The 1999 Bucs: It was a Wild Ride
(January 28, 2000)

The 1999 Buccaneers finished with the best record in team history and came within one victory of the Super Bowl. After a slow start, the Bucs winning ways energized the community. Here is a quick look at what was a wild ride.

The season opener against the Giants at Raymond James Stadium seems like a long time ago. A couple of trends were established on opening day. Defense has a record setting day, offense gives the game away. Trent Dilfer threw three interceptions, one was returned for a touchdown, and his fumble was returned for another score. Bucs lose 17-13.

Bucs win ugly at Philadelphia 19-5, then Trent Dilfer completes a career best 83.3 percent of his passes in a 13-10 victory over Denver at RJS. Dilfer is sacked six times and the Bucs comeback falls short in a 21-14 loss at Minnesota. Dilfer throws three interceptions and late game heroics by Brett Favre pullout a 26-23 Packers victory at Lambeau Field. Ugly is redefined in a Bucs 6-3 win over Chicago in Tampa.

Head coach Tony Dungy is feed up with Trent Dilfer's inconsistent play and installs Eric Zeier as the starter. Zeier is injured at the end of a miserable 20-3 loss at Detroit. The Bucs are 3-4 and hope starts to fade. People are jumping off the bandwagon.

Trent Dilfer is back. He throws three TD passes and the Bucs win 31-16 at New Orleans. Kansas City comes to town and the Bucs win the game 17-10 despite six turnovers. Rookie place kicker Martin Gramatica was the hero in a 19-0 home victory over Atlanta. The Bucs defense intercepted five passes in a 16-3 win at Seattle, but Dilfer suffered a season ending shoulder injury. After getting a winning streak going after his benching, it was a tough break for Dilfer. With Eric Zeier still out, rookie QB Shaun King saw his first NFL action in the second half of the Seattle game.

Shaun King made his first NFL start against Minnesota on Monday Night Football with a share of first place on the line. Before a record RJS crowd, the Bucs posted a 24-17 come-from-behind victory. The Bucs then took sole possession of first place with a 23-16 home victory over the Lions. The winning streak came to an abrupt end with a 45-0 loss at Oakland. People wonder how can a team win a team record six straight games and then suffer the worst loss in franchise history?

The Bucs come back with a couple of big wins. They defeat Green Bay 29-10 at home and close the season with a 20-6 victory at Chicago.

The Buccaneers won their first division title since 1981 in dramatic fashion. The team won eight of the last nine games to post a team best 11-5 record. The offense had problems all season, but the dominating defense broke the twenty year old record for lowest average points allowed (14.69). The Bucs would get a bye in the first round of the playoffs.

The first playoff game at Raymond James Stadium saw the home teams catch a few breaks in a 14-13 victory over Washington. Shaun King became the first rookie quarterback since 1976, and only the second in history, to win an NFL playoff game. The Bucs would not catch any breaks in the NFC Championship Game in St. Louis. Fans will be talking about the controversial use of instant replay to nullify a late game Bucs completion for a long time. It was the same old story for the Bucs. The defensive play was outstanding, the offense failed to score a touchdown. The Super Bowl dream ended with a 11-6 loss.

It was a wild ride, but to say the least, it was an exciting year.