1999 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Season 24 Brief

The season began with the team trying to improve on an 8–8 season. Rookie Shaun King replaced the injured and inconsistent Trent Dilfer late in the season. King helped rebound the team to their first NFC Central title in 18 years.

Leading 6–5 late in the NFC Championship game against the Rams, the Buccaneers lost the lead after a late Ricky Proehl touchdown. With less than a minute remaining, a controversial instant replay reversal of a catch by Bert Emanuel foiled their hopes at an upset victory and a trip to Super Bowl XXXIV.

PLAYOFFS

NFC Divisional Playoff Game Against the Washington Redskins

The Buccaneers forced two key turnovers in the second half to rally from a 13–0 deficit, while their defense held Washington to just 157 yards, with only 32 in the second half.

After a scoreless first quarter, a 35-yard punt from Mark Royals gave the Redskins great field position on the Tampa Bay 43-yard line. Brad Johnson started out the drive with a 19-yard completion to Albert Connell, and then a 12-yard run by Stephen Davis set up a 28-yard field goal from Brett Conway with 5:37 remaining in the second quarter. Then in the second half, Brian Mitchell returned the opening kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown, a playoff record. Later in the third quarter, Darrell Green intercepted a pass from Buccaneers quarterback Shaun King and returned it 12 yards to the Buccaneers 36-yard line, setting up Conway's second field goal to take a 13–0 lead. But after a Bucs punt, Tampa Bay safety John Lynch intercepted a pass from Johnson on the Tampa Bay 27-yard line. Aided by a 31-yard pass interference penalty on Leomont Evans, the Buccaneers subsequently drove 73 yards in 6 plays and scored on Mike Alstott's 2-yard touchdown run. Then in the fourth quarter, defensive tackle Steve White forced a fumble from Brad Johnson while sacking him and Warren Sapp recovered the ball on the Redskins 32-yard line. King then went to work, completing a 17-yard pass to Bert Emanuel and a 13-yard pass to Warrick Dunn. On fourth down and 1, Alstott's 5-yard run moved the ball to the Washtingon 3-yard line, and King eventually finished the drive with a 1-yard touchdown pass to John Davis.

The Redskins had a chance to win the game with a 52-yard field goal attempt in the final seconds of the game, but the snap from center Dan Turk to Brad Johnson, the holder, was off and the Bucs won. Contrary to popular belief, the snap was not to Matt Turk, the team's punter, and also his brother. This was Dan Turk's last game in the NFL, as he died later that year due to cancer. Meanwhile, King became the first rookie to lead his team to a playoff win since Pat Haden in 1976.

NFC Championship Game Against the St. Louis Rams

The Rams and Buccaneers would slug it out for most of the game, with the Buccaneers defense holding the Rams highly-potent offense in check. Tampa Bay, weak on offense, would only muster two field goals, and gave up a costly safety in the second quarter when a bad snap from center went over the head of rookie quarterback Shaun King and out of the endzone. Despite this, the Buccaneers nursed an unusual 6–5 lead into the 4th Quarter. The Rams broke open a defense dominated game when Kurt Warner threw a touchdown pass to Ricky Proehl with 4:44 left in the game. The Buccaneers would mount a drive on their final possession, however a replay overturned what appeared to be a reception by Buccaneers wide receiver Bert Emanuel, and the Buccaneers never recovered.

On the first play of the game, Bucs defensive end Steve White intercepted a screen pass from Warner on the Rams 20-yard line, setting up a 25-yard field goal from Martin Gramatica. But that was all they could manage in the first quarter. On one possession, they moved the ball to the St. Louis 23-yard line, but then King was sacked and fumbled. Tampa Bay recovered the ball, but lost 12 yards and were pushed out of field goal range. Then with 11 seconds left in the period, King threw a pass from the St. Louis 41-yard line that went right into the surprised arms of defensive back Todd Lyght. The Rams didn't do much better. After Gramatica's field goal, they drove 74 yards in 16 plays before a fumbled handoff from Warner to Marshall Faulk on third down forced them to settle for a 24-yard field goal by Jeff Wilkins. Then on their next drive, Wilkins missed a field goal attempt from 44 yards.

In the second quarter, a high snap from Bucs center Tony Mayberry went over King's head and into the end zone. King managed to knock the ball out of the end zone to prevent a touchdown, but it gave the Rams a safety and a 5–3 lead. This would be the score by halftime, despite the Rams 159–75 advantage over the Buccaneers in total yards.

Just as in the first half, Tampa Bay scored a field goal on their opening drive on the third quarter, set up by a 32-yard reception by Jacquez Green and a 15-yard facemask penalty on Taje Allen. Meanwhile, Warner was intercepted three times by the Buccaneers defense, including a costly interception to Hardy Nickerson on the Tampa Bay 3-yard line. But late in the fourth quarter, Rams defensive back Dre' Bly intercepted a pass from King at the Buccaneers 49-yard line. A few plays later, Warner threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Proehl with 4:44 left, taking an 11–6 lead after the two-point conversion failed.

Despite being sacked twice, King responded by leading the Bucs to the St. Louis 22-yard line. With 47 seconds remaining, King completed an apparent 13-yard reception to Bert Emanuel at the Rams' 22-yard line, setting up a 3rd " 10. The ruling on the field was a complete pass. The team called a quick timeout and huddled. Booth replay official Jerry Markbreit ordered a review of the call during the timeout. Referee Bill Carollo determined that the nose of the ball had touched the ground as he brought it into his body. The catch was overturned, ruled incomplete, and Tampa Bay was moved back to a 3rd " 23 at the 35. King threw two incompletions, and the Bucs turned it over on downs. The Rams held on to win 11–6.

Proehl was the sole offensive star of the game, finishing with 6 catches for 100 yards and one touchdown.

The enusing controversy prompted the NFL to clarify the rule regarding what constitutes a valid pass reception. This would come to be known as "The Bert Emanuel Rule."

		PRESEASON
Date		Opponent	Week/Record	Outcome
Saturday Aug. 14		Cleveland Browns Raymond James Stadium, Tampa Bay, FL	PS - wk 1 1-0	Won 30-3
Saturday Aug. 21		@ Kansas City Chiefs Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, MO	PS - wk 2 2-0	Won 17-7
Saturday Aug. 28		New England Patriots Raymond James Stadium, Tampa Bay, FL	PS - wk 3 3-0	Won 45-14
Friday Sep. 3		@ Washington Redskins FedEx Field, Landover, MD	PS - wk 4 4-0	Won 16-13
1999 Season Results Record: 12-6, DIV: 5-3 (Won NFC Central - Won NFC Divisional Playoffs)
Date		Opponent	Week/Record	Outcome
Sunday Sep. 12		New York Giants Raymond James Stadium, Tampa Bay, FL	RS - wk 1 0-1	Lost 13-17
Sunday Sep. 19		@ Philadelphia Eagles Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia, PA	RS - wk 2 1-1	Won 19-5
Sunday Sep. 26		Denver Broncos Raymond James Stadium, Tampa Bay, FL	RS - wk 3 2-1	Won 13-10
Sunday Oct. 3		@ Minnesota Vikings Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, MN	RS - wk 4 2-2	Lost 14-21
Sunday Oct. 10		@ Green Bay Packers Lambeua Field, Green Bay, WI	RS - wk 5 2-3	Lost 23-26
Sunday Oct. 17		BYE	RS - wk 6 2-3
Sunday Oct. 24		Chicago Bears Raymond James Stadium, Tampa Bay, FL	RS - wk 7 3-3	Lost 6-3
Sunday Oct. 31		@ Detroit Lions Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, MI	RS - wk 8 3-4	Lost 20-3
Sunday Nov. 7		@ New Orleans Saints Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, LA	RS - wk 9 4-4	Won 31-16
Sunday Nov. 14		Kansas City Chiefs Raymond James Stadium, Tampa Bay, FL	RS - wk 10 5-4	Won 17-10
Sunday Nov. 21		Atlanta Falcons Raymond James Stadium, Tampa Bay, FL	RS - wk 11 6-4	Won 19-10
Sunday Nov. 28		@ Seattle Seahawks Kingdome, Seattle, WA	RS - wk 12 7-4	Won 16-3
Monday Dec. 6		Minnesota Vikings Raymond James Stadium, Tampa Bay, FL	RS - wk 13 8-4	Won 24-17
Sunday Dec. 12		Detroit Lions Raymond James Stadium, Tampa Bay, FL	RS - wk 14 9-4	Won 23-16
Sunday Dec. 19		@ Oakland Raiders Network Associates Coliseum, Oakland, CA	RS - wk 15 9-5	Lost 0-45
Sunday Dec. 26		Green Bay Packers Raymond James Stadium, Tampa Bay, FL	RS - wk 16 10-5	Won 29-10
Sunday Jan. 2		@ Chicago Bears Soldier Field, Chicago, IL	RS - wk 17 11-5	Won 20-6
		PLAYOFFS
Date		Opponent	NFC/Superbowl	Outcome
Saturday Jan. 15		Washington Redskins Raymond James Stadium, Tampa Bay, FL	PO - DIVISIONAL 12-5	Won 14-13
Sunday Jan. 23		@ St. Louis Rams Trans World Dome, St. Louis, MO	NFC CHAMPIONSHIP 12-6	Lost 6-11

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