The Field Is Ugly, and So Is Tampa Bay Victory

Tampa Bay had only 31 yards rushing, but Vinny Testaverde passed well enough for the Buccaneers to get past the Phoenix Cardinals, 7-3, Sunday.

Testaverde completed 24 of 41 passes for 228 yards and the game’s only touchdown--a 23-yarder to Mark Carrier late in the first half.

“It was an ugly win, but the wins have been so few this year, we’ll take it,” Testaverde said.

The Buccaneers, who opened the season by beating the Cardinals, 23-7, finished 5-11 and snapped a five-game losing streak.

It was the second 7-3 loss of the season for the Cardinals, who finished 4-12 for the second consecutive season and are 13-35 in three seasons under Coach Joe Bugel. Phoenix owner Bill Bidwill has said he will evaluate the team’s progress and decide next month whether changes are needed.

“You can play 60 minutes of hard-nosed football, but in those 60 minutes you are going to have to make four or five plays,” Bugel said.

A big factor in the game was the field itself. Eddie Murray of Tampa Bay and Greg Davis of Phoenix each missed three field-goal attempts because of poor footing.

“That was the worst field that I’ve ever played on, as a player or a coach, in my NFL career,” Tampa Bay’s Sam Wyche said. “It looked like they laid sod on a beach. It took a lot of things away from the game. We couldn’t run, our receivers couldn’t cut and you saw what happened to our kicker.”

The Cardinals have complained about the new sod at Arizona State University-owned Sun Devil Stadium since two high-school football games were played in a downpour last month.

“It’s like trying to hit a drive out of a sand trap,” said Davis, who managed a 21-yard field goal in the first quarter but missed later from 47, 43 and 32 yards.

His final attempt came after the Cardinals stalled at the Tampa Bay 15-yard line early in the fourth quarter.

Murray missed from 40, 33 and 36 yards.

Phoenix had the ball twice in the final 2:22 and drove to a first down on the Buccaneer 17 with 17 seconds to play. But after Chandler was hurt, Timm Rosenbach, knocked out of the opener on a sack by Santana Dotson, had a pass intended for Randal Hill in the end zone intercepted by Milton Mack.