Game of the Century: 2008 Detroit Lions Against the 1976 Buccaneers

3rd Quarter

Detroit receives the kickoff and returns it to their own 21, where they will attempt to take the lead for the first time in this game.

A three-yard run by Smith and a four yard run by Johnson bring up a manageable third down, but the drive ends when the fullback is stuffed at the line and the Lions are forced to punt the ball away to Tampa Bay.

Tampa Bay now has the same opportunity that the Lions had, will they blow it as well?

After a five-yard penalty for illegal motion, Williams pounds the ball up the middle for a 16-yard gain and a first down. A short five-yard pass followed by a couple minimal running plays forces the Bucs to punt the ball back to the Lions.

Can someone finally pull ahead in this battle of the inept?

The Lions get the punt at their own 15, but a holding penalty will force them back to their own seven. Two consecutive one yard losses by Aveion Cason are followed up by a Calvin Johnson 31-yard gain.

Johnson again catches a pass and takes it nine yards. After some short gains on the ground and a third-down incompletion, Detroit must again punt the ball away.

The third quarter is winding down without a score, can the Bucs change that?

After two five-yard runs by Johnson resulting in a first down, the Bucs are charged with a false start penalty creating a 1st-and-15. Spurrier and the Bucs would answer with a 13-yard gain to Morris Owens, but two runs both resulting in a loss of three yards each would create a 4th-and-8, and another punting situation.

Detroit gets the ball with 1:24 left in the third as what would appear to wind up a scoreless quarter.

The Lions return the punt nearly to midfield, on their own 48-yard line. They should have a good shot of doing something with it.

A three yard run by Smith is followed by a 14-yard pounding by Felton. A first down incompletion bring the third quarter to an end with the score 21-21. Detroit retains possession into the fourth quarter.

4th Quarter

A short running gain and an incomplete pass brings up a 4th-and-8 on Tampa Bay's 34. Too far for a field goal attempt and too short to punt, the Lions decide to go for it. Their efforts go unrewarded however as an incomplete pass turns possession over to the Bucs at their own 34.

Why not send Hanson out for the field goal?

A dink-and-dunk drive by the Bucs would send them down the field to Detroit's 15-yard line. A false start penalty would send the Bucs back to the 20-yard line. On the next play, Rod McNeill would take the ball off-tackle for a 12-yard gain, putting the Bucs on Detroit's eight-yard line.

Louis Carter takes the ball up the middle from the eight and into the endzone to give the Bucs a lead halfway through the fourth quarter.

The Bucs take advantage of a tired Detroit defense, can the Lions respond?

The Lions show some explosion this drive with three plays of 18 yards or over. A 24-yard strike the Shaun McDonald, a 19-yard pass to Mike Furrey, and an 18-yard catch and run by Johnson. A failed wide receiver screen brings the game to the two-minute warning.

Two-Minute Warning

From five yards out, Orlovsky hits Calvin Johnson in the endzone to bring the game to a tie with less than two minutes remaining in regulation.

An impressive 11-play, 80-yard drive taking up 5:57 has bought the Lions some time perhaps to force an overtime if their defense can hold up. The score is 28-28 heading into the last minute and a half of the game.

Time for the Bucs to end it. They have the time, all they need is field goal range.

A few short gains mixed in with an incompletion force the Bucs to punt after taking a pathetic 17 seconds off the clock. They will punt to the Lions, giving them 1:18 to march down the field for the winning field goal.

Detroit can put this away for their first win, do they have what it takes?

From their own 16, the Lions start with an impressive 15-yard run right up the middle by Kevin Smith. After a timeout, the Lions run forward four yards, then back three. Another timeout is called.

Orlovsky hits Standeford in the middle of the field for a 20 yard gain, but he is unable to get out of bounds. On the next play, Orlovsky is sacked for a six yard loss. The Lions call their third and final timeout.

Orlovsky, from the 50-yard line, heaves a hail mary attempt into the endzone, but the ball falls harmlessly to the ground and incomplete.

We've reached the end of regulation with the score tied up at 28. It's time to head into overtime to settle this one.

End of Regulation—Overtime

With the Bucs set to receive, this overtime may end quickly.

The Bucs receive the ball and return it to their own 22. Short running gains lead to a first down, but on 3rd-and-5, an intentional grounding call on Spurrier forces to Bucs to punt the ball to the Lions.

The Lions have a shot now, but if the Bucs can stop the big play they should be fine.

Detroit starts with a short four-yard gain in the ground, followed by an incomplete pass. Orlovsky answers with a 16-yard strike to Mike Furrey for the first down. After another short gain on the ground, Orlovsky's pass is intercepted again by Curtis Jordan and is returned to Tampa Bay's 37-yard line.

Tampa Bay has decent field position, and only need a field goal to wrap this up.

On the first play of the series, Spurrier's pass is picked off by defensive lineman Dewayne White and returned to the Tampa Bay 33.

Detroit has the field position, the time, and the kicker to win this game right now.

Two run plays get stuffed back-to-back, and are then followed by an incomplete pass. The Lions bring out Jason Hanson to attempt a game-winning 49-yard field goal attempt.

The kick is up, it has the distance, it could go, it is... WIDE RIGHT! Tampa Bay still has a shot at this game.

The Lions make what could turn out to be a fatal error in the final minutes of overtime.

Tampa Bay takes the ball back at their own 39. They have decent field position as long as they can avoid the turnover they should be fine. They have a little over seven minutes to drive down the field and win this game.

A medium gain here, a short run there, and the Bucs are staring at a 4th-and-7 from Detroit's 22-yard line. From here, this is a 39-yard field goal attempt to win the game and keep the 2008 Lions winless.

David Green comes out to attempt the kick. The stadium is in a hush.

The snap is good, the hold is good, the kick is up, it has the distance, it may just go, and it is... GOOD! IT'S GOOD! The '76 Bucs win the game and keep the 2008 Detroit Lions winless!

So after a hard-fought game, the '76 Bucs come out 1-14 and keep the '08 Lions winless.

Player of the Game

'76 Bucs Curtis Jordan—2 INTs, 2 tackles

Runner-up: QB Steve Spurrier—19-29 182 yards, 3 TD 1 INT

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