IN THE DRIVER’S SEAT?

It was a two-minute drill that might have saved the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ season.

With Shaun King scrambling and Warrick Dunn gambling, the Buccaneers pulled out an extraordinary drive Monday night to beat the St. Louis Rams and clinch a playoff spot.

Given up for dead in October with a 3-4 record and a four-game losing streak, the Buccaneers are back.

Amid all the final weekend talk about home-field advantage in the playoffs, there is only one team with a chance to have home-field advantage in the Super Bowl, and that’s the Buccaneers: The game will be played Jan. 28 at Tampa Bay’s Raymond James Stadium.

They have a stretch of 1 1/2 minutes against the Rams to thank.

“We probably haven’t had a drive like that, 80 yards, that meant so much with the game on the line,” Tampa Bay Coach Tony Dungy said.

“Just huge, to beat the defending Super Bowl champions and get in the playoffs, to go 80 yards with no timeouts in two minutes. . . . I think all the guys will remember that for a long time.”

The NFL landscape is littered with faded Super Bowl favorites.

The Washington Redskins and Jacksonville Jaguars are dead.

The St. Louis Rams are on life support, with offensive lineman Ryan Tucker placing daily calls to his brother Rex, a Chicago Bear lineman, begging for an upset over Detroit so the Rams will have a chance.

And the Indianapolis Colts will have to huddle Sunday to watch the early games and see if the New York Jets or Miami Dolphins lose to know if they’re still alive by the time they take the field against the Minnesota Vikings.

The Buccaneers--who would have needed a victory over Green Bay in frigid weather at Lambeau Field had they lost--can just play.

They’re 10-5 and have won seven of eight.

The offense Keyshawn Johnson was supposed to save might have found itself just in time.

The Buccaneers’ game against the Rams will be remembered not only for showcasing oft-maligned quarterback King’s big-play ability, but for the way Dunn ran and the way Johnson finally fit in.

King completed only 18 of 38 passes, but he made the plays Tampa Bay needed.

None was bigger than his fourth-down run for a first down at the Ram 23-yard line or the wild scramble after Dunn, hemmed in and about to take a huge loss, lateraled to King for what became a 30-yard gain after a 15-yard penalty on the Rams’ Mike Jones for a late hit.

“Shaun, his biggest quality is to make the play you need when you have to have it,” Dungy said. “He doesn’t throw for the highest percentage or do it all smoothly.

“But when you need a big play, some way he’s going to find a way to do it, no matter how the game has gone for him before that. That’s a great quality. It’s something you don’t want to trade.”

The Tampa Bay offense has been herky-jerky this season, with new offensive coordinator Les Steckel calling the plays and Johnson trying to find his role.

But the Buccaneers found Johnson at the right times against the Rams, neither forcing the ball to him nor ignoring him.

What might have been overlooked is that the running game, long a Tampa Bay staple, needed to adjust too.

With Randall McDaniel and Jeff Christy new to the offensive line and Steckel new to the team, it took time. But the new emphasis is on getting Dunn to the outside, and that was obvious against the Rams.

“It’s a different style of running game from last year,” Dungy said.

Maybe King didn’t direct the final drive with all the savvy of John Elway, but he got it done.

Somebody asked Dungy if he’ll look back at it fondly in years to come.

“Tomorrow I’ll look back at it fondly,” he said.

BRRR . . . GREEN BAY

These are the infamous stats that tell why Tampa Bay didn’t want to go to Green Bay needing a victory:

* The Buccaneers are 0-18 in games played when the temperature is below 40 degrees.

* Green Bay’s Brett Favre is 26-0 when it’s 34 degrees or colder.

Maybe this time, maybe the Buccaneers have a little edge.

Because of a cold snap, the temperature in Tampa for their walk-through Wednesday morning was in the 30s.

STUMBLING IN

There are warning signs for Minnesota and Oakland, teams that have made the playoffs but have lost two of their last three games--and the Vikings easily could lose their final game to an Indianapolis team trying to make the playoffs.

“I can’t remember the last time a team has lost the final game of the season and been successful in the playoffs,” said Baltimore tight end Shannon Sharpe, mindful that the Ravens need to hold off a playoff-hungry Jet team.

“You want to know you’re ready to play,” Sharpe said. “You don’t want to go in thinking, ‘What do I need to do?’ ”

Other teams straggling in, if they make it at all, are St. Louis, the Jets, Miami and Detroit.

RAM AUTOPSY

The Ram defense rightly gets most of the blame for the team’s probable failure to make the playoffs.

With a game remaining, the defense has given up 450 points--more than any team in the league and an astounding 208 more than last season.

Marking another astounding reversal are Kurt Warner’s stats.

Despite missing five games because of a broken pinkie, Warner has thrown 17 interceptions--four more than last season.

His touchdown-to-interception ratio last year was 41 to 13.

This year? Try 20 to 17.

MONEY WELL-SPENT

Incentive clauses are a big part of the contracts of several of the New Orleans Saints’ emerging defensive stars.

Time to pay up.

The bill could be an extra $5 million.

Tackle La’Roi Glover, second in the NFL with 16 sacks, earned $700,000 for his 11th sack and an additional $1.3 million when he reached 12 1/2.

End Joe Johnson earned $1 million for making the Pro Bowl, and already had earned a $1-million bonus for his ninth sack.

Linebacker Keith Mitchell earned $225,000 for making the Pro Bowl and has made $675,000 and counting for “big plays” with 6 1/2 sacks, two touchdowns, one interception and four fumble recoveries.

TODAY’S GAMES

Jacksonville at N.Y. Giants, 9:30 a.m., Ch. 2

San Francisco at Denver, 1:15 p.m., Ch. 11

Buffalo at Seattle, 5:30 p.m., ESPN

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