Buccaneers vs. Detroit Lions 
WON - Tampa Bay Buccaneers 19 Detroit Lions 16
Buccaneers Donald Igwebuike kicked a field goal to force overtime with a minute remaining in regulation, and then kicked another with 2:29 remaining in overtime to secure the victory in Steve Young's NFL debut.
The Buccaneers were aided by the decision of Lions coach Don Rogers, who as a former college coach in the NFL for the first time had no experience with overtime, to punt on fourth-and-inches from the 50-yard line in hopes that Young's inexperience would give the Lions the ball back with good field position. The Lions blamed the 80-degree heat, and fanatical BuccaneersFan crowd noise that drowned out several audibles, for a series of fourth-quarter breakdowns that allowed the Buccaneers to erase a 16–6 deficit.
Fatigued Lions defenders allowed James Wilder to gain 42 yards on his last 9 carries. Young's scrambling style gained zero net passing yards through the first three quarters, but when he switched to a dropback style of passing in the fourth quarter, he began to find success completing long passes.
The Buccaneers scored on a 6-yard Wilder run, while the defense held the Lions scoreless, and Young drove the team into field goal range twice. Young became the first Buccaneer quarterback to win in his first start.
GAMEDAY BRIEF
OFFICALS
- REFEREE: Jim Tunney
- UMPIRE: Tom Hensley
- LINE JUDGE: Boyce Smith
- HEAD LINESMAN: Sid Semon
- BACK JUDGE: Jim Kearney
- FIELD JUDGE: Ron Spitler
- SIDE JUDGE: Bob Moore
SCORING
- BUCCANEERS: 05:23-1Q Igwebuike FG33
- LIONS: 11:09-2Q Jones 1 run (Murray kick)
- BUCCANEERS: 02:52-2Q Igwebuike FG48
- LIONS: 011:37-3Q Murray FG37
- LIONS: 07:54-3Q Murray FG38
- LIONS: 12:10-4Q Murray FG39
- BUCCANEERS: 03:38-4Q Wilder 6 run (Igwebuike kick)
- BUCCANEERS: 01:00-4Q Igwebuike FG36
- BUCCANEERS: 02:29-OT Igwebuike FG24
STARTERS OFFENSE
- WR: #89 K. House
- LT: #50 S. Wilson
- LG: #72 S. Courson
- C: #60 R. Grimes
- RG: #68 R. Mallory
- RT: #73 R. Heller
- TE: #88 J. Giles
- WR: #87 G. Carter
- QB: #08 S. Young
- UB: #86 C. Magee
- RB: #32 J. Wilder
STARTERS DEFENSE
- LE: #78 J. Cannon
- NT: #76 D. Logan
- RE: #90 R. Holmes
- LOLB: #54 E. Randle
- LILB: #58 J. Davis
- RILB: #52 S. Brantley
- ROLB: #51 C. Washington
- RCB: #21 J. Holt
- LCB: #23 J. Castille
- FS: #31 C. Curry
- SS: #44 I. Sully
SUBSTITUTIONS
- 1 Igwebuike, 5 Garcia, 7 Risher, 20 Springs, 24 Prior, 26 Easmon, 30 Greenwood, 40 Armstrong, 55 D Johnson, 56 C Johnson, 57 Browner, 64 Shearin, 65 Fielder, 67 Morgan, 71 Studaway, 75 Lindstrom, 79 Kaplan, 80 Dunn, 81 Freeman, 83 T Bell, 85 Witte
DID NOT PLAY
- 17 DeBerg, 62 Farrell
INACTIVE
- none.
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING
- BUCCANEERS: Wilder 27-96, Young 10-60, Springs 3-13.
- LIONS: Moore 16-59, Jones 7-11, Hipple 2-3.
PASSING
- BUCCANEERS: Young 27-16-167-0-0.
- LIONS: Hipple 38-22-225-1-0, Ferguson 1-0-0-0-0.
RECIEVING
- BUCCANEERS: Carter 5-78, Wilder 4-17, Magee 3-30, House 2-28, Giles 2-14.
- LIONS: Jones 7-49, Nichols 4-70, Thompson 4-32, Lewis 3-35, Mandley 2-19, Moore 1-11, Kane 1-9.
INTERCEPTIONS
- BUCCANEERS: Randle 1-0.
- LIONS: none.
KICK RETURNS
- BUCCANEERS: Freeman 2-68, Prior 2-23.
- LIONS: Jones 3-79, Hall 3-77.
PUNT RETURNS
- BUCCANEERS: Prior 6-51.
- LIONS: Mandley 5-57.
SACKS
- BUCCANEERS: Greenwood 1-9, Washington 1-9, Davis 1-7.
- LIONS: Green 3-22, J.Williams 2-22, E.Williams 1-8.
