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Old 03-15-2004, 04:48 PM   #4
mmarra82
High School Varsity
 
Join Date: May 2001
Location: Oakdale, New York
Super Bowl XXXVII Tampa Bay 48, Oakland 21

Qualcomm StadiumSan Diego, CaliforniaJanuary 26, 2003Attendance: 67,603MVP: Dexter Jackson, FS, Tampa Bay
Super Bowl XXXVII Boxscore | Super Bowl XXXVII Ticket and Ring

Jon Gruden celebrates as his Buccaneers wrap up a Super Bowl title in his first season in Tampa Bay.(AP)
The Buccaneers' defense intercepted five passes, three of which were returned for touchdowns, and recorded five sacks as Tampa Bay scored 34 unanswered points en route to its first Super Bowl victory.
Charles Woodson intercepted Brad Johnson three plays into the game to give Oakland the ball at the Buccaneers' 36. But Simeon Rice sacked Rich Gannon on third down to force the Raiders to settle for Sebastian Janikowski's 40-yard field goal.
On their next nine possessions, the Raiders registered just two first downs and did not run a play inside the Buccaneers' 40 as Tampa Bay scored the next 34 points. The Buccaneers answered Janikowski's field goal with Martin Gramatica's 31-yard boot to tie the game.
An interception by Dexter Jackson set up Gramatica's go-ahead field goal early in the second quarter. Midway through the second quarter, a 25-yard punt return by Karl Williams and a 19-yard run by Michael Pittman led to Mike Alstott's 2-yard touchdown run.
Late in the half, the Buccaneers drove 77 yards, aided by three defensive penalties and pass receptions of 16 and 12 yards by Alstott, to set up Brad Johnson's 5-yard touchdown pass to Keenan McCardell with 30 seconds left in the half, which gave Tampa Bay a 20-3 lead.
With their first possession of the second half, the Buccaneers put together a 14-play, 89-yard drive that consumed 7:52 and was culminated by Johnson's 8-yard scoring toss to McCardell. Two plays later, Dwight Smith intercepted Gannon's pass and returned it 44 yards for a touchdown and a 34-3 lead with 4:47 left in the third quarter. Tampa Bay scored four touchdowns in a span of 16:37.
Jerry Porter's 39-yard touchdown catch in the back of the end zone made it 34-9. Less than three minutes later, Tim Johnson blocked Tom Tupa's punt. Eric Johnson caught the ball and dove into the end zone for a touchdown to cut the deficit to 34-15 with 14:16 remaining.
The Buccaneers drove deep downfield again, but Tupa mishandled the snap for a field-goal attempt, allowing the Raiders to regain possession. Gannon hit Jerry Rice with a 48-yard touchdown pass with 6:06 left to trim the lead to 34-21.
A 9-yard pass by Johnson to Alstott on third-and-7 allowed Tampa Bay to take another two minutes off the clock before Tupa punted with 2:44 remaining.
On third-and-18 from the Raiders' 29, Derrick Brooks intercepted Gannon's pass and raced 44 yards down the left sideline for a touchdown with 1:18 remaining to give Tampa Bay a commanding 41-21 lead. Smith intercepted a tipped pass and returned it 50 yards for a touchdown with two seconds left to finish the scoring.
Johnson was 18 of 34 for 215 yards and two touchdowns, with one interception. Pittman had 29 carries for 124 yards. Gannon was 24 of 44 for 272 yards and two touchdowns, with a Super Bowl record five interceptions.
Jackson, who had the first two interceptions, one of which led to the go-ahead field goal, was named the game's most valuable player.
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