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So it's true. Offense wins games, and defense wins championships.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers solidified this statement as their team, the league's No. 1 defense, muted the NFL's No. 1 offense, the Oakland Raiders, 48-21.

With both teams donning cross bones on their flags, this super bowl was dubbed the "pirate bowl."

On a sunny, 81-degree day in San Diego, CA, where the veteran-laden Silver and Black were favored to win Super Bowl XXXVII, the younger Bucs stole the show with their fearsome defense and suddenly evasive offense. Their defensive unit was spectacular garnering a total of five interceptions, three returned for touchdowns, and five sacks in front of a crowd of 66,603, with the sea of Raider Nation visibly outnumbering Bucs fans.

Unable tn unleash a performance that lead them to the nation's largest one-day sporting event, Oakland's stars Jerry Rice, Tim Brown and League MVP Rich Gannon were left clueless. However, Oakland got off to the better start with cornerback Charles Woodson intercepting the ball with fewer than two minutes played in the game. The drive did not convert tn a touchdown, mainly because of one of the NFL's top pass-rusher Simeon Rice's sack. The Raiders made it tn the scoreboard first with a 40-yard field goal. This is the only score they saw that half. The Bucs went on tn score two field goals and two short touchdowns, one by 11-year veteran Keenan McCardell. The Bucs went into their halftime huddle with a comfy lead of 20-3, while Raiders racked their brain, trying to remember why they were AFC champions.

Hoping to get some momentum going early in the 3rd quarter, the Raiders had first possession and failed to secure a first down. Tampa dominated the clock scoring an 8-yard touchdown on a 7:52 drive. This was McCardell's second TD for the night. "We were driving and we knew we needed to put some points on the board. I really thought that making that score, me being a leader, I have to step up and make a play."

The Raiders tried to make a comeback late in the third and early in the 4th quarter with three touchdowns, but it just was not in the cards as all of the two-point conversions failed. Each time the Raiders gained momentum and got that winning gleam in their eyes, Tampa's defense and offense worked together to dash all hopes.

"We just kept telling each other to keep pounding the rock, that has been our theme all year long," linebacker Derrick Brooks said. "If they don't score any more, we are going to win period. We let them score a couple of times with the blocked kick and the long touch down pass, but this defense just kept bringing it and bringing it. I just want to thank God I was able to read the quarterback and pick that pass off."

Tampa Bay's first-year head coach Jon Gruden, acquired from the Raiders last February for four high draft picks and $8 million, lead the team to the franchise's first Super Bowl title. All-Pro tackle Warren Sapp was willing to proclaim the team's defense as the best ever. He compared the unit that allowed only 196 points this season--and just two touchdowns in the playoffs that were not tainted by special teams gaffes--to the legendary defenses.

"We had to have that championship before we could say anything," said Sapp, who recorded a sack in the game. "Now you can put us in the same sentence as the Ravens and the Steel Curtain."

COPYRIGHT 2003 Johnson Publishing Co.
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