Buccaneers vs. Cleveland Browns 
LOSS - Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31 Cleveland Browns 42
Buccaneers quarterback Testaverde threw for over 300 yards for the last three consecutive games. Said wide receiver Bruce Hill: “I don't feel like we're a losing team, even though that's what our record indicates. We all believe we're good, and I know we're going to be all right. I don't think we'll go 3-13, that's for sure.”
It was a had fought loss with the offense putting together touchdown drives of 80, 75, 50 and 80 yards against the top-ranked defense. James Wilder had eight catches for 107 yards, two touchdowns, and six rushes for 23 yards. Tampa Bay's 31 points were the most scored against 6-3 Cleveland this season.
The Buccaneers defense held the Browns to seven points in the second half and to five drives of 10 yards or less.
Metcalf, a rookie and the son of former NFL great Terry Metcalf, drove through the Tampa Bay defense for 233 total yards - 87 on the ground, 52 receiving, and 94 on kick returns. He scored two touchdowns that included a 43-yard. “I missed a tackle on that run,” said Buccaneers safety Sherman Cocroft. “He's so hard to get one-on-one. You need a lot of people around to tackle him, and we just didn't get the job done.”
The Bucs fought back in the second half on touchdowns by Wilder and Tate, but it wasn't sufficient. Browns coach Bud Carson was impressed with the Buccaneers' second-half rally. “When you get ahead like we did at halftime, the game should be over,” he said. “We were lucky to come out with a win.” Curt Jarvis, the Bucs' nose tackle, saw it differently: “I don't know that we're a good enough team to get that far behind and come back. We just committed suicide out there the first half, and we couldn't do enough to come back.” Linebacker Ervin Randle: “We won the second half of that game, but they already had too many points on the board and there wasn't enough time to rally. It's disappointing because I felt this was the week we'd finally put things back together.”
GAMEDAY BRIEF
OFFICALS
- REFEREE: Johnny Grier
- UMPIRE: Art Demmas
- LINE JUDGE: Bill Reynolds
- SIDE JUDGE: Gil Mace
- HEAD LINESMAN: Paul Weider
- BACK JUDGE: Tim Millis
- FIELD JUDGE: Ron Spitler
- REPLAY OFFICIAL: Al Sabato
SCORING
- BUCCANEERS: 08:18-1Q Tate 1 run (Igwebuike kick)
- BROWNS: 02:36-1Q Metcalf 24 pass from Kosar (Bahr kick)
- BROWNS: 14:07-2Q Tillman 7 pass from Kosar (Bahr kick)
- BROWNS: 07:42-2Q Wright 27 interception return (Bahr kick)
- BROWNS: 07:23-2Q Gash 15 interception return (Bahr kick)
- BUCCANEERS: 03:54-2Q Wilder 9 pass from Testaverde (Igwebuike kick)
- BROWNS: 02:26-2Q Tennell 4 pass from Kosar (Bahr kick)
- BUCCANEERS: 01:17-2Q Igwebuike FG53
- BUCCANEERS: 03:53-3Q Wilder 9 pass from Testaverde (Igwebuike kick)
- BROWNS: 014:03-4Q Metcalf 54 run (Bahr kick)
- BUCCANEERS: 09:35-4Q Tate 1 run (Igwebuike kick)
STARTERS OFFENSE
- WR: #88 M. Carrier
- LT: #74 P. Gruber
- LG: #73 T. McHale
- C: #60 R. Grimes
- RG: #75 C. Bax
- RT: #72 R. Taylor
- TE: #82 R. Hall
- WR: #84 B. Hill
- QB: #14 V. Testaverde
- FB: #43 W. Howard
- RB: #34 L. Tate
STARTERS DEFENSE
- LE: #79 R. Davis
- NT: #95 C. Jarvis
- RE: #77 R. Weston
- LOLB: #59 K. Murphy
- LILB: #99 E. Marve
- RILB: #54 E. Randle
- ROLB: #58 W. Moss
- LC: #29 R. Reynolds
- RC: #22 R. Jones
- SS: #30 M. Robinson
- FS: #25 S. Cocroft
SUBSTITUTIONS
- 1 Igwebuike, 5 Mohr, 20 Harris, 24 Stamps, 32 Wilder, 36 Futrell, 40 Elder, 47 Smith, 51 Thomas, 56 Anno, 57 Najarian, 70 Swayne, 78 Cannon, 83 Peebles, 85 Walker, 86 Harris, 87 Drewrey, 92 Smith, 97 Lee
DID NOT PLAY
- 12 Ferguson, 61 Ingram, 65 Graham, 71 Cooper
INACTIVE
- 39 Hamilton, 94 Goff
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING
- BUCCANEERS: Wilder 6-23, Tate 6-15, Howard 1-6, Smith 1-6, Stamps 1-6, Peebles 1-(-7).
- BROWNS: Metcalf 17-87, Manoa 4-15, Oliphant 1-14, Redden 2-4, Kosar 5-(-6).
PASSING
- BUCCANEERS: Testaverde 50-27-370-4-2.
- BROWNS: Kosar 22-18-164-0-3.
RECIEVING
- BUCCANEERS: Wilder 8-107, Hill 4-58, Hall 3-57, Drewrey 3-31, Carrier 2-33, Smith 2-30, Stamps 2-4, Harris 1-21, Tate 1-15, Howard 1-14.
- BROWNS: Metcalf 7-52, Langhorne 3-53, Manoa 2-17, Jones 2-7, Slaughter 1-15, Oliphant 1-9, Tillman 1-7, Tennell 1-4.
INTERCEPTIONS
- BUCCANEERS: none.
- BROWNS: Wright 1-27, Minnifield 1-25, Gash 1-15, Lyons 1-0.
KICK RETURNS
- BUCCANEERS: Elder 5-70, Stamps 1-24.
- BROWNS: Metcalf 3-94, Oliphant 1-11.
PUNT RETURNS
- BUCCANEERS: Drewrey 2-14.
- BROWNS: McNeil 1-(-1).
SACKS
- BUCCANEERS: Weston 1-7.
- BROWNS: Pike 1-13, Baker 1-8.
