Game Recaps

The return of head-coach Tony Dungy to Tampa Bay was a memorable one, as the Indianapolis Colts rallied for 21 points in the final 3:37 of regulation and won the game on a controversial 2nd field goal try by kicker Mike Vanderjagt in overtime. Tampa Bay dominated the Colts for 56 minutes, but QB Peyton Manning and WR Marvin Harrison led the Colts to an improbable comeback after nearly half of the fans at Raymond James Stadium had left the stadium assuming a Buccaneer victory. It was the first time in NFL history that a team had come back to win after trailing by 21 or more points with less than 4 minutes to go.

Peyton Manning rebounded from a mediocre first half and finished the game with 386 yards passing and two touchdowns. He hooked up with Marvin Harrison on touchdown passes of 37 and 28 yards. The Buccaneers pressured Manning repeatedly during the first half, but could not contain him after switching to a prevent defense for most of the 2nd half. In overtime, he completed two key passes to WR Reggie Wayne, which resulted in the game winning field goal attempts.

Marvin Harrison struggled in the 1st half. The Buccaneers defense swarmed him whenever Manning looked his way. This all changed in the 2nd half as the Tampa Bay defense stopped attacking. He caught a 37-yard touchdown pass on the first drive of the half and added a 28-yard TD before the two-minute warning. He also set up the tying touchdown with a 52-yard catch to the Tampa Bay 6-yard line.

RB Ricky Williams started in place of Edgerrin James for the second straight game. He ran well up the middle of the Tampa Bay defense, and finished with 56 yards and two touchdowns, while catching 7 passes for 38 yards.

After RB James Mungro's TD cut the Buccaneer lead to 35-21, PK Mike Vanderjagt executed a beautiful popup onside-kick. In overtime, on 4th down and 1 yard to go, his field goal attempt sailed wide-right. A late penalty on Buccaneers DE Simeon Rice for "leaping" of all things, gave Vanderjagt another try. This time, on 1st down, Vanderjagt's 29-yard try was partially deflected at the line of scrimmage. The ball hit the right upright and caromed through for the winning score.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Before Tampa Bay's defense collapsed and lost the game, QB Brad Johnson repeatedly connected with open receivers down the middle of the field. He finished with 318 yards and 3 touchdowns, along with 1 interception. The interception resulted in Tampa Bay's second touchdown. Johnson overthrew TE Ken Dilger over the middle, and Colts safety Mike Doss intercepted the ball. He returned it past midfield, before fumbling. WR Keenan McCardell picked up the ball at his own 53-yard line and loped untouched into the end zone.

In addition to the fumble recovery, McCardell caught 4 passes for 106 yards and two touchdowns. His 74-yard TD catch in the first quarter started the scoring and his 15-yard TD catch gave the Buccaneers a 28-7 lead.

WR Keyshawn Johnson caught 4 passes for 62 yards, but left the game in the 4th quarter with a thigh bruise and did not return.

RB Michael Pittman ran hard all game long, but was injured mid-way through the 4th quarter when he was called to play on the "hands-team" for a possible onside-kick attempt. Before the injury, he tallied 106 yards on just 16 carries, while catching 4 passes for 35 yards. The Buccaneers were unable to run the ball after his injury.

PK Martin Gramatica missed a 60-yard field goal just short on the final play of the first half. His 62-yard try at the end of regulation was blocked. When the Buccaneers overtime drive stalled at the Colts' 41-yard line, Gruden did not call on him for a potential 58-yard kick to win the game.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

Indianapolis Colts

QB: Peyton Manning (34-47-386, with 2 TDs and 1 INT) engineered a brilliant comeback effort after a difficult 1st half. Tampa Bay pressured Manning relentlessly early on, but Manning picked apart the prevent-defense in the 4th quarter and overtime. Early in the game, the Buccaneers defense forced him into short dump passes, which were well covered. When it mattered, though, Manning was able to get the ball to Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne at will.

RB: Ricky Williams (13-56-2 rushing, with 7 catches for 38 yards on 11 targets) filled in well for Edgerrin James, despite the fact that ABC announcer Al Michaels accidentally referred to Miami's Ricky Williams as "the real Ricky Williams". He was effective in the passing game and showed a nose for the end zone. He received 4 carries in the red zone. At the Tampa 4-yard line he carried 3 yards to the 1 and appeared to cross the goal line. Dungy gave him another try and he scored to cut the Tampa Bay lead to 28-14. In the final drive of regulation, he carried 4 yards to the Tampa Bay 1-yard line, then ran for the final yard to tie the game at 35-35.

James Mungro ran 6 times for 20 yards, including a 3-yard touchdown, but did not impress. He was not a factor in the passing game, and the offense did not perform well overall when he spelled Williams.

WR: Marvin Harrison (11-176-2, on 16 targets) was frustrated in the 1st half but was unstoppable in the 2nd. He began the 2nd with a 37-yard TD catch for the Colts' first score of the game. On this play, Manning pumped left while Harrison used the extra time to run past DB Tim Wansley. Then, with the Colts trailing 35-21, Harrison broke free down the right side on 4th and 6 for the TD that kept the game alive. On the tying touchdown drive, Harrison again broke free past Wansley for a 52-yard catch to the Buccaneers 6-yard line.

Reggie Wayne (4-59 on 5 targets) went unused for most of the game, but contributed heavily on the game-winning drive. Early on, Manning never seemed to have time to look his way. Then in overtime, Manning hooked up with him for 16 yards on 3rd and 11. Later, he caught another 16-yard catch to the Buccaneers 21-yard line.

Troy Walters added 4 catches for 42 yards and was targeted 5 times.

TE: Marcus Pollard caught 2 passes for 44 yards, but it was Dallas Clark who was Manning's favorite TE choice. He finished with 5 catches for just 23 yards on 6 targets, before Manning gave up on the tight-end screen.

PK: Mike Vanderjagt made all 5 PATs, and the only FG try that will show up in the box score. His 29-yard FG scraped the goalpost on its way through. He never should have had the second chance. He pushed the first try, a 40-yard kick, right. The leaping penalty on Simeon Rice allowed him a shot at redemption, which he barely converted.

Run Defense: The Colts run defense was below average. Michael Pittman ran hard and ran successfully. After Pittman was injured, they contained Aaron Stecker and Thomas Jones. They stuffed Jones twice for just a yard in their territory in overtime, forcing punts.

Pass Defense: The Indianapolis pass defense was porous. They failed to pressure Brad Johnson, while failing to cover Keenan McCardell at any time. S Mike Doss left his deep coverage on McCardell's opening 74-yard TD. Then, after intercepting a Brad Johnson pass, he fumbled it right back. McCardell picked it up and ran 57 yards with it for a 14-0 lead. They also left the middle of the field wide-open, and the Buccaneers used this advantage to gain the early lead. They did stop the Buccaneers final two offensive plays in overtime, both intended for McCardell.

Also, LB Jim Nelson left with a fractured collarbone.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

QB: Brad Johnson (26-39-318, with 3 TDs and 1 INT) played very well. He executed coach Gruden's offense to near perfection, as the Buccaneers built their big lead, When the game tightened suddenly, he was without WR Keyshawn Johnson, and RBs Michael Pittman and Mike Alstott. Johnson moved well in the pocket when he needed to, and continually hit open receivers down the middle of the field.

RB: Michael Pittman (16-106 and 4 catches for 35 yards on 5 targets) played perhaps his best game as a Buccaneer, until he left the game late in the game with his team ahead 35-14. He and Mike Alstott both left after hurting themselves on the "hands team". He ran hard and broke tackles well while he was in the game. He carried 3 times for 18 yards and two first downs on his final drive, which used up nearly 4 minutes and at the time seemed to seal the win.

Mike Alstott and Thomas Jones were not effective in the running game. Alstott did have a 17-yard reception. Aaron Stecker carried 9 times for 22 yards.

WR: Keenan McCardell (4-106-2 plus a 57-yard fumble recovery, on 10 targets) stood as the MVP of the game until the Colts late heroics turned it around. His 74-yard catch to open the scoring was wide open. Thanks to a bad bite by Mike Doss, McCardell found himself one-on-one with LB Rob Morris, who tripped. McCardell waltzed in for the TD, untouched. His 15-yard TD in the 3rd quarter was a nice corner route to the right sideling. He was able to drag both feet as he hauled the ball in.

Keyshawn Johnson caught 4 passes for 62 yards on 6 targets before leaving the game with a thigh bruise, The middle of the field tightened up after he left.

Reggie Barlow caught 2 passes for 14 yards, including a 3-yard slant for a TD.

TE: Ken Dilger caught 6 passes for 63 yards in 12 targets. He was open often down the middle of the field. He was the target on Johnson's interception, which resulted in a Tampa Bay touchdown.

PK: Martin Gramatica missed from 60 and 62 yards out, and made all 5 PATs. The 60-yard kick just before halftime just missed short. The 62-yard kick at the end of regulation was blocked.

Run Defense: The center of the Tampa Bay defense can be run upon. The Colts began the game running wide left and right, before realizing they could hit the middle. Tampa Bay gained just 74 yards on 22 carries, but could not stop them near the goal line.

Pass Defense: The Tampa Bay defense played well against the pass until they went to the prevent defense. Even after that, they did manage a 29-yard touchdown on an interception return by Ronde Barber. This marked the 45th game in a row that Tampa Bay has had both a sack and an INT. Once they went to the prevent defense, everything came apart. Marvin Harrison was suddenly wide open on most plays, and if he wasn't Reggie Wayne was. In overtime, they seemed unable to turn the intensity back on. Their total collapse cost the team the game.