Tampa Bay Football History Network - 1990 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

1990 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On the weekend of the draft, the Buccaneers acquired former Tampa Bay Bandits running back Gary Anderson from San Diego for two third round draft choices. The Bucs then traded their number one pick in the 1992 draft for quarterback Chris Chandler. Many questioned the move, as Chandler had been a starter with the Colts in 1988 but was primarily a backup in 1989. They drafted linebacker Keith McCants with their first round draft selection, the number four pick overall. McCants had played under Ray Perkins at the University of Alabama. In the second round, the Bucs drafted Tennessee running back Reggie Cobb. They also picked up place kicker Steve Christie.

The team's all-time leading rusher signed a free agent contract with Washington. James Wilder left as Tampa Bay's career leader in yards rushing (5,957), attempts (1,957), rushing touchdowns (37), 100 yard games (14) and pass receptions (430).

Tampa Bay opened the season on September 9 at Detroit. The Bucs defense recorded six sacks, recovered three fumbles and picked off three passes. Broderick Thomas recorded three of the sacks and defensive back Wayne Haddix returned one of the interceptions 62 yards for a score. Vinny Testaverde (16 of 21 for 237 yards and an interception) tossed three first half TD passes in a 38-21 Buccaneers win.

59,705 came out on a warm afternoon for the home opener against the Rams. Los Angeles quarterback Jim Everett (18 of 25 for 269 yards) threw four touchdown passes, and Bobby Humphery returned an interception of Vinny Testaverde (9 of 18 for 127 yards with a TD) 44 yards for a score, as the Rams pounded the Bucs 35-14. Ray Perkins said, "I still like this club very, very much. We just got out tail beat."

A Sunday night home game against Detroit started out as a battle of field goals, including a 54 yard boot by Steve Christie, until the final period. Gary Anderson scored on a 11 yard run to put the Bucs in front, then the Lions regained the lead. With 4:21 left in the game, Vinny Testaverde hit John Harvey on a 3 yard TD pass and the Buccaneers won 23-20.

The Bucs headed to Minnesota, where the Vikings had a thirteen game home winning streak. At the end of regulation, the game was tied 20-20. Donald Igwebuike, released by the Bucs and now kicking for Minnesota, missed a 48 yard field which would have won it for the Vikings. At 9:11 of the extra period, Steve Christie kicked a 36 yard field goal to win the game for the Bucs. An exuberant Ray Perkins ran on the field and hugged his place kicker. The Bucs were now 3-1 and Perkins felt redeemed for his decision to waive Igwebuike. Christie established a team record with eleven consecutive field goals during the season. After the win in Minnesota, Ray Perkins said that the Bucs were "Over the hump."

Next was a trip to Dallas and the team's first game against second year head coach Jimmy Johnson. It was also the first time that Vinny Testaverde would face his former University of Miami head coach. Gary Anderson caught a 58 yard touchdown pass and became the first Buccaneer to a score a TD in five consecutive games, but Cowboys rookie running back Emmitt Smith was the difference. Smith ran for 121 yards and scored the decisive touchdown in a 14- 10 Dallas victory.

The Buccaneers returned home to play the Packers. While Vinny Testaverde was passing for 292 yards and a touchdown, Green Bay quarterback Don Majkowski had a Packers record five passes intercepted. Gary Anderson hauled in a 74 yard touchdown reception, the longest ever for a Bucs running back, and Steve Christie tied the team kicking record with 14 points. Tampa Bay defeated Green Bay 26-14 to improve their record to 4-2.

The Dallas game at Tampa Stadium on October 21 was a sellout and was tied in the final quarter. With 1:56 left in the game, Steve Christie hit a 32 yard field goal to put Tampa Bay up 13-10. When Troy Aikman hit Michael Irwin on a 28 yard TD pass play with 23 seconds on the clock, Dallas pulled out a 17-13 victory.

The next game saw the Bucs make their first appearance at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego. Vinny Testaverde had a sprained toe, so Chris Chandler made his first Tampa Bay start against the Chargers. Chandler threw a 68 yard TD pass to Mark Carrier, but he was intercepted four times and the Bucs had a total of seven turnovers. San Diego running back Marion Butts ran for three touchdowns in the Chargers 41-10 victory.

The following week, Testaverde suffered five interceptions in a 26-6 loss to Chicago at a sold out Tampa Stadium. The Bucs were on a three game losing streak, nonetheless, Hugh Culverhouse gave a vote of confidence to his head coach. "Let me put it this way, even if we lost every game the rest of the year, even if Ray Perkins wanted to quit, I wouldn't let him. I'd make him come back and coach the team next year. He has a year left on his contract, and he will be the coach of our team in 1991, regardless. I hope this makes it plain and simple."

Chris Chandler got the start at New Orleans, however, he suffered a third quarter concussion and Vinny Testaverde came into the game. Saints running back Craig Heyward rushed for 155 yards and scored on a 47 yard run to lead New Orleans over the Bucs 35-7. Ray Perkins admitted afterwards, "This is supposed to be fun, but it is not any fun right now."

A trip to San Francisco saw the 49ers score on three of their four first quarter possessions on the way to a 31-7 victory. Wayne Haddix ran an interception of Joe Montana back 65 yards for the Bucs touchdown. Montana threw two touchdown passes to Brent Jones, while Chris Chandler was sacked seven times, as San Francisco won its eighteenth straight game dating back to last season.

The next week, in Milwaukee, Packers quarterback Anthony Dilweg started the game due to a shoulder injury to Don Majkowski. Vinny Testaverde (25 of 49 for 261 yards) tossed a touchdown pass to Bruce Hill and Dilweg (13 of 22 for 199 yards) threw two TD passes. The 20-10 defeat was the Bucs sixth in a row and dropped the team from playoff contention. Ray Perkins had plenty to say. "To be perfectly honest, we're not a very good football team right now. We didn't deserve to win anything today. We didn't play good enough defense to beat the number one rated high school in the state of Florida or Wisconsin."

The losing streak was broken on December 2 with a 23-17 victory over Atlanta at Tampa Stadium. The Falcons were playing under first year coach Jerry Glanville and had changed their uniform colors to a predominantly black scheme. In the first quarter, Vinny Testaverde (17 of 33 for 351 yards) hit Willie Drewrey on a 89 yard touchdown pass, the longest play in Bucs history. With the Bucs trailing 17-16, Testaverde capped off a 10 play, 70 yard drive, by hitting Mark Carrier with a 35 yard touchdown pass with 39 seconds left in the game to post the victory. Testaverde talked after the game. "There was a lot of talk about if we didn't win, coach Perkins would be fired. I think the team rallied around coach and played this game for ourselves and for him. We don't want him to leave. I know a lot of people have different feelings, but I'm behind coach Perkins." Ray Perkins said of the game, "It was kind of ugly in spots, but it was awfully beautiful in the end. I don't know whether it takes any pressure off anybody. I am not worried about that."

The victory was not enough to save Ray Perkins job and he was fired the day after the Atlanta game. Hugh Culverhouse said "It's not a happy day. It's a sad day. The change is not because of Ray Perkins. It's just that he's the head coach, he's the boss and we haven't had a winning season in four years. We all live by the win and loss record." Ray Perkins admitted, "I know we haven't gotten it done. It hasn't turned out the way I thought it could." Bucs receivers coach Richard Williamson was named head coach on an interim basis for the rest of the year. He was the head coach at Memphis State for six seasons. Williamson, when asked if he was surprised he was now head coach, replied "Everything in this business is a surprise. I mean it is a funny business. There's funny people in it. You have to be a little bit crazy to be in it, but that's okay. It's a good business. It is a very rewarding and challenging."

The first game under Richard Williamson saw the Bucs force eight turnovers and intercept five passes in a home game against Minnesota. Vinny Testaverde (12 of 30 for 148 yards with a touchdown and 2 interceptions) opened the scoring on a 48 yard first quarter run and became the first Buccaneers quarterback to rush for 100 yards, finishing with a still team QB record 105 yards on the ground. For the second time this season, Steve Christie tied the team kicking record with 14 points. Vikings QB Wade Wilson (24 of 39 with 4 INTs and a TD) threw for 374 yards with his favorite targets being wide receivers Hassan Jones (162 yards receiving and a TD) and Anthony Carter (106 yards). A 26-13 victory gave the Bucs their first sweep of Minnesota. Williamson said of winning his NFL head coaching debut, "Of course it is the greatest win in my experience and I thank everybody for it."

The next game was played on an 11 degree Sunday afternoon in Chicago. The Bucs scored first on a TD pass from Vinny Testaverde (9 of 21 for 111 yards with 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions) to Mark Carrier. Mike Tomczak (16 of 33 for 239 yards with 2 INTs) was making his first start of the season and Peter Tom Willis saw some action at QB. In a game with a dozen fumbles, the 6-9 Bucs were officially eliminated from playoff contention by the score of 27-14.

The season ended on December 30, with 46,543 fans, and the New York Jets, at Tampa Stadium. Reggie Cobb's 1 yard plunge in the second quarter gave the Bucs a 7-3 lead. When the Jets starting quarterback Ken O'Brien got hurt, Tony Eason came off the bench. Behind three Pat Leahy field goals the Jets built a 16-7 advantage. Vinny Testaverde threw for 204 yards, and rushed for 51 yards, as the Bucs pulled to within two points with 3:32 left in the game. The Jets were able to run out the clock and posted a 16-14 victory.

Tampa Bay finished the year with a record of 6-10, which put them second in the division. Chicago won the Central Division and the rest of the division had identical 6-10 records. Five of the Bucs six wins came against divisional opponents, so the team took second place on the tiebreakers. Steve Christie established a team record for field goals (23) and field goal percentage (85.2). Vinny Testaverde set the team record for most yards per passing attempt (7.72). The Buccaneers set team records for the lowest number of penalties (77), offensive plays (858) and punts by their opponents (55). Defensive back Wayne Haddix went to the Pro Bowl as a reserve and was named the team's MVP by the area media. Haddix had seven interceptions and returned a team record three of them for touchdowns.

On January 29, Tampa Stadium hosted its second Super Bowl, the Silver Anniversary Game. The game was played less than two weeks after the start of the Gulf War, and not only featured heightened emotions, but increased security measures as well. 73,813 fans watched two teams with red, white and blue uniforms, the New York Giants and Buffalo Bills, play the only one point game in Super Bowl history. When Scott Norwood's last second field goal drifted wide right, the Giants won 20-19.

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