Buccaneers’ Season Takes a Good Twist

Karl Williams zigzagged through the Chicago Bears, every change of direction seemingly a reflection of the way this season has gone for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Every time it looked as if someone might have a shot at bringing Williams down, he found a way to keep running.

Williams scored one of his two touchdowns on a weaving 61-yard punt return and Warrick Dunn topped 100 yards rushing for the fifth time as Tampa Bay (10-6) ended a losing streak at two games and equaled the winningest season in franchise history in a 31-15 victory over the Chicago Bears on Sunday.

“We’ve played our best under adverse situations,” quarterback Trent Dilfer said. “We needed this, not only to win, but to win the way we won.”

A week after their worst loss of the season, 31-0 to the New York Jets, the Buccaneers tuned up for their first postseason appearance in 15 years with a dominating performance against the Bears (4-12).

The Buccaneers will play Detroit on Sunday in their first postseason game at home since the 1979 NFC championship game.

“We felt after 18 years it was time to get a home playoff game,” Coach Tony Dungy said. “We haven’t played well the last couple of weeks. We felt we needed to do that.”

Dilfer, one of an NFL-leading seven Buccaneers who made the Pro Bowl, scored on a seven-yard run and threw his 21st touchdown pass to set a team single-season record.

Dunn had the longest run in Tampa Bay history--76 yards--and finished with 119 yards in 16 carries.

The Tampa Bay defense also did its part, limiting Chicago to 203 total yards, causing three turnovers and getting three sacks.