Buccaneers vs. Minnesota Vikings

LOSS - Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24 Minnesota Vikings 26

Testaverde had his best passing game of the season, connecting with 23 of 41 passes for 330 yards and two touchdowns.

Testaverde rallied the Buccaneers from a 20-3 deficit in the first half. His second touchdown reception was a 21-yarder to Mark Carrier. The score left Tampa Bay trailing 26-24 with 5:36 remaining in regulation play. Tampa Bay caught wind in the sails and seemed a comeback was in the works when the Buccaneer's defense forced the Vikings to go three-and-out on their next possession.

Facing short yardage from the Buccaneers 34-yard line and only 3:13 left in requlation play, Buccaneers coaching staff opted to punt the ball. Williamson played it safe and was sorry.

Walker, who had only two other 100-yard games this season, carried twice for 19 yards and a first down. The Vikings sealed the victory when quarterback Rich Gannon bootlegged 42 yards on third-and-2.

Williamson was quoted saing he did not regret his decision to punt the ball. "It was fourth-and-3, and I thought we could get a good kick and use our timeouts to stop them,". "If you go for it and don't make it in the situation, the game's over. We've been down this road before. We talked all week about believing in ourselves and playing with respect and pride. A lot of good things happened, but it wasn't enough at the right time."

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GAMEDAY BRIEF

OFFICALS

• REFEREE: Garry Austin
• UMPIRE: Rex Stuart
• LINE JUDGE: Bill Reynolds
• SIDE JUDGE: David Wyant
• HEAD LINESMAN: Bruce Maurer
• BACK JUDGE: Bob Moore
• FIELD JUDGE: Don Orr
• REPLAY OFFICIAL: Bob Beeks

SCORING

• VIKINGS: 07:58-1Q Reveiz FG50
• BUCCANEERS: 03:50-1Q Christie FG40
• VIKINGS: 00:00-1Q Walker 71 run (Reveiz kick)
• VIKINGS: 06:11-2Q M.Jones 5 pass from Gannon (Reveiz kick)
• VIKINGS: 01:50-2Q Reveiz FG40
• BUCCANEERS: 00:00-2Q J.Anderson 1 pass from Testaverde (Christie kick)
• BUCCANEERS: 07:02-3Q Cobb 1 run (Christie kick)
• VIKINGS: 02:11-3Q Reveiz FG32
• VIKINGS: 08:37-4Q Reveiz FG50
• BUCCANEERS: 05:36-4Q Carrier 21 pass from Testaverde (Christie kick)

STARTERS OFFENSE

• WR: #88 M. Carrier
• LT: #74 P. Gruber
• LG: #73 T. McHale
• C: #61 T. Mayberry
• RG: #62 I. Beckles
• RT: #72 R. Taylor
• TE: #82 R. Hall
• WR: #80 L. Dawsey
• QB: #14 V. Testaverde
• FB: #20 R. Wilson
• RB: #34 R. Cobb

STARTERS DEFENSE

• LE: #92 D. Manley
• NT: #77 G. Nichols
• UT: #96 T. Newton
• RE: #52 K. McCants
• LLB: #59 K. Murphy
• MLB: #55 J. Solomon
• RLB: #51 B. Thomas
• LCB: #29 R. Reynolds
• RCB: #44 C. Carter
• SS: #25 T. Covington
• FS: #23 M. Carter

SUBSTITUTIONS

• 2 Christie, 3 Royals, 22 Hampton, 27 Fullington, 32 Highsmith, 33 Frizzell, 36 Hardy, 40 Anderson, 56 Anno, 57 Chamblee, 58 Tiggle, 64 Ryan, 66 Hall, 69 Bruhin, 70 McRae, 85 Anthony, 87 Drewrey, 89 Anderson, 97 Grant

DID NOT PLAY

• 7 Carlson, 24 Jones, 76 Dill

INACTIVE

• 4 O'Hara, 86 Thomas

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING

• BUCCANEERS: Cobb 9-20, Testaverde 3-15, Anderson 2-6, Wilson 2-4.
• VIKINGS: Walker 16-126, Allen 12-64, Gannon 7-60, Nelson 2-27, Carter 2-19, Anderson 1-0.

PASSING

• BUCCANEERS: Testaverde 41-23-330-0-2.
• VIKINGS: Gannon 24-12-145-0-1.

RECIEVING

• BUCCANEERS: Carrier 6-110, G Anderson 5-44, Dawsey 4-85, Hall 3-39, Cobb 2-34, Drewrey 1-10, Wilson 1-7, J Anderson 1-1.
• VIKINGS: Jordan 4-50, A.Carter 4-23, C.Carter 1-41, H.Jones 1-18, Allen 1-8, M.Jones 1-5.

INTERCEPTIONS

• BUCCANEERS: none.
• VIKINGS: none.

KICK RETURNS

• BUCCANEERS: G.Anderson 3-35.
• VIKINGS: Nelson 2-46.

PUNT RETURNS

• BUCCANEERS: Drewrey 2-2.
• VIKINGS: Lewis 1-4.

SACKS

• BUCCANEERS: Manley 1-4, Newton 1-1.
• VIKINGS: Randle 1-2.

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