Tampa Bay 7 0 3 0--10 Minnesota 0 7 7 7--21
MINNEAPOLIS (Dec 15, 1996 - 21:48 EST) -- When the season began, most people figured the Minnesota Vikings playoff chances depended on keeping Warren Moon healthy all season.
They were wrong.
The Vikings clinched a playoff spot Sunday with Moon in his now-familiar spot on the sidelines, watching backup Brad Johnson help beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 21-10. Johnson's 36-yard touchdown pass to Cris Carter with 1:54 remaining sealed the win.
That, coupled with Washington's loss at Arizona, gave Minnesota (9-6) a spot in the postseason after missing out last year.
"We all dreamed that we'd be in the playoffs, and I've always dreamed of being in this situation," said Johnson, now 5-2 as a starter. "I can't tell you how fun it is for me to be out there on the field and just be part of this final drive that we're making at the end of the season. It's a dream come true right now."
Johnson's TD pass to Carter capped a 99-yard drive that included a clutch third-down catch by Carter and a 23-yard run by Leroy Hoard, who finished with two touchdowns and 101 yards.
The long drive, which began with 5:40 left, took the pressure off a defense that held the Buccaneers (5-10) to eight first downs -- one in the first half -- and 169 total yards.
Coach Dennis Green, maligned for his 0-3 playoff record and several off-field controversies, was at home decorating his Christmas tree when the Cardinals delivered the gift.
But the Vikings also earned their spot by winning four of five games since an embarrassing 42-23 loss at Seattle on Nov. 10.
"We've battled back," Green said. "When you're down 42-7 at Seattle and you've got a lot of injured players limping around, you've seen the abyss. You know what it's like to be down. I think we've built our foundation out of that. That takes courage, and this is a very courageous football team."
Sunday's win wasn't easy against a Tampa Bay defense that came into the game tied with Carolina for fewest points allowed in the previous nine games. But it was critical for the Vikings, who finish the season at Green Bay next Sunday.
"I don't care about Washington, I'm going into Lambeau Field ready to head-hunt," said Vikings linebacker Jeff Brady, a former Packer. "I think we're peaking at a time when you have to."
It was just the second loss in six games for Tampa, and it spoiled Tony Dungy's return to Minnesota, where he served as defensive coordinator for four seasons until taking over in Tampa this season.
Trent Dilfer, who threw two interceptions in Minnesota territory -- one of them in the end zone with 8:48 to play -- took full blame for the defeat. He finished 13-for-32 for 104 yards.
"It comes down to the intangibles a quarterback has to have in order to execute in the fourth quarter," Dilfer said. "That's where I really failed today. I out-thought myself."
The Vikings sacked Dilfer three times and harassed him throughout the game, continuing a trend that started at Oakland on Nov. 17 when Minnesota snapped a four-game losing streak and began its playoff push.
"We made a lot of big plays that helped us win the game, and that's what the defense is supposed to do," safety Robert Griffith said.
The Vikings committed four turnovers, including two fumbles in their own territory. But Dilfer threw away those scoring opportunities, the last on an interception by Orlando Thomas in the end zone with Minnesota nursing a 14-10 lead.
Minnesota seemed content to protect that lead, and its defense made the conservative game plan work. Even after Dilfer's second interception, the Buccaneers got the ball back at the Vikings 42 with 6:44 left. But they were forced to punt and it was downed at the Minnesota 1.
Hoard nearly was tackled by a safety on the first play by Chidi Ahanotu, and Minnesota needed Carter's sprawling sideline catch for a first down to keep the drive going.
"Maybe the greatest catch, at least for the time and situation, that I've ever seen," Green said.
A 23-yard run by Hoard and a 12-yard pass to Carter followed by a personal foul penalty against Tampa's Charles Mincy set up Johnson's TD pass to Carter, who beat Martin Mayhew.
"I think that the people I've played with have the faith -- and they've seen me do it and they've seen me practice it all the time -- it just seems to happen a lot," Carter said of his clutch catches.
Minnesota became the first team to top 17 points against Tampa since Detroit beat the Bucs 27-0 on Sept. 29. The Vikings, who gained 339 total yards, also became the first team to top 300 yards against Tampa in nine games.
Warren Sapp had two sacks to lead the Bucs' defense, which gave Dilfer and the offense more than enough chances to win the game.
"We've got to look ourselves in the mirror and say we let them get away," Sapp said.
Second Quarter
Min--Hoard 5 run (Sisson kick), 7:39. Drive: 7 plays, 61 yards, 3:39. Key play: B.Johnson 17 pass to Carter; B.Johnson 18 pass to Lee. Minnesota 7, Tampa Bay 7.
Third Quarter
TB--FG Husted 36, 8:18. Drive: 9 plays, 68 yards, 4:07. Key plays: Alstott 40 run; Dilfer 23 pass to Hawkins Tampa bay 10, Minnesota 7.
Min--Hoard 22 run (Sisson kick), 13:01. Drive: 4 plays, 44 yards, 1:51. Key plays: Lee 14 punt return; B.Johnson 17 pass to Walsh. Minnesota 14, Tampa Bay 10.
Fourth Quarter
Min--Carter 36 pass from B.Johnson (Sisson kick), 13:06. Drive: 10 plays, 99 yards, 3:46. Key plays: B.Johnson 9 pass to Carter on 3rd-and-7; Hoard 23 run; B.Johnson 13 pass to Carter plus 15-yard face mask penalty on Mincy to Buccaneers' 35. Minnesota 21, Tampa Bay 10.
A--49,202. No-shows--6,404
Tampa Bay 7 0 3 0--10
Minnesota 0 7 7 7--21
TB Minn
FIRST DOWNS 8 21
Rushing 3 9
Passing 5 11
Penalty 0 1
THIRD DOWN EFF 4-15 5-14
FOURTH DOWN EFF 0-0 0-0
TOTAL NET YARDS 169 339
Total Plays 55 70
Avg Gain 3.1 4.8
NET YARDS RUSHING 92 148
Rushes 20 31
Avg per rush 4.6 4.8
NET YARDS PASSING 77 191
Sacked-Yds lost 3-27 4-30
Gross-Yds passing 104 221
Completed-Att. 13-32 25-35
Had Intercepted 2 2
Yards-Pass Play 2.2 4.9
KICKOFFS-EndZone-TB 3-0-0 4-1-0
PUNTS-Avg. 10-42.9 7-46.1
Punts blocked 0 0
FGs-PATs blocked 0-0 0-0
TOTAL RETURN YARDAGE 190 132
Punts Returns 4-109 6-55
Kickoffs Returns 3-81 3-67
Interceptions 2-0 2-10
PENALTIES-Yds 6-45 4-25
FUMBLES-Lost 1-0 3-2
TIME OF POSSESSION 25:26 34:34
RUSHING--Tampa Bay, Alstott 7-50, Rhett 10-28, Ellison 2-9, Dilfer 1-5. Minnesota, Hoard 20-101, Lee 5-22, B.Johnson 2-17, Graham 4-8.
PASSING--Tampa Bay, Dilfer 13-22-2-104. Minnesota, B.Johnson 25-35-2-221
RECEIVING--Tampa Bay, Alstott 5-10, Ellison 3-31, Thomas 2-17, Hawkins 1-23, K.Williams 1-16, Harris 1-7. Minnesota, Carter 8-89, Reed 5-56, Lee 3-15, Hoard 2-17, Graham 2-11, Evans 2-5, Walsh 1-17, Jordan 1-6, DeLong 1-5.
PUNT RETURNS--Tampa Bay, K.Williams 4-109. Minnesota, Palmer 4-35, Lee 2-20.
KICKOFF RETURNS--Tampa Bay, K.Williams 3-81. Minnesota, Palmer 2-48, Ismail 1-19.
TACKLES-ASSISTS-SACKS--Tampa Bay, Mayhew 8-2-0, Brooks 6-5-0, Ahanotu 6-2-1, Lynch 6-2-0, M.Johnson 5-2-0, Mincy 5-1-0, Nickerson 4-5-0, Marts 5-2-0, Sapp 5-0-2, Legette 3-1-0, Abraham 2-1-0, Alstott 2-0-0, Culpepper 1-3- 1/2, Upshaw 1-1- 1/2, Bouie 1-1-0, Jones 1-0-0, Ellison 0-1-0. Minnesota, Washington 7-0-0, Brady 6-2-1, Griffith 6-0-0, Berger 3-0-0, Fisk 2-2-0, Edwards 2-1-1, Thomas 2-1-0, Randle 2-0-1, Fuller 2-0-0, Barnett 2-0-0, C.Johnson 1-1-0, Smith 1-1-0, Alexander 1-0-0, Harrison 1-0-0, Talley 1-0-0, Bercich 1-0-0, Carter 1-0-0, Morrow 1-0-0, Prior 1-0-0, Reed 1-0-0, Tuaolo 0-1-0.
INTERCEPTIONS--Tampa Bay, Abraham 1-0, Dimry 1-0. Minnesota, Talley 1-10, thomas 1-0.
MISSED FIELD GOALS--None.
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