[NFL Week 4 - September 24, 2000 | Raymond James Stadium ]
[Tampa Bay Buccaneers 3 Vs 3 New York Tigers]
[2nd & 6]
Testaverde retook the snap, calling for a play-action. This time, he had more time holding onto the ball, letting Martin rest. Dedric Ward ran a post, and Testaverde let it fly on the spin—the ball sailed over the middle linebacker's outstretched hands and into Ward's chest at the ten. Ward spun away from one defender and dove toward the pylon.
"Touchdown Tigers!" Ward hit the turf in the end zone, the ball secure against his chest. The Tigers' sideline erupted, players jumping, fists pumping as John Hall trotted out for the extra point, drilling it through without a problem.
[Tigers 10 – Buccaneers 3]
[Q2, 11:47]
Shaun King brought his offence back onto the field, taking a huddle to discuss the next play. Moments later, he took the snap in shotgun and delivered a rope to Keyshawn Johnson on a comeback route. Johnson muscled Marcus Coleman aside like he wasn't even there, securing the catch for fourteen yards before Victor Green arrived to clean up.
King stayed in rhythm on the next play, finding Jacquez Green slicing across the middle on a deep crossing route. Green had wheels, and once he turned upfield, Aaron Glenn had to chase. Hemanaegdt tried to cross eleven yards before Glenn finally dragged him down at the Tigers' 42.
Seemingly finding their second wind, the crowd woke up, and the familiar Raymond James roar started building again. Sixty-five thousand voices competing to be heard as they encouraged their players.
King handed off to Warrick Dunn, and the shifty back hit the hole with violence, the o-line coliding as he cut behind his right guard's block. Brian Urlacher read it, filled the gap, but Dunn used the contact to bounce outside, finding daylight along the sideline. He turned on the jets as Julian Peterson came screaming over from the weak side, but he had the angle.
They collided, but he managed to power through the grab, managing to vary fourteen yards before Damien Robinson finally shoved him out of bounds at the Tigers' 28. "Defence! Wake up, that's too easy!" Rex Ryan's voice carried across the field as he barked instructions at players who were underperforming.
King took the snap from under centre again, sold a play-action fake to Dunn that froze the linebackers just long enough. Dave Moore, the tight end, leaked into the flat completely uncovered. King's throw arrived on time, and Moore turned upfield with surprising speed for a big man. Mo Lewis closed hard, wrapping him up after nine yards.
[2nd & 1, Tigers 19]
Mike Alstott got the call, took the handoff, and lowered his shoulder into Lorenzo Bromell at the line. The collision sounded like a car crash. Bromell held his ground initially, but Alstott kept driving his legs, pushing forward. Erik Flowers came over to help, and together they finally stopped the fullback just past the marker.
He still managed to get the first down, and the crowd was fully alive, cheering in response. On the next play, John Abraham came flying off the edge, the rookie was relentless to make a play, but King stepped into the pocket with poise. He found Keyshawn Johnson streaking across the middle at the ten-yard line.
The ball arrived before Urlacher could rotate over. Johnson caught it, planted his foot, and spun away from one defender. He lunged toward the end zone, stretching the ball forward as bodies converged. The referee's whistle blew, indicating short, as Johnson was down at the two-yard line.
[1st & Goal, Tigers 2yrd]
This was pure smashmouth football now. King handed to Alstott again, and the fullback lowered his head and crashed into the pile. Willie McGinest met him first, then Urlacher, then Mo Lewis—three bodies trying to stop one. The pile violently shifted, but Alstott's legs kept churning. Inch by inch, he dragged them forward.
The referee shot his arms up. "Touchdown." Raymond James Stadium exploded—cannons firing from the pirate ship, as fans screamed themselves hoarse. Martin Gramatica jogged on and converted the extra point cleanly.
[Tigers 10 – Buccaneers 10]
~~~
[Q2, 8:33]
Testaverde brought the offence back out, his jersey completely soaked through now, the Florida humidity showing no mercy. He called for Martin on first down for a safe, simple, four yards. Second down, he tried to hit Coles on a quick slant, but the throw came out high. Coles leapt, got a hand on it, but couldn't pull it down.
[3rd & 6]
Tampa showed pressure—both linebackers creeping toward the line, Derrick Brooks timed perfectly with the snap count. Testaverde saw it, checked to a hot route. He delivered to Ward on a quick out, but Ronde Barber closed in fast, making the tackle two yards short. Tom Tupa came on to punt, booming a fifty-three-yarder that pinned Tampa back at their own seventeen.
[Q2, 6:11]
Shaun King took over and managed the game like a veteran—handoff to Dunn for three, quick pass to Johnson for eight and a first down. The Buccaneers chewed the clock, mixing runs with short, efficient passes that kept the chains moving. They crossed midfield, and King hit Green on a slant for six. Dunn took a draw play for nine more.
[1st & 10, Tigers 44]
King dropped back, and this time he had time—too much time. Willie McGinest had been held on the edge, with no flag being thrown. King stepped up in the pocket and launched it deep toward Keyshawn Johnson, who had a step on Coleman down the right sideline.
The ball hung in the air, spinning perfectly as Johnson tracked it, arms extended, ready to make the catch. At the last second, Victor Green came flying in from his free safety position. He'd read the play the whole way, anticipated the throw, and timed his arrival perfectly. Green got a hand on the ball—just enough. The deflection sent it spinning away from Johnson's grasp for an Incompletion.
"That's it, defence!" Rex Ryan could be seen pumping both fists, his face red with excitement. The drive stalled two plays later. King tried to force another throw on third down, but this time Aaron Glenn was draped all over Green, and the ball sailed incomplete, forcing Tampa to punt.
[Q2, 2:54]
Testaverde took the field with decent field position at the Tigers' 38-yard line. Two minutes until halftime—enough time to be aggressive, but not reckless. He started with Martin, who rumbled for six yards behind a nice block from Richie Anderson. Then a quick out to Coles for seven and a first down. The clock dipped under two minutes.
Testaverde went back to the air, hitting Ward on a deep comeback route for thirteen yards before Brooks arrived to make the tackle. The Tigers hurried to the line, trying to maximise possessions before the break.
[1st & 10, Bucs 37, 1:22 remaining]
Testaverde took the snap, looking for Coles on a go route down the left sideline. The throw was beautiful—perfectly placed—but so was Ronde Barber's coverage. The cornerback knocked it away at the last possible moment.
On second down, Testaverde dropped back again, scanning for Anthony Becht over the middle. Warren Sapp exploded through the interior—Kerry Jenkins couldn't hold him. The Pro Bowl defensive tackle collapsed the pocket, his massive frame bearing down on Testaverde.
Testaverde tried to step up, tried to create space to deliver the throw. Sapp's hand shot out, catching Testaverde's ankle as he released. The quarterback went down hard, the ball fluttering incomplete. But Testaverde didn't get up right away, clutching his right ankle, his face twisted in pain.
"Oh, he looks hurt, Troy," Joe Buck's voice could be heard through the broadcast, sounding genuinely concerned.
"That's Warren Sapp for you," Troy Aikman replied, the former Cowboys quarterback's drawl leaking through. "He got a piece of Testaverde's ankle on the way down, and the landing didn't help. Plus, at Vinny's age, thirty-six years old, those kinds of hits linger."
On the field, the stadium had gone oddly quiet. Even the home crowd seemed to recognise the gravity of an injury to a starting quarterback. Testaverde remained on the turf, trainers already sprinting from the Tigers' sideline. Dr Maria van der Meer led the charge, her white-blonde hair pulled back, medical bag in hand.
"You can see the Tigers' medical staff getting out there quickly," Buck narrated as the camera zoomed in. "Head athletic trainer and Dr. van der Meer, who's been with the organisation since the ownership change. She's gained quite the reputation around the league for her views on sports medicine."
The broadcast cut to a replay—Sapp's explosion through the line, the way his hand caught Testaverde's ankle at an awkward angle as the quarterback tried to plant and throw. The slow-motion made it look even worse.
"There it is," Aikman said, his voice taking on that analytical edge that came from years of film study. "See how his foot's planted when Sapp makes contact? That's all the weight on that ankle, and then it rolls slightly. Could be a sprain, could be something worse. But either way, Joe, that's not the kind of thing you just walk off in this heat."
"The question now," Buck added, "is what do the Tigers do if he can't go? Rick Mirer's been the backup all season, but he's never been more than a serviceable NFL quarterback. And behind him..." Buck paused as the camera panned down the Tigers' sideline, briefly catching sight of a lanky figure in a baseball cap standing near the quarterbacks coach. "Behind him is sixth-round pick Tom Brady, who hasn't taken a meaningful snap since Michigan."
Two trainers helped Testaverde to his feet as he gingerly tested the ankle, putting partial weight on it. His face contorted immediately and Dr. van der Meer shook her head, clearly not satisfied with what she was seeing. She immediately instructed her team to take him off the field.
"He's limping pretty significantly," Aikman observed as Testaverde hobbled off the field, supported on both sides. "And with just over a minute left in the half, the Tigers will have to decide quickly what they want to do here."
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To Be Continued...