Bucs Win Battle For First

Tony Dungy doesn't want the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to forget how they got into first place in the NFC Central.

"We have guys who can make big plays," the coach said Sunday, "but we win as a team."

That was never more evident than during a 23-16 win over the Detroit Lions that gave the Bucs (9-4) a franchise-record sixth straight victory and sole possession of first place in December for the first time since 1981.

For historians, that's the last time Tampa Bay won the division.

"We've always been confident, but as you get momentum going and get on a winning streak, you feel like you can't be beat," fullback Mike Alstott said. "We're in a great situation right now."

Mike Alstott's 1-yard touchdown run finished a nine-play, 65-yard drive that tied the score at 16 with 9:26 to go. The fullback scored again five minutes later, lumbering up the right sideline on a 22-yard screen pass set up John Lynch's interception and 28-yard return to the Detroit 24.

King beat Minnesota 24-17 in his first pro start Monday night, knocking the Vikings out of a share for the NFC Central lead. Now, the Bucs have sole possession of first and confidence that they can stay in front.

The loss dropped the Lions (8-5) a game behind Tampa Bay, which trailed 10-0 before King got the offense going with a screen pass to Warrick Dunn that gained 68 yards, setting up a 3-yard TD pass to rookie Kevin McLeod.

"We ain't out of this thing yet. We've still got a chance. We're going to be competing, I'll tell you that right now," Detroit coach Bobby Ross said. "We're going to keep fighting and maybe we'll get a chance to come back here (in the playoffs).

King threw for just 93 yards against Minnesota. Playing catchup allowed for bigger numbers as the second-round draft pick completed 23 of 37 passes to make up for the lack of a consistent running attack.

Gus Frerotte, starting for the fifth straight game with Charlie Batch nursing a bruised right thumb, was 23-of-44 for 241 yards with one interception for Detroit. Greg Hill scored on a 10-yard run, but was held to 25 yards on 10 carries after gaining 123 on 16 attempts during a 20-3 victory over Tampa Bay on Oct. 31.

The Bucs haven't lost since. And King, who guided Tulane to a 12-0 record to finish his college career with a 13-game winning streak, hasn't played in a game his team lost since Nov. 15, 1997.

"I think it says a lot about the team, that they can rally around a guy who they didn't know how was going to play," the rookie said. "They had never seen me play before in NFL situations. That they could rally around me and step up and do their jobs, it made my job not real difficult."

Tampa Bay's defense took some of the pressure off King against the Vikings, scoring on Donnie Abraham's interception return on the third play of the game and setting the tone for a frustrating night for Minnesota's high-powered offense.

One of the keys to Detroit's success against the Bucs in recent years has been an ability to get out to early leads. Jason Hanson's 37-yard field goal put the Lions ahead just five minutes into the game, and Frerotte moved his team 89 yards in six plays on the next possession to make it 10-0.

The big play in the drive was a 48-yard completion to Johnnie Morton, who got behind cornerback Ronde Barber to make the catch before falling at the Tampa Bay 22. Three plays later, Hill scored on his 10-yard TD run.

King started 7-for-9, but the Bucs were seemingly going nowhere before the offense suddenly came to life when the rookie avoided a blitzing defensive back with the screen to Dunn, who had six receptions for 115 yards after missing last week's game with a sprained left ankle.

McLeod scored his first pro TD on the next play, bobbling the ball three times before finally gaining control as his crossed the goal line to trim Tampa Bay's deicit to 10-7 at the half.

One of Robert Porcher's three sacks of King forced a fumble in the first half. King's only other turnover, an interception on a badly thrown pass picked off by Mark Carrier at the Lions 2, actually benefited the Bucs when Brad Culpepper sacked Frerotte in the end zone for a safety that left Detroit clinging to a one-point lead.

Two more field goals by Hanson, the second with 14:11 remaining, rebuilt the lead to a touchdown a deficit that on a lot of days this season would have been too much for the Tampa Bay offense to overcome.

But not Sunday.

"We've been in this position before. Sometimes we play better with our backs against the wall," said Morton, who had seven catches for 107 yards for the Lions. "We'll just have to play harder."

Notes