1989 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The 1989 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season began with the team trying to improve on an 5-11 season which finished winning 2 of the last 3 games including an upset of AFC East Champions. The season started with a road win against an improved Green Bay Packers, and game two brought the world 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 bootleged into the end zone reminding everyone in Tampa you never give Joe a second chance. 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 a heartbreaker to the Detroit Lions in the last minute and never seemed to recover, losing 5 in a row. Tampa would win another wild one in Chicago sweeping the Bears, but would finish a disappointing 5-11. It was James Wilder's final season and had a 100 yard receiving game in week 9. Many fans felt the team were far better than the final record suggested, and offseason acquisitions would help the Bucs win the next year.

Schedule
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 * All times in North American Eastern Time. (UTC–4 and UTC–5 during Standard Time)