Raiders, Bucs Overpower Foes
The Oakland Raiders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers flexed their muscles Sunday, manhandling their opponents in NFL Divisional Playoff action and thus setting up showdowns with Tennessee and Philadelphia in the AFC and NFC Conference Championship games.
Raiders 30, Jets 10
The playoffs have been unkind to the Oakland Raiders for almost two decades. So they took out 19 years of frustration on the New York Jets.
League MVP Rich Gannon and the Raiders showed why this season might be different from all the others since 1983 with a 30-10 playoff rout Sunday. They knew the surest road to the AFC championship game was to stay at home and avoid tuck rules and snowy night games in New England.
Now they get Tennessee, whom they beat 52-25 at home in September, back at the Oakland Coliseum for a shot at the Super Bowl. The Raiders have not been to the big game since winning it against Washington in 1984.
"These chances are very rare," veteran All-Pro safety Rod Woodson said. "I think we are a mature team that understands what we have here."
What they have is the opportunity to re-establish their "Commitment to Excellence."
That chance has been there before — two years ago, when they lost at home to Baltimore for the conference title, and last season, when Tom Brady and the controversial tuck rule did them in at New England.
"We've been this far before," said Jerry Porter, who outperformed his more illustrious teammates at wide receiver, Jerry Rice and Tim Brown. "It's time to go farther."
Porter, a former West Virginia receiver, caught a 29-yard touchdown pass and set up Rice's 9-yard score with a 50-yard reception as the Raiders (12-5) made it a clean sweep for the home teams this weekend. Gannon began going downfield in the second half after a 10-10 tie, and it paid off.
"We didn't throw the ball deep a lot this year, so it was exciting we were able to do some of that," Brown said. "At halftime, the coaches said we were going to do what we do best, and that's to throw."
The Jets had the most efficient thrower in the league, former Marshall quarterback Chad Pennington, but he had a miserable day. Pennington, in his first season as a starter, had a 104.2 rating. But against Oakland he was 21-of-47 for 183 yards and a 44.9 rating.
"There's a saying that as the quarterback goes, so does the team. I didn't go today," said Pennington, who threw two interceptions — as many as he had in the last 10 games combined — and lost two fumbles. "I was struggling all day long. I don't know why. It's one of those things I have to learn from, and have a short-term memory."
The Raiders, winners of eight of their last nine games, got pickoffs from Tory James and Eric Barton in the second half. They also recovered the two fumbles by Pennington in earning their second trip to the AFC title game in three years. In the 2000 season, they lost at home to Baltimore 16-3 for the conference crown.
Their most painful loss came at the Patriots last January in the infamous tuck-rule game when an apparent late fumble by quarterback Tom Brady was later ruled an incomplete pass. New England, of course, went on to win the Super Bowl.
Now, the Raiders think it is their turn.
"I am trying to seize the moment, seize the opportunity. Of course, three other teams are trying to do the same thing," said Gannon, who finished 20-of-30 for 283 yards.
Rice's catch was his 21st postseason touchdown, tying an NFL record. The 40-year-old receiver also set a record for yards in the playoffs with 2,133 in an 18-year career.
"I'm just happy to be playing football with a team that is very hungry," Rice said.
Oakland's defense harassed the usually unflappable Pennington and sacked him four times, twice by Rod Coleman.
After a strong first half, Pennington came undone, throwing high, forcing passes and looking rattled.
"He was trying to do too much," Coleman said. "We were coming, so he had to start forcing stuff."
The Raiders beat the Jets for the third time in four games at home in the last year, and for the second straight time ended the Jets' season here in a playoff game. These teams have had some of the most memorable and bitter meetings in NFL history, but this game was a lopsided Raiders celebration.
Buccaneers 31, 49ers 6
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers proved their offense can be just as dangerous as their league-leading defense.
Brad Johnson returned from a monthlong layoff to throw for 196 yards and two touchdowns, and Tampa Bay shut down Jeff Garcia and Terrell Owens to beat the San Francisco 49ers 31-6 on Sunday.
The victory sends Tampa Bay to Philadelphia for next Sunday's NFC championship game against the Eagles, who ended the Bucs' season in the first round of the playoffs at Veterans Stadium the past two years.
The Bucs have lost all six of their road playoff games, including three years ago in the NFC championship game.
At home against the 49ers, the Bucs did just about everything right.
"As soon as we got up 7-0, I said: `Hey, our offense is rolling today, fellas," All-Pro defensive tackle Warren Sapp said. "The only thing we've got to do is stick a couple of three-and-outs on them."
The defense took care of that, then the offense had its way.
Mike Alstott scored on a pair of 2-yard runs, and Johnson threw TD passes of 20 yards to Joe Jurevicius and 12 yards to Rickey Dudley after missing the last two regular-season games with a bruised back.
Alstott's first TD snapped the Bucs' 12-quarter touchdown drought in the playoffs, a streak that began in an 11-5 loss to St. Louis in the 1999 NFC championship game. The Eagles outscored Tampa Bay 52-12 the last two years and beat the Bucs 20-10 in Philadelphia when the teams met in October.
"We respect Philadelphia this year," coach Jon Gruden said. "What happened last year is not going to hurt us or help us in any way.
"We realize we've got our hands full, but we're going to get on the plane and we're going to go, and we'll play any place, whether it be in the Vet or the Walt Whitman Bridge. We're going to be there."
NFL Defensive Player of the Year Derrick Brooks led another stellar performance by the league's most dominant defense. The Bucs forced four turnovers, and the six-time Pro Bowl linebacker had an interception and recovered a fumble that Simeon Rice caused with one of the team's four sacks.
After Johnson led three long scoring drives in the first half, Derrick Brooks intercepted Garcia at the 49ers 26 to set up Alstott's second TD for a 28-6 halftime lead.
Johnson completed 15 of 31 passes with one interception, and Keyshawn Johnson had five receptions for 85 yards.
The Bucs also rushed for 121 yards, most of them in the second half when the 49ers struggled to stop Alstott and Michael Pittman. Alstott finished with 60 yards on 17 carries, and Pittman ran for 41 yards, also on 17 carries.
Garcia completed just 22 of 41 passes for 193 yards and had three interceptions. All-Pro receiver Owens was held to four catches for 35 yards, a week after having nine for 177 yards and two TDs against New York. Tai Streets added five catches for 62 yards.
"We just couldn't get anything to go right," Garcia said. "They are a great defense. ... We got down big at halftime, and then trying to struggle back, we completely got out of any sort of rhythm."
"They beat us in every aspect of the game. They came out with a do-or-die attitude and made the plays we didn't," 49ers rookie cornerback Mike Rumph said.
The Bucs (13-4) set a franchise high for victories, shared the NFL's best record and had the league's stingiest defense during the regular season. Still, they know their progress under Gruden ultimately will be determined by whether he takes Tampa Bay to its first Super Bowl.
"We are as experienced as a team as we ever have been, and when we get challenges like this, we seem to respond," Bucs safety John Lynch said. "This certainly is a tough challenge. But if we want to get to the Super Bowl, that's the road we've got to go through."