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
OwnerHugh Culverhouse
Head coachRay Perkins
Home fieldTampa Stadium
Results
Record5–11
Division place5th NFC Central
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersWR Mark Carrier
Team MVPWR Mark Carrier

Offseason

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NFL draft

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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

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Tampa Bay Buccaneers roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists

Practice squad


47 active, 7 inactive, 3 practice squad

rookies in italics

Regular season

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Schedule

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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

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Week 1: at Green Bay Packers

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Week 1: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Green Bay Packers
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Buccaneers 0 20 3023
Packers 7 0 7721

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
  • [1]
Game information

Week 9: vs. Cleveland Browns

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Week 9: Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Cleveland Browns
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Browns 7 28 0742
Buccaneers 7 10 7731

at Tampa Stadium, Tampa, Florida

Game information

Standings

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NFC Central
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

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