Tampa Bay Hands Bears First Loss, 42-35

After sliding up and down the scale of improvement for a month, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers reached the top Sunday.

The NFL’s losingest team of the 1980s snapped a a 12-game losing streak against the Chicago Bears with a 42-35 win Sunday.

“This is the kind of win we’ve been looking for, the kind of win to get us over the hump,” said Coach Ray Perkins, who’s in his third year of rebuilding a club that hasn’t made the playoffs since 1982. “You’ve got to give our players credit. They’re playing consistently on a higher level.”

Vinny Testaverde, bouncing back from his worst performance of the season, completed 22 of 36 passes for 269 yards and three touchdowns as the Bucs (3-2) dropped the Bears to 4-1.

Tampa Bay’s defense forced three turnovers, including a fumble and interception that set up first-half touchdowns for a 28-14 halftime lead.

Testaverde threw for only 82 yards in a 17-3 loss to the Minnesota Vikings last week, but began the Chicago game with seven consecutive completions for 98 yards.

His 11-yard touchdown pass to Mark Carrier put the Bucs ahead, 7-0, and Bruce Hill’s 41-yard reception led to William Howard’s one-yard touchdown run for a 14-0 lead.

“I felt like we needed to come out and throw the ball and try to get ahead of them,” Perkins said.

Testaverde, who left the game midway through the fourth quarter after taking a late hit on the knee from Chicago’s Steve McMichael, also threw touchdown passes of three yards to William Harris and 22 yards to Hill.

Hill and Carrier had six catches apiece for 107 and 105 yards, respectively. Testaverde was intercepted twice by Jim Morrissey, but the quarterback’s mistakes weren’t nearly as costly as those of counterpart Mike Tomczak.

“I’m not surprised with this. I knew if we could get up on them, we’d stay up the whole game,” said Testaverde, who was diagnosed as having a bruised right knee.

“I’ve been hit worse,” he said. “What I’ve got is a bruise on the outside. The X-rays are negative right now.”

Lars Tate put the game away with fourth-quarter touchdown runs of 16 yards and four yards after Chicago cut a 21-point deficit to 28-21 on two Neal Anderson touchdown runs and Tomczak’s 16-yard pass to Thomas Sanders.

Tate finished with 112 yards in 18 carries and his second touchdown gave the Bucs a 42-21 lead. The Bears rallied with two touchdowns in the last 6:46 but came up short when the Bucs recovered an onside kick in the final minute and ran out the clock.

The victory was Tampa Bay’s first against Chicago since the last game of the strike-shortened 1982 season. The Bears have won five consecutive NFC Central Division titles, but the Bucs started the day hoping to prove they are closing the gap.

In addition to his one-yard touchdown run with 49 seconds to go, Anderson scored on runs of one and five yards for Chicago. He finished with 86 yards in 17 carries.

Tomczak completed 16 of 29 passes for 162 yards, one touchdown and one interception.