It’s Far From a Fiedler Day for Dolphins

In a game as dreary as the weather, Tampa Bay took advantage of five turnovers by injured quarterback Jay Fiedler and rallied in the fourth quarter to beat the Miami Dolphins, 16-13, Sunday.

The Buccaneers (9-5) totaled only 221 yards, gave up four sacks and committed seven penalties but still managed to stay in the thick of the NFC wild-card playoff race with their third consecutive victory.

“We call it Bucs ball,” defensive tackle Warren Sapp said. “It ain’t always pretty. It’s not much to sell tickets for. But it’s a win, and they all count the same.”

The difference was four interceptions and a fumbled snap by Fiedler, who left the game briefly in the second quarter because of a shoulder injury.

Jamie Duncan returned an interception 31 yards for Tampa Bay’s first touchdown, then recovered Fiedler’s fumble to set up Martin Gramatica’s tiebreaking 46-yard field goal with 8:12 to play.

An interception by Shelton Quarles toward the end of the first half led to the first of Gramatica’s three field goals. Damien Robinson made the final interception with 14 seconds left deep in Tampa Bay territory.

Fiedler had only nine passes intercepted before Sunday’s game.

“I take a lot of it on my shoulders,” said Fiedler, who completed 13 of 28 passes for 179 yards. “A couple of bad decisions, a couple of bad throws--we kind of gave them 13 points with offensive mistakes.”

Rain fell throughout the game and reduced the crowd to about 55,000, meaning there were about 20,000 no-shows for the sellout.

“Rain, soggy, nasty,” Sapp said. “It let me know I went to work today. I’ve got grass all over me, and I’ve got cuts I won’t even feel until I get in the shower. It’s the way football was meant to be played.”

In the end, the Dolphins couldn’t weather Fiedler’s three turnovers in the fourth quarter.

Tampa Bay tied the game at 13-13 following a wild sequence that included two third-and-long conversions, two sacks and a 45-yard pass play from Shaun King to Warrick Dunn to the one. Gramatica’s 30-yard field goal tied it with 10:36 left.

As heavy rain fell, Fiedler fumbled the next snap and Duncan recovered. Three plays later, Gramatica kicked his third field goal.

Fiedler had injured his shoulder when he was sacked by James Cannida in the second quarter and briefly left the game. He returned with 22 seconds left in the half after Miami forced a punt, and Miami Coach Dave Wannstedt made a costly decision by electing to throw rather than run out the clock.

“He said he was OK,” Wannstedt said. “He didn’t want to come out of the game. That’s a tough one from a coaching standpoint. The guy says he’s fine, and you want to give him an opportunity.”

Quarles intercepted the first-down pass, setting up Gramatica’s 38-yard field goal as the half ended.