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Sunday, December 29, 2002 - Chicago Bears vs. BuccaneersFan BUCS helmet Buccaneers vs. Chicago Bears Sunday, December 29, 2002 - BuccaneersFan BUCS classic helmet

Sunday, December 29, 2002 - Away Game

WON - Tampa Bay Buccaneers 15 Chicago Bears 00

In the final week of the season, Tampa Bay Buccaneers traveled to Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois, to meet the Chicago Bears. A win would secure the #2 seed and a first-round bye in the playoffs. Brad Johnson sat out for the second game in a row, and Rob Johnson started the game at the delight of Buccaneers Fans.

The temperature at kickoff was 38°, and Tampa Bay looked to snap a 0–21 record in games under 40°. Rob Johnson passed for 134 yards and no interceptions, and Michael Pittman rushed for 90 yards, but the Buccaneers offense could not score a touchdown. Martín Gramática kicked a franchise-best 5-out-of-5 field goals, and his 15 points were the only scores of the game.

Bears quarterback Henry Burris was intercepted four times by Tampa Bay (twice by Brian Kelly, and once each by Brooks and Smith).

With the win, Buccaneers secured a bye for the wild card round and recorded the club's first win with the temperature under 40°.

The Buccaneers finished with a franchise-best 12–4 regular season record along with a club-best 6–2 road record.

GAMEDAY BRIEF

  • WEATHER: Cloudy - 38°F. - Humidity 55% - Wind S.E. 7 mph Wind Chill 33°F.
  • OFFICALS
    • REFEREE: Bernie Kukar
    • UMPIRE: Bill Schuster
    • HEAD LINESMAN: Ed Camp
    • LINE JUDGE: Tom Barnes
    • SIDE JUDGE: Tom Hill
    • BACK JUDGE: Steve Freeman
    • FIELD JUDGE: Lloyd McPeters
    • REPLAY OFFICIAL: Bob Mantooth
    • VIDEO OPERATOR: not documented
    SCORING
    • BUCCANEERS: 03:22-2Q Gramatica FG30
    • BUCCANEERS: 00:02-2Q Gramatica FG32
    • BUCCANEERS: 13:12-4Q Gramatica FG33
    • BUCCANEERS: 07:05-4Q Gramatica FG33
    • BUCCANEERS: 03:14-4Q Gramatica FG26
    STARTERS OFFENSE
    • WR: #19 K. Johnson
    • LT: #72 R. Oben
    • LG: #71 K. Jenkins
    • C: #62 J. Christy
    • RG: #60 C. Coleman
    • RT: #67 K. Walker
    • TE: #85 K. Dilger
    • WR: #87 K. McCardell
    • QB: #11 R. Johnson
    • RB: #32 M. Pittman
    • FB: #40 M. Alstott
    STARTERS DEFENSE
    • LE: #94 G. Spires
    • DT: #99 W. Sapp
    • NT: #91 C. Darby
    • RE: #97 S. Rice
    • SLB: #51 A. Singleton
    • MLB: #53 S. Quarles
    • WLB: #55 D. Brooks
    • LCB: #25 B. Kelly
    • RCB: #20 R. Barber
    • SS: #47 J. Lynch
    • FS: #34 D. Jackson
    SUBSTITUTIONS
    • 7 Gramatica, 9 Tupa, 23 Phillips, 26 Smith, 27 Stecker, 30 Barnes, 35 Ivy, 38 Howell, 43 Cook, 52 Webster, 58 Golden, 66 Benjamin, 74 Green, 75 Brown, 77 Washington, 80 Yoder, 83 Jurevicius, 86 Williams, 88 Dudley, 93 Claybrooks, 95 Warner, 96 Wyms
    DID NOT PLAY
    • 10 King
    INACTIVE
    • 14 Johnson, 31 Wansley, 64 Goodspeed, 81 Lee, 84 Barlow, 89 Crawford, 90 Gurley

    INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

    RUSHING
    • BUCCANEERS: Pittman 21-90, Alstott 12-42, R.Johnson 3-29.
    • BEARS: Peterson 7-42, Johnson 9-21, Burris 4-14, Sauter 2-8.
    PASSING
    • BUCCANEERS: R.Johnson 25-16-134-0-0.
    • BEARS: Burris 19-7-78-4-0, Sauter 9-6-59-0-0, Brooks 1-0-0-0-0.
    RECIEVING
    • BUCCANEERS: K.Johnson 5-41, Dilger 3-32, Pittman 2-28, Jurevicius 2-12, McCardell 2-11, Dudley 1-6, Alstott 1-4.
    • BEARS: Booker 4-25, Merritt 4-22, White 2-21, Johnson 1-31, Gilmore 1-30, Shelton 1-8.
    INTERCEPTIONS
    • BUCCANEERS: Kelly 2-(-1), Brooks 1-44, Smith 1-2.
    • BEARS: none.
    KICK RETURNS
    • BUCCANEERS: Stecker 1-29.
    • BEARS: Merritt 4-106.
    PUNT RETURNS
    • BUCCANEERS: Jackson 1-21, Williams 1-7.
    • BEARS: Merritt 2-11, Johnson 1-13.
    SACKS
    • BUCCANEERS: Wyms 1-4.
    • BEARS: Daniels 1.5-6.5, Boone 1.5-4.5, Green 1-10, Urlacher 0.5-1.5, Howard 0.5-0.5.

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