The 2001 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season was the franchise's 26th season in the National Football League (NFL) and the sixth and final under head coach Tony Dungy.
The season began with the team trying to improve on a 10–6 season. Quarterback Shaun King was benched, and Brad Johnson was brought in from free agency. Johnson broke Tampa Bay team records for passing yards (3,406), completions (340), and attempts (540). However, the team stumbled out of the gate, and started the season with a 3–4 record. The team rallied in the second half of the season, winning six of nine. They finished the season 9–7 and clinched a playoff spot for the fourth time in five seasons.
In the Wild Card playoffs Tampa Bay lost 31–9, to the Philadelphia Eagles. It was the second year in a row that Tampa Bay was routed in the wild card round by Philadelphia, not able to score a single touchdown either time. Two days later, Dungy was fired by the Buccaneers. Following the season, Randall McDaniel retired.
Offseason Additions SubtractionsQB Brad Johnson (Redskins) QB Eric Zeier (Falcons)DE Simeon Rice (Cardinals) DE Chidi Ahanotu (Rams) G Frank Middleton (Raiders) TE Patrick Hape (Broncos) LB Don Davis (Rams) G Kevin Dogins (Bears) DT Tyoka Jackson (Rams) S Damien Robinson (Jets)
NFL draft
Personnel
Staff 2001 Tampa Bay Buccaneers staffFront office Owner/President – Malcolm Glazer General manager – Rich McKay
Head coaches Head coach – Tony Dungy
Offensive coaches
Offensive coordinator – Clyde Christensen Quarterbacks – Jim Caldwell Running backs – Tony Nathan Wide receivers – Charlie Williams Tight ends – Ricky Thomas Offensive line – Chris Foerster Offensive assistant – Kevin O'Dea Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Monte Kiffin Defensive line – Rod Marinelli Linebackers – Joe Barry Defensive backs – Mike Tomlin Defensive assistant – Alan Williams
Special teams coaches Special teams – Joe Marciano
Strength and conditioning Director of player development – Cedric Saunders Strength and conditioning – Mark Asanovich Assistant strength and conditioning – Les Ebert
Roster 2001 Tampa Bay Buccaneers roster Quarterbacks Joe Hamilton Brad Johnson Shaun King
Running backs Rabih Abdullah Mike Alstott FB Jameel Cook FB Warrick Dunn Aaron Stecker KR
Wide receivers Reidel Anthony PR Jacquez Green Keyshawn Johnson Frank Murphy KR Karl Williams PR Milton Wynn
Tight ends Dave Moore Mike Roberg Todd Yoder Offensive linemen Jeff Christy C Cosey Coleman G DeMarcus Curry T Shane Grice G Russ Hochstein G Randall McDaniel G Pete Pierson T Kenyatta Walker T Todd Washington C/G Jerry Wunsch T
Defensive linemen James Cannida DT Chuck Darby DE/DT Marcus Jones DE Anthony McFarland DT Simeon Rice DE Warren Sapp DT Steve White DE Ellis Wyms DE/DT Linebackers Derrick Brooks OLB Jamie Duncan MLB Jeff Gooch OLB Shelton Quarles OLB Al Singleton OLB Nate Webster MLB
Defensive backs Donnie Abraham CB Ronde Barber CB David Gibson SS John Howell FS Brian Kelly CB Dexter Jackson FS John Lynch SS Dwight Smith CB/KR
Special teams Doug Brien K Martín Gramática K Sean McDermott LS Mark Royals P Reserve lists Charles Kirby FB (IR) Kendell Mack T (IR) Frank Rice WR (IR) Eric Vance S (IR)
Practice squad Darryl Daniel WR Brian Gruber T Corey Ivy CB Maugaula Tuitele LB Ron Warner DE rookies in italics 53 active, 4 inactive, 5 practice squad
Preseason Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 Miami Dolphins L 14–17 0–1 Raymond James Stadium Recap 2 at Cleveland Browns L 6–7 0–2 Cleveland Browns Stadium Recap 3 New England Patriots W 20–3 1–2 Raymond James Stadium Recap 4 at Atlanta Falcons L 7–36 1–3 Georgia Dome Recap
Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 9 at Dallas Cowboys W 10–6 1–0 Texas Stadium Recap 2 Bye 3 September 30 at Minnesota Vikings L 16–20 1–1 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Recap 4 October 7 Green Bay Packers W 14–10 2–1 Raymond James Stadium Recap 5 October 14 at Tennessee Titans L 28–31 2–2 Adelphia Coliseum Recap 6 October 21 Pittsburgh Steelers L 10–17 2–3 Raymond James Stadium Recap 7 October 28 Minnesota Vikings W 41–14 3–3 Raymond James Stadium Recap 8 November 4 at Green Bay Packers L 20–21 3–4 Lambeau Field Recap 9 November 11 at Detroit Lions W 20–17 4–4 Pontiac Silverdome Recap 10 November 18 Chicago Bears L 24–27 4–5 Raymond James Stadium Recap 11 at St. Louis Rams W 24–17 5–5 Trans World Dome Recap 12 December 2 at Cincinnati Bengals W 16–13 6–5 Paul Brown Stadium Recap 13 December 9 Detroit Lions W 15–12 7–5 Raymond James Stadium Recap 14 December 16 at Chicago Bears L 3–27 7–6 Soldier Field Recap 15 December 23 New Orleans Saints W 48–21 8–6 Raymond James Stadium Recap 16 Baltimore Ravens W 22–10 9–6 Raymond James Stadium Recap 17 January 6 Philadelphia Eagles L 13–17 9–7 Raymond James Stadium Recap
Standings
Postseason
NFC Wild Card: at Philadelphia Eagles (lost 9–31)
at Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia
Game time: Saturday January 12, 2002, 4:30 p.m. EST Game weather: , clear TV announcers (ABC): Mike Patrick (play-by-play), Joe Theismann and Paul Maguire (color commentators) Referee: Larry Nemmers Game attendance: 65,846
Eagles QB Donovan McNabb threw for 194 yards and 2 touchdowns, while also rushing for 54 yards, as Philadelphia dominated Tampa Bay from start to finish. Bucs quarterback Brad Johnson was intercepted four times, twice by Damon Moore. It was the second consecutive season in which Philadelphia eliminated Tampa Bay from the playoffs during the wild card round, and two days later, Buccaneers coach Tony Dungy was fired.
On the Eagles first drive of the game, Buccaneers safety Dexter Jackson intercepted a pass from McNabb and returned it 9 yards to the Eagles 36-yard line, setting up a 36-yard field goal from Martin Gramatica. But McNabb made up for his mistake with a 39-yard run on third down and 5 on Philadelphia's ensuing possession, setting up a field goal for David Akers that tied the game, 3–3. In the second period, McNabb completed 4 of 4 passes for 70 yards on a 73-yard drive, including a 41-yard completion to Todd Pinkston, that ended with a 16-yard touchdown pass to tight end Chad Lewis. Tampa responded with a 10-play, 65-yard drive, but once again could not dent the end zone and had to settle for another Gramatica field goal, cutting their deficit to 10–6. Later in the quarter, Eagles punter Sean Landeta pinned the Buccaneers back at their own 5-yard line and Tampa Bay could not get a first down with their next drive. After receiving Mark Royals' short 28-yard punt at the Buccaneers 31-yard line, McNabb threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Duce Staley with 35 seconds left in the half. But Tampa Bay managed to respond with Gramatica's third field goal before halftime, set up by a 46-yard reception from Keyshawn Johnson, cutting their deficit to 17–9.
But Tampa Bay was completely dominated in the second half. Moore recorded his first interception from Brad Johnson at the Eagles 38-yard line on the Buccaneers opening drive of the third quarter. Later on, the Eagles drove 60 yards in six plays and scored on a 25-yard touchdown run from rookie Correll Buckhalter. Johnson tried to rally his team back with a pair of drives deep into Eagles territory, but both of them were ended with interceptions. First, defensive back Troy Vincent picked off a pass from Johnson in the end zone with 4:09 left in the third quarter. Then late in the fourth quarter, safety Brian Dawkins intercepted Johnson on Philadelphia's 3-yard line. Following a punt, Moore put the game away by recording his second interception and returning it 59 yards for a touchdown.
Scoring TB – field goal Gramatica 36 TB 3–0 PHI – field goal Akers 26 Tie 3–3 PHI – Lewis 16 pass from McNabb (Akers kick) PHI 10–3 TB – field goal Gramatica 32 PHI 10–6 PHI – Staley 23 pass from McNabb (Akers kick) PHI 17–6 TB – field goal Gramatica 27 PHI 17–9 PHI – Buckhalter 25 run (Akers kick) PHI 24–9 PHI – Moore 59 interception return (Akers kick) PHI 31–9 Game summaries
Preseason (1–3) The Ryan Leaf experiment ended about as fast as it started. Tampa Bay signed the troubled quarterback during the offseason. The Buccaneers were intrigued by his physical talent and planned to develop his abilities more slowly by having him watch and learn. However, Leaf's wrist still had not healed, and he refused to have surgery despite doctors' strong recommendations. After mediocre performances in the Buccaneers' four preseason games, the club asked Leaf to accept a lower salary. He refused, and the club released him just five days before the start of the 2001 season.
Week 1: at Dallas Cowboys (won 10–6) Brad Johnson started his first game for the Buccaneers, and led them to a 10–6 victory. Despite holding a poor Cowboys club to only 127 yards, a fourth-quarter touchdown run by Johnson was needed to seal the victory. It was the Bucs' first ever victory in Dallas.
Week 2: Philadelphia Eagles Initially the game was a highly anticipated rematch from last season's wild card round. However, after 9/11, all week 2 games were postponed and eventually rescheduled to become week 18.
Week 3: Bye The NFL resumed play in week 3, but Tampa Bay was scheduled for their bye week.
Week 4: at Minnesota Vikings (lost 16–20) After 21 days, the Buccaneers finally played their second game of the season. Three Martin Gramatica field goals and a Warrick Dunn touchdown run gave the Buccaneers a 16–13 lead in the fourth quarter. However, Vikings quarterback Daunte Culpepper capped off a 96-yard drive with an 8-yard touchdown run with 1:03 remaining, and Minnesota took the victory 20–16.
Week 5: Green Bay Packers (won 14–10) Tampa Bay finally played their first home game, five weeks into the season. Shelton Quarles intercepted Brett Favre and returned the ball 98 yards for a touchdown, the longest such in franchise history. The Buccaneers intercepted Favre a total of three times, and Mike Alstott clinched the victory with a 39-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter.
Week 6: at Tennessee Titans (lost 28–31, OT) Brad Johnson passed for 287 yards and three touchdown passes (including two in the final 6 minutes) and forced overtime. However, the Titans kicked a field goal and won the game on their first possession of overtime.
Week 7: Pittsburgh Steelers (lost 10–17) The Steelers sacked Brad Johnson ten times, and Jerome Bettis rushed for 143 yards, as the Buccaneers fell to 2–3 on the season. After trailing 17–3, Tampa Bay finally got into the endzone with 28 seconds to go, but the result was not as close as the score indicated.
Week 8: Minnesota Vikings (won 41–14) After slumping for several weeks, the Buccaneers rolled over their division rivals, the Minnesota Vikings. Mike Alstott rushed for 129 yards, and three touchdowns, while Brad Johnson threw two touchdown passes and no interceptions. Due to the NFL's realignment for the 2002 season, this was the Buccaneers final game against the Vikings as division rivals.
Week 9: at Green Bay Packers (lost 20–21) Tampa Bay looked to break a winless streak against Green Bay at Lambeau Field that dated back to 1989. Brad Johnson connected on two touchdown passes, and Martin Gramatica scored two field goals for a 20–14 lead late in the fourth quarter. The Buccaneer defense also performed, intercepting Brett Favre twice. With 3:03 to go, however, Allen Rossum scored a game-winning 55-yard punt return touchdown to foil the Buccaneers' chances at victory. This was the Buccaneers final game against the Packers as division rivals, and their last trip to Lambeau Field until 2005.
Week 10: at Detroit Lions (won 20–17) Tampa Bay traveled to the Silverdome for the final time to take on a pitiful 0–9 Lions team. With 4 seconds to go, Martin Gramatica scored a 35-yard field goal to pull out the victory, and avoid the upset. Tampa Bay improved to 4–4.
Week 11: Chicago Bears (lost 24–27)