1989 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season

1989 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season
Head coach	Ray Perkins
Owner	Hugh Culverhouse
Home field	Tampa Stadium
Results
Record	5–11
Division place	5th NFC Central
Playoff finish	did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	WR Mark Carrier
Team MVP	WR Mark Carrier

The 1989 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season began with the team trying to improve on an 5–11 season 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 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 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 over all 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’s final season was highlighted by a 100-yard receiving game in week 9. Many fans felt the Bucs were far better than the final record suggested, and offseason acquisitions would help the Bucs win the next year.

Offseason

NFL Draft

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

Regular season

Schedule

Regular season
Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Kickoff	Game site	TV	Attendance	Record
1	September 10, 1989	at Green Bay Packers	W 23–21	1:00	Lambeau Field	CBS	55,650	1–0
2	September 17, 1989	San Francisco 49ers	L 20–16	4:00	Tampa Stadium	CBS	64,087	1–1
3	September 24, 1989	New Orleans Saints	W 20–10	1:00	Tampa Stadium	CBS	44,053	2–1
4	October 1, 1989	at Minnesota Vikings	L 17–3	1:00	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	CBS	54,817	2–2
5	October 8, 1989	Chicago Bears	W 42–35	1:00	Tampa Stadium	CBS	72,077	3–2
6	October 15, 1989	Detroit Lions	L 17–16	1:00	Tampa Stadium	CBS	46,225	3–3
7	October 22, 1989	at Washington Redskins	L 32–28	1:00	Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium	CBS	52,862	3–4
8	October 29, 1989	at Cincinnati Bengals	L 56–23	1:00	Riverfront Stadium	CBS	57,225	3–5
9	November 5, 1989	Cleveland Browns	L 42–31	1:00	Tampa Stadium	NBC	69,162	3–6
10	November 12, 1989	Minnesota Vikings	L 24–10	1:00	Tampa Stadium	CBS	56,271	3–7
11	November 19, 1989	at Chicago Bears	W 32–31	1:00	Soldier Field	CBS	63,826	4–7
12	November 26, 1989	at Phoenix Cardinals	W 14–13	4:00	Sun Devil Stadium	CBS	33,297	5–7
13	December 3, 1989	Green Bay Packers	L 17–16	1:00	Tampa Stadium	CBS	58,120	5–8
14	December 10, 1989	at Houston Oilers	L 20–17	1:00	Astrodome	CBS	54,532	5–9
15	December 17, 1989	at Detroit Lions	L 33–7	1:00	Pontiac Silverdome	CBS	40,362	5–10
16	December 24, 1989	Pittsburgh Steelers	L 31–22	1:00	Tampa Stadium	NBC	29,690	5–11

Notes:

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

Standings

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	351	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

Roster

Tampa Bay Buccaneers roster
Quarterbacks Running Backs Wide Receivers Tight Ends		Offensive Linemen Defensive Linemen DE		Linebackers Defensive Backs CB Special Teams		Reserve Lists Practice Squad Rookies in italics

References

• Buccaneers on Pro Football Reference