Buccaneers vs. Green Bay Packers 
WON - Tampa Bay Buccaneers 21 Green Bay Packers 07
Longtime rival Green Bay Packers came to Raymond James Stadium, with the best record in the NFC on the line. In the first quarter, Brett Favre connected on a touchdown pass to Donald Driver to take the lead 7–0. Tampa Bay scored a field goal at the end of the first half, and the score was 7–3 at halftime. The Buccaneers scored another field goal in the third quarter, narrowing the deficit to 7–6.
On the first play of the next drive, Favre was intercepted by Brian Kelly, who returned the ball to the Packers 18-yard line. During the return, Chad Clifton was jogging down field, away from the main action, and was blindsided by Warren Sapp. Clifton laid motionless on the field for several minutes, and was carted off the field with a season-ending pelvic injury. The turnover led to a Brad Johnson touchdown pass to Joe Jurevicius, followed by a two-point conversion catch by Keyshawn Johnson, and a 14–7 lead.
Ronde Barber, Dexter Jackson, and Kelly intercepted three more Favre passes, and Tampa Bay won convincingly 21–7. At 9–2, the Buccaneers stood with the best record in the NFC conference. After the game, Sapp and Packers coach Mike Sherman were involved in a confrontation on the field, exchanging heated words. The Sapp hit was regarded by some as a cheap shot, but Clifton would recover fully from the injury, and Sapp defended his actions, and was not penalized by the league.
GAMEDAY BRIEF
OFFICALS
- REFEREE: Johnny Grier
- UMPIRE: Carl Paganelli
- HEAD LINESMAN: James Wilson
- LINE JUDGE: Jeff Bergman
- SIDE JUDGE: Larry Rose
- BACK JUDGE: Scott Green
- FIELD JUDGE: Eddy Powers
- REPLAY OFFICIAL: Dick Creed
- VIDEO OPERATOR: not documented
SCORING
- PACKERS: 05:44-1Q Driver 4 pass from Favre (Longwell kick)
- BUCCANEERS: 00:00-2Q Gramatica FG38
- BUCCANEERS: 07:33-3Q Gramatica FG51
- BUCCANEERS: 05:00-3Q Jurevicius 4 pass from B.Johnson (K.Johnson pass)
- BUCCANEERS: 07:24-4Q Dilger 3 pass from B.Johnson (Gramatica kick)
STARTERS OFFENSE
- WR: #19 K. Johnson
- LT: #72 R. Oben
- LG: #71 K. Jenkins
- C: #62 J. Christy
- RG: #60 C. Coleman
- RT: #67 K. Walker
- TE: #85 K. Dilger
- WR: #87 K. McCardell
- QB: #14 B. Johnson
- TE: #88 R. Dudley
- RB: #32 M. Pittman
STARTERS DEFENSE
- LE: #94 G. Spires
- LT: #99 W. Sapp
- NT: #91 C. Darby
- RE: #97 S. Rice
- WLB: #55 D. Brooks
- MLB: #53 S. Quarles
- DB: #26 D. Smiths
- LCB: #25 B. Kelly
- RCB: #20 R. Barber
- SS: #47 J. Lynch
- FS: #34 D. Jackson
SUBSTITUTIONS
- 7 Gramatica, 9 Tupa, 11 Johnson, 23 Phillips, 27 Stecker, 35 Ivy, 38 Howell, 40 Alstott, 43 Cook, 51 Singleton, 52 Webster, 58 Golden, 66 Benjamin, 74 Green, 75 Brown, 77 Washington, 80 Yoder, 83 Jurevicius, 86 Williams, 89 Crawford, 90 Gurley, 96 Wyms
DID NOT PLAY
- 93 Claybrooks
INACTIVE
- 10 King, 30 Barnes, 31 Wansley, 64 Goodspeed, 81 Lee, 84 Barlow, 92 McFarland, 98 Smith
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING
- BUCCANEERS: Pittman 13-50, Alstott 9-30, R.Johnson 2-8, B.Johnson 1-5.
- PACKERS: Green 18-56, Favre 1-17, Driver 1-16, Fisher 3-7.
PASSING
- BUCCANEERS: B.Johnson 25-15-134-0-2, R.Johnson 5-3-33-1-0.
- PACKERS: Favre 38-20-196-4-1.
RECIEVING
- BUCCANEERS: Jurevicius 5-41, McCardell 3-18, Dilger 3-17, K.Johnson 2-48, Pittman 2-23, Williams 1-16, Alstott 1-8, Stecker 1-(-4).
- PACKERS: Glenn 4-61, Green 4-40, Franks 4-29, Driver 3-32, Henderson 2-19, Fisher 2-8, Walker 1-7.
INTERCEPTIONS
- BUCCANEERS: Kelly 2-31, Jackson 1-58, Barber 1-0.
- PACKERS: Diggs 1-29.
KICK RETURNS
- BUCCANEERS: Stecker 2-55.
- PACKERS: Walker 4-78.
PUNT RETURNS
- BUCCANEERS: Williams 6-27.
- PACKERS: Gordon 2-25.
SACKS
- BUCCANEERS: Rice 2-17, Darby 1-9.
- PACKERS: McKenzie 1-7, Gbaja-Biamila 1-5.
