1989 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
1989 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Hugh Culverhouse upset the Buc faithful when he announced, on June 7, a proposal to play three games a season at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando. Culverhouse said the plan would "Broaden the basis of support for the Tampa Bay Bucs. The idea of playing three games at another market in Florida is something that has been studied for a long time. I have to do something to make this a viable franchise." All the negative publicity caused the team to quickly drop the idea.
A couple of question marks raised during Buccaneers training camp included how well James Wilder would play following off-season arthroscopic knee surgery. At age 39, Joe Ferguson was the league's oldest player, so there was talk whether another quarterback should be signed.
The Bucs opened the season on September 10 at Green Bay. The Packers lead 7-0 after the first quarter, then Lars Tate (138 yards rushing) ran for two second quarter touchdowns and the Bucs held a 20-7 advantage at the half. Vinny Testaverde (22 of 27 for 205 yards) completed a career high 81 percent of his passes and threw a TD pass to running back William Howard. The Bucs intercepted three passes and held on for a 23-21 victory.
The Buccaneers came home to play San Francisco and first year head coach George
Seifert. A crowd of 64,087 watched a field goal battle for three quarters.
Donald Igwebuike gave the Bucs a 3-0 lead after one quarter, two Mike Cofer
field goals gave the 49ers a 6-3 lead at the break, and two more Igwebuike
kicks gave Tampa Bay a 9-6 lead going into the fourth quarter. Ricky Reynolds
had two interceptions to pace the Bucs defense. Joe Montana (25 of 39 for 266
yards and 2 interceptions) hooked up with Jerry Rice (8 catches for 122 yards)
and the visitors recaptured the lead 13-9. Vinny Testaverde (14 of 35 for 146
yards and 2 INTs) answered with a 18 yard TD pass to Mark Carrier to retake the
advantage 16-13. When Montana ran 4 yards for a touchdown, with 40 seconds
left, the 49ers avoided the upset. Ray Perkins said of the 20-16 defeat, "It
was a very disappointing loss because we felt like we should have won. But we
committed a lot of penalties and breakdowns throughout the game. We beat
ourselves and time ran out." Testaverde talked about the 49ers last second
victory, "They are team that has done it so many times, but it was a sick
feeling watching them do it live."
The next Sunday, New Orleans came to Tampa Stadium. The game was tied 10-10 at the half and a 5 yard touchdown run by Lars Tate put the Bucs up for good in the third quarter. Mark Carrier caught five passes for 120 yards, and the Bucs converted 9 of 12 third downs, in a 20-10 win over the Saints. The team had improved its record to 2-1.
At one point in Minnesota, Vinny Testaverde (6 of 23 for 82 yards) threw eleven straight incompletions. When Vikings starting quarterback Wade Wilson (3 of 3 for 40 yards) sustained an injury, Tommy Kramer (18 of 32 for 190 yards with 2 INTs) came off the bench to toss a pair of touchdown passes. Harry Hamilton had two interceptions for the Bucs, but when Ray Perkins was asked if he saw anything positive in the 17-3 defeat he responded, "No, but I missed the halftime show."
The 4-0 Chicago Bears came to town to play before 72,077 fans, which
established a record for the largest home crowd in Buccaneers history. A Mark
Carrier (6 receptions for 105 yards) touchdown catch opened the scoring. Vinny
Testaverde (22 of 36 for 269 yards with 2 INTs) tossed three TDs that afternoon
and his second gave the Bucs a 14-0 lead after one quarter. A 1 yard run by
William Howard made 21-0 early in the second period. Neal Anderson ran for the
first of his three touchdowns to put Chicago on the board, then Bruce Hill (6
receptions for 107 yards) caught a Testaverde TD pass to make it 28-7. The
Bears pulled within 28-21, before two Lars Tate scoring runs made it 41-21.
Tate finished with a career high 112 yards, including a 48 yard run. Two late
Bears touchdowns narrowed the gap in the Bucs 42-35 victory. In the first
victory over the Bears in thirteen games, the Buccaneers balanced attack
accumulated 415 total yards. The Bears twelve game winning streak against the
Bucs was the longest any team has had over Tampa Bay. Ray Perkins called it
"The biggest win in franchise history. Forget about '79 and '81 and all that.
This is one of those big time wins that could lead to great things for us."
Tampa Bay was 3-2 and talking of a winning season with the 0-5 Detroit Lions
coming to town the following week. Vinny Testaverde was injured late in the
pervious game, so Joe Ferguson (16 of 29 for 128 yards with 1 INT) got the
start. Cornerback Ricky Reynolds returned an interception 68 yards for a
Buccaneer touchdown and the home team lead late in the game. Rodney Peete (17
of 31 for 268 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT) ran for a 5 yard touchdown with 23
seconds left to beat the Bucs. Detroit won 17-16 despite four turnovers and
thirteen penalties. The Bucs season began to fall apart.
It was a game of streaks, when the team made its first trip to RFK Stadium in Washington. Ricky Reynolds returned a blocked punt for a team record 33 yards and the Bucs were up 7-0. Mark Rypien (24 of 36 for 221 yards with 1 INT) threw two touchdown passes to Gary Clark, as the Redskins scored the next 29 points and took a 29-7 lead. The Bucs scored 21 points in the fourth quarter, but the rally fell short. Kevin House had four receptions for 105 yards with a touchdown in the 32-28 defeat.
The only time the Bucs would face the Bengals under head coach Sam Wyche saw Boomer Esiason throw five touchdown passes at Cincinnati. Esiason (17 of 28 for 197 yards) equaled his own team record for TD passes and the Bengals scored a team record eight touchdowns. Wide receiver Tim McGee (5 receptions for 127 yards) grabbed two touchdown passes and running back James Brooks rushed for 131 yards. While Mark Carrier (7 for 100 yards) and Bruce Hill (7 for 125 yards) had 100 yard receiving days, Vinny Testaverde (23 of 39 for 336 yards) threw three interceptions in a 56-23 Tampa Bay defeat.
When Cleveland came to town, Bernie Kosar (18 of 22 for 164 yards) threw three touchdown passes and Vinny Testaverde (27 of 50 for 370 yards with 2 TDs) had four passes picked off. Midway through the second quarter, in a nineteen second span, Testaverde had interceptions returned for touchdowns on back to back plays. James Wilder had two touchdown catches and Lars Tate ran for two scores, but the Browns got the victory 42-31.
The Vikings lead 17-0 after the first quarter at Tampa Stadium. While he was sacked seven times, Vinny Testaverde (18 of 28 for 185 yards) threw a touchdown pass to James Wilder and the Bucs pulled to within 17-10 in the fourth quarter. A Herchel Walker scoring run provided the final margin in a 24-10 Minnesota victory. Receiver Bruce Hill commented, "We're just playing too inconsistently to win."
The Bucs played a thriller at Chicago, even if they had eleven penalties for
123 yards and the Bears had ten penalties. Chicago place kicker Kevin Butler
booted an NFL record tying 23rd straight field goal and the Bears lead 10-3 at
the half. Neal Anderson ran for 100 yards on the day. Testaverde was 19 of 42
for 288 yards and no interceptions. Mark Carrier totaled 164 receiving yards,
including a 78 yard TD grab. Jim Harbaugh started for Chicago and suffered
three interceptions, so Mike Tomczak came off the bench. Tomczak (6 of 7 for
156 yards) threw three long TD passes in the final 4:27, two of them to wide
receiver Wendell Davis, to put the Bears out front 31-29. A 28 yard field goal
by Donald Igwebuike, as time expired, gave the Bucs a 32-31 win and their first
sweep of Chicago. It was Iqwebuike's fourth field goal of the day and he
equaled the team kicking record with 14 points.
The following week, in Tampa Bay's first visit to Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, it took some last minute heroics to pull out a victory. With 43 seconds remaining, a 5 yard Vinny Testaverde (19 of 42 for 200 yards with 2 TDS and 1 INT) to Mark Carrier touchdown pass capped off an 82 yard drive and gave the Bucs a 14-13 lead. Tom Tupa (17 of 38 for 200 yards) was at quarterback for Phoenix and the Cardinals had a chance to win it at the end. When Al Del Greco missed a field goal, as time expired, the Bucs had the victory. Ray Perkins said, "This game is not that difficult. Sometimes we make it look harder than it should be, but I guess that's why the game is so exciting."
| Jesse “The Body” Ventura has had a colorful career, from Navy Seal to professional wrestler to actor to the Governor of Minnesota. For two seasons, 1989-90, he served as a color commentator on the Buccaneers radio broadcasts.
Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota as James George Janos, Ventura briefly served as a bodyguard for the Rolling Stones before going into professional wrestling. Always playing the “heel,” he and Adrian During his time broadcasting Bucs games, Ventura referred to play-by-play man Gene Deckerhoff as “Mean Gene” which was a takeoff on wrestling commentator “Mean Gene” Okerlund. Local TV personality Al Keck was the third man in the booth. Ventura also did commentary for the Minnesota Vikings for one season and, while Governor, was a broadcaster on the XFL games. |
When Green Bay came to Tampa, Packers quarterback Don Majkowski (25 of 53 for
331 yards and 2 INTs) hit Sterling Sharpe (8 catches for 169 yards) on two
touchdown passes. Even with Vinny Testaverde (19 of 39 for 188 yards) throwing
five interceptions, Mark Carrier caught seven passes for 104 yards and a Donald
Igwebuike field goal gave the Bucs a 16-14 lead with 1:35 left in the game. In
the final minute, a hands-to-the-face penalty keep a Packers drive alive. With
no time on the clock, Chris Jacke kicked a 47 yard field goal into the wind to
give Green Bay the victory. Despite ten penalties and nine punts, the Pack
prevailed 17-16. The Bucs became the first team in NFL history to play three
straight one point games.
After the first quarter, the Bucs and Oilers were tied 3-3 in Houston. Warren Moon (14 of 23 for 149 yards) threw two second quarter touchdown passes to give Houston a 20-3 halftime lead. The Bucs went to the air to mount a comeback. Vinny Testaverde finished with 328 passing yards, 48 attempts and a team record 31 completions. He connected on two second half touchdown passes, and Mark Carrier had 135 yards in receiving, but the rally fell short 20-17.
Vinny Testaverde (4 of 8 for 18 yards with 1 INT) sprained his ankle in the first half at Detroit, so Joe Ferguson came into the game. Ferguson (7 of 18 for 161 yards with 3 interceptions) did heave a 69 yard touchdown pass to Mark Carrier (4 receptions for 131 yards), however, it was the Bucs only score and came with no time left on the clock. Barry Sanders rushed 4.9 yards per carry and finished with 104 yards on the ground. He ran for a touchdown and broke the Lions rookie single season rushing record held by Billy Sims. The Bucs only managed six first downs in a 33-7 defeat. A disgusted Ray Perkins said, "We could have saved a lot of time and money if we hadn't shown up."
The season ended on Christmas Eve at Tampa Stadium, against the Pittsburgh Steelers. With a kickoff temperature of 39 degrees, and a wind chill factor in the low teens, 29,620 experienced the coldest weather the Bucs had ever played in at Tampa Stadium. Joe Ferguson (14 of 21 for 244 yards with 2 INTs) started for the injured Vinny Testaverde and hit Mark Carrier (6 catches for 101 yards) on a pair of touchdown passes. Pittsburgh QB Bubby Brister (7 of 15 for 178 with 2 picks) connected on two touchdown passes to Louis Lipps (4 receptions for 137 yards) and running back Tim Worley added two 1 yard TD runs. The 31-22 defeat was the Bucs fourth straight and the team had dropped nine of its last eleven games.
In what Ray Perkins called "The toughest year I've had in football," the Bucs finished in last place in the Central Division with a 5-11 record. They threw a then team record 570 passes, scored a team record 23 passing TDs, but had a team record 48 interceptions to go with it. The defense allowed a Bucs record 29 touchdown passes. Despite the overall dismal showing, a couple of players came into their own. Mark Carrier set team records for receptions (86), receiving yards (a career high 1,422), 100 yard receiving games (9) and tied the record for with a career high nine touchdown catches. Carrier was voted the Most Valuable Player by the local media and made a trip to the Pro Bowl. Vinny Testaverde tied the team record with twenty touchdown passes and defensive back Ricky Reynolds snagged a career high five interceptions. Donald Igwebuike lead the team in scoring with a team record 99 points. Despite being the Buccaneers career leader in scoring (416 points), field goals (94) and extra points (134), Igwebuike was waived after the season.
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| 1989 Buccaneers Results |
| 1989 NFC Central Division Standings |
| 1989 Buccaneers Draft |
| 1989 Buccaneers Statistics |
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Adonis won the AWA Tag Team Championship in 1980, however, Ventura gained more fame as a wrestling commentator. Ventura served as mayor of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota from 1991 to 1995. In the 1998 election, running under the Reform Party, Ventura shocked the Country by being elected the 38th Governor of Minnesota and did not seek a second term. Almost immediately after his election, bumper stickers and T-shirts bearing the slogan "My governor can beat up your governor" appeared. Ventura wanted to now be called "Jesse 'The Mind," but names like the “The Governing Body" were heard more frequently.