1989 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Season 14 Brief

The 1989 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season began with the team trying to improve on an 5–11 season which finished winning two of their last three games including an upset of the 1988 AFC East Champion Buffalo Bills (a win that was not only Tampa Bay's high point of the season, but turned out to be hugely impactful on the AFC playoff picture, as Buffalo’s loss combined with an overtime win by the Cincinnati Bengals over Washington in the season finale meant that the Bengals clinched the home-field advantage that would have otherwise gone to the Bills; Cincinnati ended up winning a close AFC title game at home against Buffalo and got to Super Bowl XXIII.

The season started with a road win against the improved Green Bay Packers, and game two brought the world champion San Francisco 49ers and Joe Montana to Tampa Stadium. With Joe trying to direct a 4th quarter comeback, cornerback Ricky Reynolds dropped what would have been a game ending interception on second down in the end zone. On third down, Montana rolled out and ran untouched into the endzone for a winning TD that left a rare sellout crowd stunned and silent in defeat. The Bucs extended their record to 3—2 by beating the hated Chicago Bears finally in Tampa Stadium, holding off the Bears to a 42—35 victory. It was an impressive win, but then the Bucs lost to the Detroit Lions in the last minute and entered into an over all five-game losing streak tailspin. Tampa Bay would sweep Chicago to end the streak (an achievement which was diluted by the Bears having their worst season in several years) but ended with a disappointing 5—11 record. James Wilder’s final season was highlighted by a 100-yard receiving game in week 9. Many fans[who?] felt the Bucs were far better than the final record suggested, and offseason acquisitions would help the Bucs win the next year.

		PRESEASON
Date		Opponent	Week/Record	Outcome
Saturday Aug. 12		Houston Texans Tampa Stadium, Tampa Bay, FL	PS - wk 1 1-0	Won 41-23
Saturday Aug. 19		Atlanta Falcons Tampa Stadium, Tampa Bay, FL	PS - wk 2 2-0	Won 27-0
Saturday Aug. 26		@ Indianapolis Colts Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, IN	PS - wk 3 2-1	Lost 0-30
Saturday Sep. 2		@ Cleveland Browns FirstEnergy Stadium, Cleveland, OH	PS - wk 4 3-1	Won 27-10
1989 Season Results Record: 5-11, DIV: 3-5 (5th in NFC Central)
Date		Opponent	Week/Record	Outcome
Sunday Sep. 10		@ Green Bay Packers Lambeau Field, Green Bay, WI	RS - wk 1 1-0	Won 23-21
Sunday Sep. 17		San Francisco 49ers Tampa Stadium, Tampa Bay, FL	RS - wk 2 1-1	Lost 16-20
Sunday Sep. 24		New Orleans Saints Tampa Stadium, Tampa Bay, FL	RS - wk 3 2-1	Won 22-10
Sunday Oct. 1		@ Minnesota Vikings Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, MN	RS - wk 4 2-2	Lost 3-17
Sunday Oct. 8		Chicago Bears Tampa Stadium, Tampa Bay, FL	RS - wk 5 3-2	Won 42-35
Sunday Oct. 15		Detroit Lions Tampa Stadium, Tampa Bay, FL	RS - wk 6 3-3	Lost 16-17
Sunday Oct. 22		@ Washington Redskins RFK Stadium, Washington, DC	RS - wk 7 3-4	Lost 28-32
Sunday Oct. 29		@ Cincinnati Bengals Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati, OH	RS - wk 8 3-5	Lost 23-56
Sunday Nov. 5		Cleveland Browns Tampa Stadium, Tampa Bay, FL	RS - wk 9 3-6	Lost 31-42
Sunday Nov. 12		Minnesota Vikings Tampa Stadium, Tampa Bay, FL	RS - wk 10 3-7	Lost 10-24
Sunday Nov. 19		@ Chicago Bears Soldier Field, Chicago, IL	RS - wk 11 4-7	Won 32-31
Sunday Nov. 26		@ Arizona Cardinals Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, AZ	RS - wk 12 5-7	Won 14-13
Sunday Dec. 3		Green Bay Packers Tampa Stadium, Tampa Bay, FL	RS - wk 13 5-8	Lost 16-17
Sunday Dec. 10		@ Houston Texans Astrodome, Houston, TX	RS - wk 14 5-9	Lost 17-20
Sunday Dec. 17		@ Detroit Lions Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, MI	RS - wk 15 5-10	Lost 7-33
Saturday Dec. 24		Pittsburgh Steelers Tampa Stadium, Tampa Bay, FL	RS - wk 16 5-11	Lost 22-31
		PLAYOFFS
Date		Opponent	NFC/Superbowl	Outcome
Season Ended		@ Tampa Bay Buccaneers Tampa Stadium, Tampa Bay, FL	None None	00-00

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