'Skins Sink Bucs In OT

It was finally time for Prime Time.

Deion Sanders, whose first four games with Washington were decidedly unspectacular, returned a punt 57 yards in overtime to set up Michael Husted's 20-yard field goal, giving Washington a 20-17 victory over Tampa Bay on Sunday.

It was retribution for Sanders, who until Sunday hadn't come close to living up to the $57 million, seven-year deal he signed last summer with Washington. And for Husted, who spent much of his career in Tampa and had a 35-yard attempt blocked with 43 seconds left, allowing Tampa to tie the game in regulation.

The Redskins appeared to have this one won when Darrell Green stripped Keyshawn Johnson at the Tampa Bay 26, setting up a 9-yard TD pass from Brad Johnson to Larry Centers that gave them a 17-7 lead with 3:50 left.

But Shaun King threw a 46-yard touchdown pass to Reidel Anthony on a play on which he was stripped of the ball by Bruce Smith, but picked it up and found Anthony all alone behind the Washington defense.

Then the Bucs, starting with 43 seconds left, moved 51 yards on six plays, the last of which was a 19-yard pass to Johnson. As the Bucs lined up to spike the ball, Marco Coleman was still on the Tampa Bay side of the ball and was called for being offside, moving the ball 5 yards closer for Martin Gramatica's 42-yard field goal that ied the game as time expired.

The win was the second straight for the Redskins after a 1-2 start had much of the nation asking what was wrong with a team that spend $100 million on free agents in the offseason. It was the second straight loss by the Bucs (3-2).

It also may have postseason ramifications. Last year, the Bucs beat the Redskins 14-13 in Tampa to reach the NFC title game. This year, if the two teams finish with identical records, any playoff game would be here.

The Bucs started the game without defensive tackle Warren Sapp, last year's defensive player of the year. Sapp entered the game in the second quarter, and the team said it would explain his one-quarter benching after the game.

Tampa Bay scored first typically with its defense. Leon McFarland sacked Johnson, and Damien Robinson recovered at the Washington 25. Five plays later, Mike Alstott went in from the 2 to give the Bucs a 7-0 with 1:38 left in the first period.

Stephen Davis, who ran for 141 yards for Washington, tied it with a 50-yard run with 3:14 left in the half.

Husted's 29-yard field goal on Washington's first possession of the second half made it 10-7. It was set up by a 58-yard, 10-play drive.

Tampa Bay maneuvered slowly into field-goal position late in the third quarter and early in the fourth, driving from its own 11 to the Washington 22. But Gramatica's 40-yard field goal attempt to tie it hooked wide, leaving the Bucs still trailing 10-7.

It was an important miss after Tampa Bay came within 3, it was forced to try an onside kick. Washington recovered and Davis ran the clock down to 51 seconds. But the block gave the Bucs another champ, and they capitalized.

Until Deion took over.

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