Buc kicking

Tough defense, 21-point second quarter lift Tampa Bay

The Bucs recovered a fumble lost by Vinny Sutherland during the second quarter. AP

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- The Tampa Bay Buccaneers proved their offense can be just as dangerous as their league-leading defense.

Brad Johnson returned from a monthlong layoff to throw for 196 yards and two touchdowns, and Tampa Bay shut down Jeff Garcia and Terrell Owens to beat the San Francisco 49ers 31-6 on Sunday.

The victory sends Tampa Bay to Philadelphia for next Sunday's NFC championship game against the Eagles, who ended the Bucs' season in the first round of the playoffs at Veterans Stadium the past two years.

The Bucs have lost all six of their road playoff games, including three years ago in the NFC championship game.

At home against the 49ers, the Bucs did just about everything right.

SI's Don Banks Playoff fourtunes: The Bucs are 0-6 in playoff road games and haven't beaten the Eagles in their past four tries. But Jon Gruden's squad insists that was then, and this is now.

"As soon as we got up 7-0, I said: 'Hey, our offense is rolling today, fellas," All-Pro defensive tackle Warren Sapp said. "The only thing we've got to do is stick a couple of three-and-outs on them."

The defense took care of that, then the offense had its way.

Mike Alstott scored on a pair of 2-yard runs, and Johnson threw TD passes of 20 yards to Joe Jurevicius and 12 yards to Rickey Dudley after missing the last two regular-season games with a bruised back.

A gash over the right eye sent Johnson briefly to the locker room in the third quarter. He left the field on a cart, one hand holding a towel to his forehead, the other punching the air in defiance as fans roared. He returned after missing one series.

"I wasn't hurt, but I knew I was bleeding and needed some stitches," he said.

49ers at Buccaneers Select a link to launch a video clip Jon Gruden credits a strong running game and tough defense. Steve Mariucci insists the 49ers will need to improve in order to compete with the league's elite. Video Plus Visit Video Plus for all the latest video and audio.

Alstott's first TD snapped the Bucs' 12-quarter touchdown drought in the playoffs, a streak that began in an 11-5 loss to St. Louis in the 1999 NFC championship game. The Eagles outscored Tampa Bay 52-12 the last two years and beat the Bucs 20-10 in Philadelphia when the teams met in October.

"We respect Philadelphia this year," head coach Jon Gruden said. "What happened last year is not going to hurt us or help us in any way.

"We realize we've got our hands full, but we're going to get on the plane and we're going to go, and we'll play any place, whether it be in the Vet or the Walt Whitman Bridge. We're going to be there."

The Eagles and head coach Andy Reid will be waiting.

"They're a good football team and it should be a heck of a football game," Reid said.

Associated Press NFL Defensive Player of the Year Derrick Brooks led another stellar performance by the defense against the 49ers. The Bucs forced four turnovers, and the six-time Pro Bowl selection had an interception and recovered a fumble that Simeon Rice caused with one of the team's four sacks.

Blood and guts TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- Brad Johnson left the field on a cart midway through the third quarter, one hand holding a towel to his bloodied face, the other punching the air in defiance as Tampa Bay fans roared. The resilient Johnson returned to the game one series later, a bandage over the nasty gash above his right eye. He has learned how to absorb a shot in postseason play, and he threw two touchdown passes Sunday to lead the Buccaneers past San Francisco 31-6. Johnson's previous playoff record was unimpressive: one win, three losses, two touchdown passes and nine interceptions. The defeats included a game in Tampa three years ago when Johnson played for the Washington Redskins, who blew a 13-point lead andmissed a late field-goal attempt to lose 14-13. But at 34, Johnson is playing the best ball of his 11-year career, and now the NFC's top-rated passer is just one win from the Super Bowl. While he exorcised some demons, there will be others for Tampa Bay to address in Sunday's NFC Championship Game at Philadelphia. FULL STORY

After Johnson led three long scoring drives in the first half, Brooks intercepted Garcia at the 49ers 26 to set up Alstott's second TD for a 28-6 halftime lead.

Johnson completed 15 of 31 passes with one interception, and Keyshawn Johnson finished with five receptions for 85 yards.

The Bucs also rushed for 121 yards, most of them in the second half when the 49ers struggled to stop Alstott and Michael Pittman. Alstott finished with 60 yards on 17 carries, and Pittman ran for 41 yards, also on 17 carries.

The 49ers staged the second-biggest comeback in playoff history when they rallied from a 38-14 deficit to beat the New York Giants in the wild-card round. But there would be no rally against the Bucs, who allowed a league-low 196 points and became just the seventh team to hold opponents to fewer than 200 in a 16-game schedule.

Garcia completed just 22 of 41 passes for 193 yards and had three interceptions. All-Pro receiver Owens was held to four catches for 35 yards, a week after having nine for 177 yards and two TDs against New York. Tai Streets added five catches for 62 yards.

"We just couldn't get anything to go right," Garcia said. "They are a great defense. ... We got down big at halftime, and then trying to struggle back, we completely got out of any sort of rhythm."

Jeff Chandler kicked field goals of 24 and 40 yards for San Francisco, which finished with a season-low 228 yards total offense, including 62 on the ground. The 49ers (11-7) averaged nearly 23 points a game during the regular season, but the Bucs kept them out of the end zone both times they drove inside the Tampa Bay 10.

San Francisco failed to score a touchdown in a postseason game for the first time since a 49-3 loss to the New York Giants in the 1986 playoffs.

Down and out TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- With 50 seconds left in the first half Sunday, the San Francisco 49ers had two timeouts, good field position and a 22-point deficit to start erasing. Instead, they headed for the locker room. After a 9-yard run by Garrison Hearst got San Francisco near midfield, Terrell Owens screamed and slapped his helmet in disbelief as the 49ers milled around the field before coach Steve Mariucci led his team away. Mariucci wanted to escape the 49ers' disastrous half as quickly as possible, but there was no spectacular comeback in the making this week. Injuries, turnovers and bad luck all played roles as San Francisco's frustrating season ended in a 31-6 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the second round of the playoffs. The reasons for the 49ers' collapse were some of the same ones that might cost Mariucci his job despite a second straight winning season, an NFC West title and a rally from a 24-point hole to beat the New York Giants last week. FULL STORY

"They beat us in every aspect of the game. They came out with a do-or-die attitude and made the plays we didn't," 49ers rookie cornerback Mike Rumph said.

The Bucs (13-4) set a franchise high for victories, shared the NFL's best record and had the league's stingiest defense during the regular season. Still, they know their progress under Gruden ultimately will be determined by whether he takes Tampa Bay to its first Super Bowl.

The team's inability to score a touchdown in three consecutive postseason games cost former coach Tony Dungy his job. A wild, 36-day search for a successor wound up with the hiring of Gruden, who led Oakland to the 2001 AFC championship game before deciding he wanted out of his contract with Raiders owner Al Davis.

It cost the Bucs four high draft picks and $8 million just for the right to talk to Gruden, who signed a five-year, $17.5 million contract and welcomed the challenge of building an offense to complement a championship-caliber defense.

"We are as experienced as a team as we ever have been, and when we get challenges like this, we seem to respond," Bucs safety John Lynch said. "This certainly is a tough challenge. But if we want to get to the Super Bowl, that's the road we've got to go through."

Notes: The Bucs were 6-for-6 on third-down conversions on their first two touchdown drives. ... Both times Alstott scored, he found running room behind Sapp, who lined at tight end. ... The 49ers were held to their lowest point total since Nov. 29, 1999 -- a span of 56 games.

 

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