Buccaneers vs. Kansas City Chiefs 
LOSS - Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20 Kansas City Chiefs 24
A bad snap resulted in punter Tom Blanchard being tackled at the 14-yard line, setting up the Chiefs' only touchdown of the day, an 8-yard Ted McKnight run. The Buccaneers answered with a drive culminating in a 2-yard James Wilder touchdown run.
The game was marked by breakdowns of the Buccaneer special teams. Blanchard kicked an 18-yard punt after bobbling the snap, and J.T. Smith was allowed to return a punt 62 yards. The defense held the Chiefs to 59 first-half yards, with the score tied 10–10 at halftime.
The Kansas City offense controlled the ball for 23 of 30 minutes in the second half, sidelining a Buccaneer offense that was able to manage only 12 yards rushing. Buccaneer offensive and defensive collapses were seen to coincide with the departures of tackle Charley Hannah and defensive end Lee Roy Selmon, respectively, both with hamstring injuries.
Chiefs coach Marv Levy opted for a conservative offensive strategy, twice settling for field goals when stopped on the 2-yard line. Nick Lowery's four field goals were the most by the Chiefs in a game since 1976.
McKay, speaking of his team's performance, said "It will take them a long time to get the smell out of this stadium". The 2–0 start was the Chiefs' best since their Super Bowl season of 1969.
GAMEDAY BRIEF
OFFICALS
- REFEREE: Red Cashion
- UMPIRE: Art Dempas
- LINE JUDGE: Ron DeSouiza
- HEAD LINESMAN: Ray Dodez
- BACK JUDGE: Ben Tompkins
- FIELD JUDGE: Bob Wortman
- SIDE JUDGE: Nate Jones
SCORING
- CHIEFS: 10:58-2Q Lacy 2 run (Lowery kick)
- BUCCANEERS: 02:21-2Q House 7 pass from DeBerg (Ariri kick)
- CHIEFS: 12:04-3Q Lacy 5 pass from Kenney (Lowery kick)
- BUCCANEERS: 06:33-3Q Ariri FG34
- BUCCANEERS: 00:21-3Q Ariri FG25
- CHIEFS: 09:29-4Q Marshall 27 pass from Kenney (Lowery kick)
- CHIEFS: 07:11-4Q Lowery FG47
- BUCCANEERS: 04:07-4Q Dierking 5 pass from DeBerg (Ariri kick)
STARTERS OFFENSE
- WR: #89 K. House
- LT: #74 G. Sanders
- LG: #73 S. Johnson
- C: #60 R. Grimes
- RG: #62 S. Farrall
- RT: #73 R. Heller
- TE: #82 J. Bell
- TE: #86 J. Carroll
- QB: #17 S. DeBerg
- FB: #25 S. Dierking
- TB: #32 J. Wilder
STARTERS DEFENSE
- LE: #73 J. Cannon
- NT: #76 D. Logan
- RE: #63 L. Selmon
- LOLB: #57 K. Browner
- LILB: #58 J. Davis
- RILB: #52 S. Brantley
- ROLB: #61 C. Washington
- LC: #23 J. Castille
- RC: #21 H. Holt
- LS: #43 B. Reece
- RS: #34 C. Brown
SUBSTITUTIONS
- 2 Ariri, 5 Garcia, 20 Morton, 24 Harvey, 27 Acorn, 29 Bright, 33 Cotney, 41 Thomas, 50 Wilson, 54 Wood, 55 Spradlin, 59 Thompson, 67 Morgan, 70 Thomas, 71 Braggs, 77 Bujnoch, 79 Kaplan, 81 Dixon, 83 T Bell, 85 Witte, 87 Carter
DID NOT PLAY
- 14 Thompson, 16 Kiel, 46 Armstrong, 53 Green, 75 Manor, 88 Giles
INACTIVE
- none.
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING
- BUCCANEERS: Wilder 25-91, Dierking 2-11, DeBerg 2-4.
- CHIEFS: Jackson 5-31, Lacy 4-12, Heard 12-12, Kenney 2-(-2).
PASSING
- BUCCANEERS: DeBerg 54-29-280-3-2.
- CHIEFS: Kenney 46-26-332-2-2.
RECIEVING
- BUCCANEERS: House 10-100, Wilder 7-44, T,Bell 3-38, J.Bell 3-33, Carter 2-31, Carroll 3-29, Dierking 1-5.
- CHIEFS: Carson 7-131, Marshall 4-43, Beckman 4-28, Heard 3-25, Hancock 2-51, Jackson 2-16, Lacy 2-8, Paige 1-28, Arnold 1-2.
INTERCEPTIONS
- BUCCANEERS: Cotney 1-26, Davis 1-0.
- CHIEFS: Ross 1-21, McAllister 1-11, Hill 1-(-1).
KICK RETURNS
- BUCCANEERS: Bright 3-73, Morton 1-26, Wood 1-0.
- CHIEFS: Smith 3-49, Paige 1-7, Hancock 1-15.
PUNT RETURNS
- BUCCANEERS: Bright 2-2.
- CHIEFS: Smith 2-15.
SACKS
- BUCCANEERS: Washington 1-8, Brantley 1-2.
- CHIEFS: Still 2-16, Dawson 1-7, Daniels 0.5-7.5, Bell 0.5-7.5.
