just 50 yards on 19 attempts. They also recorded four sacks to two by the Buccaneers. Each team turned the ball over once.

Donovan McNabb completed 24 of 33 passes for 161 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. He also ran the ball eight times for 32 yards and a TD. Chris Warren (pictured below) rushed for 85 yards on 22 carries, much of that as the team controlled the ball in the fourth quarter. Charles Johnson and Brian Mitchell each caught a team-leading five passes, for 47 and 37 yards, respectively. Mitchell averaged 12.7 yards on his three punt returns.

For the Buccaneers, Shaun King was successful on 17 of 31 throws for 171 yards with no TDs or interceptions. Keyshawn Johnson caught 6 passes for 106 yards. But Mike Alstott gained 42 yards on 7 carries and Warrick Dunn was held to only one yard on 8 attempts, although he had five pass receptions for 28 yards.

The first win for the Eagles in the postseason under Coach Reid, of an eventual 10, was followed by a loss to the division-rival New York Giants in the Divisional round. They reached the NFC Championship game following the 2001 season. Tampa Bay was 9-7 in ’01, qualified for the playoffs once more as a Wild Card, and again lost at Philadelphia in the first postseason round.

2000: Rams Edge Bucs in Defensive Battle for NFC Title

After nine straight losing seasons, dating back to when the franchise was still located in Los Angeles, the St. Louis Rams rose to 13-3 in 1999 and were in the playoffs for the first time since 1989. 63-year-old Head Coach Dick Vermeil, in his third year at the helm following a lengthy hiatus from coaching, had built an offensive powerhouse, although it certainly didn’t look to be the case when newly-acquired QB Trent Green went down with a season-ending injury in the preseason. But in a stunning development, unheralded backup QB Kurt Warner stepped into the job with spectacular results. He was helped by the presence of outstanding veteran WR Isaac Bruce and rookie WR Torry Holt as well as, perhaps most significantly, RB Marshall Faulk, obtained from the Colts, who had over a thousand yards each in rushing and catching the ball. The defense was an afterthought but was also much improved. The high-powered offense had been on full display in a 49-37 Divisional round win over the Vikings.

On January 23, 2000 the Rams hosted the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the NFC Championship. Coached by Tony Dungy, the Bucs went 11-5 in topping the NFC Central and were coming off of a one-point win over Washington in the Divisional playoff round. They featured an outstanding defense that included DT Warren Sapp, linebackers Derrick Brooks and Hardy Nickerson, and SS John Lynch, all of whom went to the Pro Bowl. The offense was conservative and ground-oriented, depending on running backs Mike Alstott and Warrick Dunn. QB Shaun King had replaced injured veteran Trent Dilfer and was attempting to become the first rookie quarterback to guide his team to a Super Bowl. Nevertheless, the Rams came into the contest as solid 14-point favorites.

There were 66,946 fans at the Trans World Dome hoping to see their team win its first conference title since moving to St. Louis. Kurt Warner received an immediate indication that he was in for a battle when his first pass was tipped and then intercepted by DE Steve White in St. Louis territory. The Bucs got a 25-yard field goal by Martin Gramatica off of the turnover to take a 3-0 lead.

St. Louis came back to score with a methodical 16-play drive that covered 74 yards and led to a Jeff Wilkins field goal from 24 yards. On the first play of the second quarter, the Rams got a break on defense when a snap to Shaun King, in shotgun formation, flew past the quarterback and into the end zone. King, seeking to prevent a possible defensive touchdown, knocked the ball through the end zone for a safety.

The Rams had a chance to score again after the free kick but a 44-yard field goal try by Wilkins was unsuccessful. The teams traded punts and the Bucs put together a promising drive that reached the St. Louis 24. However, Mike Alstott was then thrown back for a two-yard loss and King was sacked by LB Charlie Clemons to take them out of field goal range. Before the first half was over Tampa Bay threatened again, but CB Todd Lyght intercepted King’s pass at the St. Louis 33 to extinguish the drive. The Rams carried a precarious 5-3 lead into halftime.

Opening the third quarter, the Buccaneers put together a solid series that covered 66 yards in nine plays and included a pass from King to WR Jacquez Green for 32 yards in a third-and-eight situation that had more yardage attached due to a facemask penalty. Gramatica capped the drive with a 23-yard field goal that put Tampa Bay in front by 6-5.

The Rams came out throwing on their next series as Warner tossed nine passes and they moved from their 13 to the Tampa Bay 24. But the tenth pass was picked off by LB Hardy Nickerson at the Tampa Bay two to snuff out a scoring threat with just under four minutes remaining in the period.

The Buccaneers kept the ball on the ground and punted. Now in the fourth quarter, Warner again threw an interception in the Rams’ next series, this time with CB Brian Kelly giving Tampa Bay good field position at the St. Louis 42. The Bucs were unable to do anything with it and the teams again traded punts.

The Rams made a big play on defense midway through the fourth quarter when rookie CB Dre’ Bly intercepted a Shaun King pass at midfield. Six plays later, in a third-and-four situation, the Rams finally hit pay dirt.

With 4:44 left in the game, Warner threw to the team’s number four receiver, WR Ricky Proehl, who pulled the pass in along the left sideline over a leaping Brian Kelly for a 30-yard touchdown. While he juggled the ball momentarily, he came down cleanly in the end zone (pictured at top). The pass attempt for a two-point conversion failed but the Rams were back in front.

The Buccaneers had time but continued to come up short against the Rams defense. On their final drive, the Rams came through with two sacks of King, by DT Jeff Zgonina and DE Grant Wistrom. With 47 seconds left, an apparent 13-yard completion to WR Bert Emanuel to the St. Louis 23 was overturned on review. King, needing long yardage, then tossed two incomplete passes to end any hopes for the Bucs. St. Louis came away with a hard-fought 11-6 win to advance to the Super Bowl.

The Rams led in total yards (309 to 203) and first downs (17 to 12). Neither team was able to run the ball effectively, with the Bucs gaining 77 yards on 23 rushing attempts and St. Louis amassing just 51 yards on 21 carries. The Rams turned the ball over three times, to two by Tampa Bay, while the St. Louis defense stepped up with five sacks.

Kurt Warner, heavily harassed but never sacked, completed 26 of 43 passes for 258 yards with a touchdown but also three critical interceptions. The Tampa Bay defense did a good job of taking Marshall Faulk and Isaac Bruce out of the game – Faulk rushed for 44 yards on 17 carries, with six of those rushing attempts going for either no gain or a loss, and had only three catches for five yards, and Bruce gained 22 yards on three pass receptions. Instead, slow but dependable Ricky Proehl, typically an afterthought in the speed-based passing attack, gained 100 yards on 6 catches that included the game-winning TD and Torry Holt hauled in 7 receptions for 68 yards.                                                                                   

For the Buccaneers, Shaun King (pictured below) was successful on 13 of 29 throws for 163 yards with no TDs but three interceptions. Mike Alstott rushed for 39 yards on 12 carries and Warrick Dunn contributed 35 yards on 9 attempts. Dunn also was the team’s co-leader with four catches, for 37 yards, while Jacquez Green gained 59 yards on his four receptions.

“Kurt (Warner) and I talked prior to the play on a TV timeout,” explained Ricky Proehl, who had not caught a touchdown pass during the regular season, of the game-winning score. “He said if the safety comes we’re running a fade. They had good coverage. I went up to the ball and tried to screen (Brian Kelly) off. I was fortunate to make the play.”

“Kurt Warner put it (the pass) up exactly where he had to put it,” said Warren Sapp. “You take your hat off. He threw it early because we had the blitz on, but he put it in a perfect spot. That’s why he made the play.”

Speaking about the Tampa Bay defense after the game, a relieved Kurt Warner said, “they had a great scheme coming in. We never knew when they were going to blitz and when they weren’t. It seemed like everything we did, they were all over us.”

The Rams went on to win a close-fought Super Bowl over the Tennessee Titans. With Coach Vermeil stepping down into what became a brief retirement, offensive coordinator Mike Martz was promoted to head coach and St. Louis went 10-6 in 2000, losing to division-rival New Orleans in the Wild Card round. Tampa Bay came back to go 10-6 in 2000 and finish second in the NFC Central, although still grabbing a Wild Card spot in the playoffs. The Bucs fell to Philadelphia, also in the first postseason round.