Playoffs Are in Buccaneers’ Sight

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Fifteen years of waiting for a winning season are over for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Their first playoff berth in that many years might not be far behind.

Fullback Mike Alstott had two touchdowns and tailback Warrick Dunn ran for 120 yards as the Buccaneers defeated the New York Giants, 20-8, on Sunday.

The Buccaneers (9-4), who held the Giants to 202 total yards, can clinch a playoff berth by winning one of their final three games. They last had a winning season in the strike season of 1982, when they went 5-4. Their last full winning season was 1981 when they went 9-7.

“We’re not thinking, ‘We’re set’ or ‘We’re there,’ ” said Buccaneer safety John Lynch, whose fourth-down tackle of Tyrone Wheatley at the Tampa Bay 47 stopped New York’s last serious scoring threat after the Giants closed within 14-8 early in the fourth quarter. “That’s the great thing about our team, our aspirations are a lot higher. It seems every time we win lately, we wipe out some streak and as a team you take a little pride in that. But we want to do more than win nine games.”

Despite losing, the Giants (7-5-1) maintained a one-game lead in the NFC East over Washington and Philadelphia.

“What’s frustrating is that we really could have been in the driver’s seat if we had won,” Giant linebacker Corey Miller said after the team fell to 1-2-1 in its last four games. “The good thing is we still control our destiny. The question is what are you going to do? Are you going to be a pretender or a contender?”

Alstott scored on a one-yard pass play in the second quarter that was set up by a 53-yard pass play from Trent Dilfer to Dunn. He also had a nine-yard touchdown run after the Giants seemingly had gotten momentum right before halftime when officials allowed a pass interception by Tito Wooten to stand. Replays showed the ball clearly hit the ground.

Wooten’s 53-yard return set up a 45-yard field goal by Brad Daluiso, a score that annoyed Tampa Bay Coach Tony Dungy so much he argued with officials running off the field.

“The guys were very frustrated with the whole turn of events at the end of the first half,” Dungy said. “So the thing is to go out there and do something about it.”

The Buccaneers did. They took the opening kickoff of the second half and went 84 yards in six plays. Alstott scored his touchdown one play after Jason Sehorn was called for a 42-yard pass interference penalty.

A 30-yard field goal by Daluiso got New York within 14-6, and a safety when Dilfer was called for intentional grounding in the end zone made it a six-point margin with 14:08 to play.

However, the Buccaneers stopped New York on a fourth-and-one at the Tampa Bay 47 with 12:02 to go on Lynch’s big play as he circled from the outside to tackle Wheatley. Tampa Bay then went 52 yards in nine plays, with Errict Rhett scoring from a yard out.