Monday, December 03, 2001
Buccaneers 16, Bengals 13, OT
Dillon goes from hero to goat
By Mark Curnutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Corey Dillon wanted no part of congratulations for his pass reception with 15 seconds left that forced Sunday's game into overtime. The Bengals running back stood at his locker, surrounded by microphones and tape recorders, looked right at the TV cameras and took the blame for the 16-13 loss to Tampa Bay.
Dillon was stripped of the ball by Buccaneers safety John Lynch, who recovered the fumble at the 3-yard line, and Martin Gramatica ended the game on the next snap with a 21-yard field goal.
“I'm going to take ownership of this one because I did lose it,” Dillon said. “So if they want to put it on me, then put it on my tab.”
But his teammates weren't as willing as Dillon to point the finger at him.
“The thing is he does too much for this team for him to think, or for any one of us to think, he blew the game,” Bengals quarterback Jon Kitna said. “He's the one who got us in the end zone. If he doesn't score right there, there's no way we could get the clock stopped in time. It was his heart and desire that got us to that point any way.”
With the Bengals out of timeouts and trailing by seven points, Dillon took a pass from Kitna at the 1 and ran over linebacker Jamie Duncan and safety Dexter Jackson. Neil Rackers' extra point tied the game.
“Pure will and a little blessed, I guess,” Dillon said his touchdown effort.
The Bengals' defense, which allowed no touchdowns and has given up just two offensive TDs in the past three games, forced a punt on Tampa Bay's first overtime possession.
Mark Royals' punt was downed at the 4. Dillon took a handoff up the middle from Kitna, but just as Dillon hit the hole, Lynch reached in from behind and poked the ball loose.
The fumble was a surprise. Dillon is one of the most sure-handed ball carriers in the NFL. In 1,436 touches, it was just his 14th fumble. That's one for every 102.8 times he handles the ball.
“Our back is not a fumbler,” said Bengals coach Dick LeBeau, who spent a few minutes with his arm around Dillon and talking to the two-time Pro Bowler at his locker.
“He feels worse than anybody could feel,” LeBeau said.
The loss was the Bengals' fourth in a row, in which they've been outscored 84-33, and it was their seventh in the past nine games. Depending the result of 3-7 Jacksonville's game tonight, the 4-7 Bengals could fall into a last-place tie in the AFC Central.
It was the Bengals' first overtime game since winning 34-28 at Detroit on Sept. 13, 1998. The Bengals are 13-8 overall in OT games after Sunday.
Against Tampa Bay, the offensive continued to struggle, and the defense continued to play well.
In scoring 10 points in the final 4:29 of regulation, the Bengals scored as many points as they had in the previous 13 quarters combined.
The Bengals scored on their first possession, on a 23-yard Neil Rackers field goal. But of the next seven drives, five ended in punts, one in a blocked punt and one in Kitna's 13th interception.
The 201 yards in offense left offensive tackle and captain Willie Anderson apologetic.
“We kept our defense in the hole all game,” he said. “We waited until the last couple of drives to finally wake up and do something.”
Anderson acknowledges the defenses' outstanding performance regularly.
“I do it every time they touch the field,” he said. “I tell them every day. I'm tired of being associated with an offense that keeps doing it, year in and year out.”
The Bengals are last in the NFL in scoring at 13.9 points a game. The Bengals' defensive came in ranked 10th in the league in yards allowed a game, and the average dropped to 301.9 after Sunday.
The defense had a season-high six sacks, giving them 30 for the year, four more than all of last season.
“You think you do all the right things, make the plays that need to be made, and it's hard,” linebacker and defensive captain Takeo Spikes said. “I can't swallow it right now.
“It's no secret. We need to score more points.”
The defense kept Tampa Bay out of the end zone, but the Buccaneers scored on a Bengals' special teams gaffe in the second quarter. Ronde Barber sped in from the outside and blocked Nick Harris' punt, and reserve tight end Todd Yoder scooped up the loose ball at the 11 and ran in for Tampa Bay's only touchdown.
The Bengals didn't adjust when Bengals gunner Kevin Kaesviharn was uncovered on the play.
“I knew he was coming,” Harris said. “I tried to get it off faster, but he was still there in record speed. He must have timed it up pretty good. It's kind of like a hot read for a quarterback. I knew he was blitzing. It's all my responsibility.”
It was the first punt block against the Bengals since Oct. 10, 1999 at Cleveland.
After last week's 18-0 shutout at Cleveland, the Bengals could take some positives from the Tampa Bay game.
“You can't say all the players didn't put it on the line today,” center Rich Braham said. “Everybody was out there busting their butt.”
Said Kitna: “I think we took a step today as a team.”
And LeBeau: “We have to use this as a learning, growing experience. It's tough to lose like that. We're a team that has to take these type of situations and grow with them, and it's not a very easy pill to swallow.”
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Buccaneers 16, Bengals 13, OT 
