Buccaneers vs. Denver Broncos 
LOSS - Tampa Bay Buccaneers 07 Denver Broncos 24
The Buccaneers' only score came on Cedric Brown's 80-yard return of a Steve DeBerg interception, which tied the score at 7–7 in the third quarter. Denver responded with an 80-yard drive, assisted by Norris Thomas' two personal fouls against Rick Upchurch.
The Broncos then went on to score on their next two possessions. DeBerg played in relief of Craig Morton, who left the game with a sprained shoulder in the second quarter. The Broncos were able to efficiently control the ball through short-yardage gains. Their quarterbacks were a combined 20 of 29 for 143 yards passing, while their backs ran 41 times for 153 yards.
Jimmie Giles passed Morris Owens to become the leading receiver in Buccaneer history, while the ground game was held under 50 yards for the fourth time in the season.
Despite their 5–6 record, the Buccaneers held the tiebreaker advantage over the other six teams tied with them for the final wild-card playoff slot.
GAMEDAY BRIEF
OFFICALS
- REFEREE: Jim Tunney
- UMPIRE: Pat Harder
- LINE JUDGE: Dick McKenzie
- HEAD LINSMAN: Sid Semon
- FIELD JUDGE: John Grier
- BACK JUDGE: Pat Knight
- SIDE JUDGE: Gil Mace
SCORING
- BRONCOS: 10:56-1Q Odoms 12 pass from Morton (Steinfort kick)
- BUCCANEERS: 13:53-3Q Brown 40 interception return (Capece kick)
- BRONCOS: 07:22-3Q Canada 1 run (Steinfort kick)
- BRONCOS: 13:33-4Q Canada 3 pass from DeBerg (Steinfort kick)
- BRONCOS: 10:58-4Q Steinfort FG31
STARTERS OFFENSE
- TE: #86 J. Obradovich
- LT: #74 G. Sanders
- LG: #72 R. Snell
- C: #62 J. Leonard
- RG: #61 G. Roberts
- RT: #73 C. Hannah
- TE: #88 J. Giles
- WR: #89 K. House
- QB: #12 D. Williams
- FB: #32 J. Wilder
- TB: #43 J. Eckwood
STARTERS DEFENSE
- LE: #77 B. Kollar
- NT: #76 D. Logan
- RE: #63 L. Selmon
- LOLB: #59 A. Hawkins
- LILB: #56 C. Johnson
- RILB: #54 R. Wood
- ROLB: #53 H. Green
- LC: #41 N. Thomas
- RC: #21 J. Holt
- SS: #20 N. Colzie
- FS: #34 C. Brown
SUBSTITUTIONS
- 43 Capece, 9 Swider, 26 Owens, 27 T Davis, 42 R Bell, 44 Cesare, 45 Mitchell, 51 Nafziger, 52 Brantley, 57 Lewis, 65 Stalls, 68 Yarno, 70 Hutchinson, 75 Reavis, 79 Campbell, 83 Bell, 84 Jones, 87 Carter, 90 White
DID NOT PLAY
- 10 Ford, 14 Fusina, 40 Washington, 50 Wilson
INACTIVE
- none.
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING
- BUCCANEERS: Eckwood 8-25, Wilder 4-7, R.Bell 1-6, Williams 1-3.
- BRONCOS: Parros 12-54, Preston 15-50, Reed 9-27, Wright 1-11, DeBerg 3-10, Canada 1-1.
PASSING
- BUCCANEERS: Williams 31-14-189-2-0.
- BRONCOS: Morton 14-10-73-0-1, DeBerg 15-10-70-1-1.
RECIEVING
- BUCCANEERS: Giles 4-56, House 4-55, Wilder 3-21, Jones 1-44, Eckwood 1-8, T.Bell 1-5.
- BRONCOS: Preston 6-46, Reed 4-22, Watson 3-42, Parros 3-8, Odoms 2-23, Canada 1-3, Upchurch 1-(-1).
INTERCEPTIONS
- BUCCANEERS: Brown 1-40.
- BRONCOS: Harden 2-34.
KICK RETURNS
- BUCCANEERS: Holt 1-29, Owens 1-23.
- BRONCOS: Manning 1-30.
PUNT RETURNS
- BUCCANEERS: Holt 3-17.
- BRONCOS: Manning 5-56.
SACKS
- BUCCANEERS: Green 2-15.
- BRONCOS: Jackson 1-7, Jones 1-7, Carter 1-6.
