By GLENN MILLER
The (Fort Myers, Fla.) News-Press

Bucs' Simeon Rice prepares to strip the ball from 49ers quarterback Jeff Garcia despite the efforts of 49ers lineman of Matt Willig. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

TAMPA, Fla. - Not here. Not against this team. Not against this defense. A week ago, the San Francisco 49ers staged the second-largest comeback in NFL playoff history. They didn't play the Tampa Bay Bucs last week.

On Sunday, the 49ers made the mistake of showing up at Raymond James Stadium. There would be no comebacks. Not in Tampa. Not against the Bucs. Not against the league's No.1-ranked defense.

The Bucs defeated the 49ers 31-6. Tampa Bay dominated from start to finish.

The 49ers had a conference-low 17 turnovers during the season. On Sunday, with 65,599 Bucs fans waving pewter and white flags and the Bucs swarming defense making it appear as if they were using 15 players instead of 11, the 49ers turned it over five times.

It was a special day for the home team. For starters, the Bucs scored a post-season touchdown for the first time in three years. They had 28 points at halftime, which is more than they had in their previous three playoff games.

Most important, the Bucs advance to next Sunday's NFC Championship game in Philadelphia against the Eagles. A victory will propel them to the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history.

Failure to advance in the playoffs led to former coach Tony Dungy's dismissal. His replacement, Jon Gruden, led the Bucs to a 12-4 regular-season record, a first-round bye, victory Sunday and a belief they can do what no Tampa Bay team has ever done. His leadership begins in the locker room.

"You can ask every guy," Tampa Bay defensive tackle Warren Sapp said. "(He) will touch every guy with a 30-second speech. He'll touch every guy in the room. That's just something special about him. He's got us feeling special about ourselves. Every day, he's telling us that he loves us. That's something a little strange - telling 58 men that you love them.

"But we know that he does and we love him, too. So we just want to go out and kill for him."

They don't kill, but they do inflict bruises. On Tampa Bay's first offensive series Sunday, quarterback Brad Johnson was intercepted. Although San Francisco had a first down at Tampa Bay's 40-yard line, the 49ers failed to convert that into points. Heck, they couldn't even get a first down.

"That's what we get paid for," Sapp said.

Later in the first half, the 49ers had first downs at the Tampa Bay 2 and then at the 22. On both drives, the Bucs kept the 49ers out of the end zone. The visitors had to settle for field goals.

"We had them on their heels all the time," Tampa Bay cornerback Ronde Barber said.

Meanwhile, the offense clicked.

In Johnson's first start since Dec. 15, he threw two touchdown passes. His first touchdown pass was a 20-yarder to Joe Jurevicius with 9:27 remaining in the first half. Jurevicius caught the ball in his fingertips just as he ran out of real estate in the end zone.

"On a scale of 1 to 10, that was a 100," Jurevicius said of Johnson's throw. By halftime, the Bucs were up 28-6 and could detect dejection on the San Francisco sideline, even with coach Steve Mariucci.

"Mooch's head was down," Sapp said.

In last week's playoff victory, San Francisco quarterback Jeff Garcia passed for 331 yards and three touchdowns. He also led the 49ers with 60 rushing yards. Not Sunday. Not in Tampa. Not against the Bucs. Although he threw for 193 yards, he was intercepted four times, didn't throw a touchdown pass, was sacked four times and didn't rush past the line of scrimmage.

Welcome to Tampa, Jeff.

"We just couldn't get anything to go right," Garcia said. "And that's a credit to them."

They'll accept the credit.

"He was looking for places to go and there wasn't anywhere to go," Sapp said of Garcia.

A week ago, San Francisco wide receiver Terrell Owens had nine catches for 177 yards, two touchdowns and two 2-point conversions catches. Not in Tampa. Not against the Bucs.

He had four catches for 38 yards. Welcome to Tampa, Terrell. A week ago, the 49ers overcame a 38-14 deficit to beat the New York Giants 39-38.

"We're not the Giants," Tampa Bay defensive end Greg Spires said.

Indeed not.

They're the Tampa Bay Bucs and for only the third time in franchise story, they've advanced to the conference title game. In the two previous games, 1979 and 1999, they failed to score a touchdown. Maybe the third time will be the charm.

"The greatest part of playing in the championship game," Sapp said, "is being 60 minutes away from the greatest show on earth."

That's the Super Bowl. It's scheduled for Jan. 26 in San Diego.

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