1989 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season

The 1989 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season was the franchise's 14th season in the National Football League the 14th playing their home games at Tampa Stadium and the third under head coach Ray Perkins. The team matched on a 5–11 season in 1988, in 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 Super Bowl 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 overall 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 Sr.’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.

1989 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season
Owner	Hugh Culverhouse
Head coach	Ray Perkins
Home field	Tampa Stadium
Results
Record	5–11
Division place	5th NFC Central
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	WR Mark Carrier
Team MVP	WR Mark Carrier
← 1988 Buccaneers seasons 1990 →

Offseason

NFL draft

Pick	Round	Player	Position	School
4	1	Broderick Thomas	Outside Linebacker	Nebraska
33	2	Danny Peebles	Wide Receiver	N.C. State
90	4	Anthony Florence	Defensive Back	Bethune-Cookman
117	5	Jamie Lawson	Running Back	Nicholls State
146	6	Chris Mohr	Punter	Alabama
154	6	Derrick Little	Linebacker	South Carolina
200	8	Carl Bax	Guard	Missouri
230	9	Patrick Egu	Running Back	Nevada
257	10	Ty Granger	Tackle	Clemson
284	11	Rod Mounts	Guard	Texas A&M
290	11	Willie Griffin	Defensive End	Nebraska
302	11	Herb Duncan	Wide Receiver	Northern Arizona
329	12	Ulysess Turner	Defensive Back	Virginia Union

Roster

Tampa Bay Buccaneers roster
Quarterbacks 11 Kerwin Bell 12 Joe Ferguson Running backs 43 William Howard FB 41 Alvin Mitchell 24 Sylvester Stamps KR 34 Lars Tate 32 James Wilder Wide receivers 88 Mark Carrier 87 Willie Drewrey PR 84 Bruce Hill 83 Danny Peebles 80 Frank Pillow Tight ends 82 Ron Hall 86 William Harris 85 Jackie Walker		Offensive linemen 75 Carl Bax G 69 John Bruhin G 71 Mark Cooper G 65 Dan Graham C 60 Randy Grimes C 74 Paul Gruber T 73 Tom McHale G 70 Harry Swayne T 72 Rob Taylor T Defensive linemen 78 John Cannon DE 79 Reuben Davis DE 94 Robert Goff DE 97 Shawn Lee NT 77 Rhondy Weston DE		Linebackers 99 Eugene Marve ILB 58 Winston Moss OLB 59 Kevin Murphy OLB 57 Peter Najarian ILB 54 Ervin Randle ILB 51 Broderick Thomas OLB Defensive backs 25 Sherman Cocroft FS 40 Donnie Elder CB/KR 36 Bobby Futrell CB/PR 39 Harry Hamilton FS 20 Odie Harris SS 22 Rod Jones CB 29 Ricky Reynolds CB 30 Mark Robinson SS Special teams 56 Sam Anno LS  3 John Carney K  1 Donald Igwebuike K  5 Chris Mohr P		Reserve lists 53 Sidney Coleman LB (IR) 95 Curt Jarvis NT (IR) 38 Jamie Lawson FB (IR) 98 Ray Seals DE (IR) 62 Mike Simmonds G (IR) 47 Don Smith RB (IR) 16 Vinny Testaverde QB (IR) Practice squad 81 Herb Duncan WR 28 Anthony Florence CB 52 Maurice Oliver LB 47 active, 7 inactive, 3 practice squad rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Regular season
Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Game site	Attendance	Record
1	September 10	at Green Bay Packers	W 23–21	Lambeau Field	55,650	1–0
2	September 17	San Francisco 49ers	L 20–16	Tampa Stadium	64,087	1–1
3	September 24	New Orleans Saints	W 20–10	Tampa Stadium	44,053	2–1
4	October 1	at Minnesota Vikings	L 17–3	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	54,817	2–2
5	October 8	Chicago Bears	W 42–35	Tampa Stadium	72,077	3–2
6	October 15	Detroit Lions	L 17–16	Tampa Stadium	46,225	3–3
7	October 22	at Washington Redskins	L 32–28	Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium	52,862	3–4
8	October 29	at Cincinnati Bengals	L 56–23	Riverfront Stadium	57,225	3–5
9	November 5	Cleveland Browns	L 42–31	Tampa Stadium	69,162	3–6
10	November 12	Minnesota Vikings	L 24–10	Tampa Stadium	56,271	3–7
11	November 19	at Chicago Bears	W 32–31	Soldier Field	63,826	4–7
12	November 26	at Phoenix Cardinals	W 14–13	Sun Devil Stadium	33,297	5–7
13	December 3	Green Bay Packers	L 17–16	Tampa Stadium	58,120	5–8
14	December 10	at Houston Oilers	L 20–17	Astrodome	54,532	5–9
15	December 17	at Detroit Lions	L 33–7	Pontiac Silverdome	40,362	5–10
16	December 24	Pittsburgh Steelers	L 31–22	Tampa Stadium	29,690	5–11

Notes:

Division opponents in bold text

Season summary

Week 1: at Green Bay Packers

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Buccaneers	0	20	3	0	23
Packers	7	0	7	7	21

Game information
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter Top passers TAM – Vinny Testaverde – 22/27, 205 yards, 1 TD GB – Don Majkowski – 21/32, 313 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT Top rushers TAM – William Howard – 17 rushes, 67 yards GB – Brent Fullwood – 8 rushes, 54 yards Top receivers TAM – Mark Carrier – 6 receptions, 73 yards GB – Keith Woodside – 6 receptions, 49 yards

Week 1: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Green Bay Packers

at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin

• Date: September 10, 1989
• Game time: 1:00 p.m. CST
• Game weather: Overcast, 60 °F (16 °C)
• TV announcers (CBS): Jim Nantz and Pat Haden

Week 9: vs. Cleveland Browns

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Browns	7	28	0	7	42
Buccaneers	7	10	7	7	31

Game information
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter Top passers TAM – Vinny Testaverde – 27/50, 370 yards, 2 TD, 4 INT CLE – Bernie Kosar – 18/22, 164 yards, 3 TD Top rushers TAM – James Wilder – 6 rushes, 23 yards CLE – Eric Metcalf – 17 rushes, 87 yards, 1 TD Top receivers TAM – James Wilder – 8 receptions, 107 yards, 2 TD CLE – Eric Metcalf – 7 receptions, 52 yards, 1 TD

Week 9: Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Cleveland Browns

at Tampa Stadium, Tampa, Florida

• Date: November 5, 1989
• Game time: 1:00 p.m. CST
• Game weather: Overcast, 85 °F (29 °C)
• TV announcers (NBC): Tom Hammond and Joe Namath

Standings

NFC Central
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Minnesota Vikings(3)	10	6	0	.625	6–2	8–4	362	356	W1
Green Bay Packers	10	6	0	.625	5–3	10–4	362	275	W2
Detroit Lions	7	9	0	.438	4–4	6–6	312	364	W5
Chicago Bears	6	10	0	.375	2–6	4–8	358	377	L6
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	5	11	0	.313	3–5	5–7	320	419	L4

References

• Buccaneers on Pro Football Reference