An interesting spin on the Bucs-Skins game story

                    

	Sunday's Bucs win against the Redskins would've been a thriller in any era. AP

I love the NFL's occasional use of throwback uniforms, so I got a quick kick out of an old volume of game accounts that I unearthed. The antique jargon is amusing and, in this steely-eyed era, it boggles what's left of the mind to realize that breathless, gee-whiz prose was once the norm, even in the staid sports pages of The New York Times. Here's how Sunday's Redskins-Buccaneers contest looks clad in throwback language from the 1930s:

TAMPA, Fla. (Nov. 13) -- It was a thrilling combat of gridiron strategy, forward passing skill, and desperate line plunging that kept the 65,000 witnesses on their feet. When the gun cracked for the grand conclusion, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had secured a glorious 36 to 35 victory over the Washington Redskins in the final minute.

Trailing by 35 to 34 with the pigskin resting upon Washington's 1-yard line with 58 seconds remaining, the Pewter and White risked all by placing their fate squarely in the meaty hands of Mike Alstott, fullback, for a two-point conversion. Failure meant certain defeat.

The Buccaneer attack had been ably led by Chris Simms, former University of Texas Longhorn, who tossed 29 forward passes, completing 15 of them for a total of 279 yards and three touchdowns. Washington's signal-caller Mark Brunell was hammered to a fare-thee-well in the first half, fumbling both times he was tackled while attempting to throw. The second time the elongated spheroid tumbled from his flustered hands, the Buccaneers fell on it at the Redskins' 5-yard line. That set the stage for a ferocious one-yard plunge by Alstott for a touchdown. It was this rugged style of play that would eventually give the Buccaneers their triumph.

Washington's heroes showed their mettle when Ladell Betts fielded a kick and made a sensational gallop of 94 yards, trimming their deficit to 14 to 10 in the second quarter. The Buccaneers fashioned another touchdown when Joey Galloway plucked a 24-yard aerial out of the air. John Hall concluded the scoring in the first half with a placement kick of 40 yards for the Redskins.

Tampa's most enthusiastic admirers had reason for grim concern in the second half when Betts snatched a 17-yard pass that put Washington ahead 28 to 21, but the fully aroused Buccaneers stormed back in all their fury, and Simms bravely launched a four-yard aerial to Ike Hilliard that tied the score.