Steelers Complete Paperwork

Well, Lee Flowers was right. They are paper champions. On the field Monday night, however, they looked like something less.

One day after backing into the NFC South title by virtue of the New Orleans Saints’ loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, Tampa Bay was beaten by the Pittsburgh Steelers, 17-7, in a game that was decided when Shaun King was named the Buccaneers’ starting quarterback.

The victory clinched the AFC North for Pittsburgh (9-5-1) and left Tampa Bay (11-4) needing help to secure a first-round bye in the playoffs.

It’s no surprise that King, who was subbing for starter Brad Johnson (severe lower-back bruise), couldn’t do much with the football in his hand. He has struggled throughout a disappointing career.

What was surprising was how ineffective the Buccaneer defense -- best in the league overall and best against the pass, with fewest points allowed -- looked against the Steelers.

Flowers, a Pittsburgh defensive back, had labeled the Buccaneers “paper champions” after Pittsburgh beat them last season. In the days leading up to Monday night’s game, Buccaneer defensive tackle Warren Sapp had responded with a trash-talk barrage directed against Flowers.

The bad feelings got even uglier during pregame warmups with Pittsburgh running back Jerome Bettis bumping Sapp as he exhorted the early arrivals among the Raymond James Stadium crowd of 65,684 to be demonstrative in their support. Buccaneer receiver Keyshawn Johnson scuffled with several Steelers.

“Last year, they walked all over us during warmups,” said Bettis, “and we wanted to let them know we were going to bully them in their own house.”

“The intensity on that field was as great as any playoff game,” said Steeler Coach Bill Cowher. And he was only talking about the pregame warmups. “These were two teams which had a genuine dislike for each other.”

Once the game started, Pittsburgh had the final say.

Steeler quarterback Tommy Maddox set the tone on the very first play from scrimmage by hitting Plaxico Burress on a 41-yard completion. Maddox continued to move his team down the field and the Steelers scored on his 11-yard touchdown pass to Antwaan Randle El. The Pittsburgh receiver avoided two Buccaneers, safety Dexter Jackson and cornerback Ronde Barber, in diving across the goal line in the left corner of the end zone.

Enter King, who had thrown only one pass all season. When King became Tampa Bay’s starting quarterback in 1999 after an injury to Trent Dilfer, then-coach Tony Dungy had compensated for King’s passing problems by limiting his aerial game and concentrating on short passes. King had entered this season with a 77.2 career passer rating.

King’s first two passes Monday were caught, but the second one, intended for Keyshawn Johnson in the right flat, ended up in the wrong hands. Pittsburgh cornerback Chad Scott intercepted it and raced 30 yards for a touchdown.

With only 3 minutes 50 seconds elapsed, the Steelers led, 14-0.

While King couldn’t right the Buccaneers’ ship, Maddox found smooth sailing through the Tampa Bay defense. He completed his first seven passes for 152 yards. Tampa Bay came into the game having given up an average of 151.7 per game.

Pittsburgh’s second drive ended with a 26-yard Jeff Reed field goal.

After King had completed only nine of 26 for 73 yards, Buccaneer Coach Jon Gruden inserted Rob Johnson in the third quarter. This Johnson finally got his team on the scoreboard in the final two minutes with an 18-yard touchdown pass to Keyshawn Johnson.

“We gave up some uncharacteristic big plays,” said Gruden, whose team finished with only 277 yards of total offense and committed three turnovers. “You pretty much get what you deserve in this business and we got it tonight. But we’re still in the thick of this thing.”

That’s true. If Tampa Bay beats the Chicago Bears in next week’s regular-season finale and the Green Bay Packers lose to the New York Jets, the Buccaneers can still get a first-round bye.

If the Steelers beat the Baltimore Ravens next week and the Oakland Raiders (who play Kansas City) and the Tennessee Titans (Houston Texans) both lose, Pittsburgh can still have the AFC’s best record and home-field advantage all the way to the conference championship.

“It’s amazing, man, one little comment can change your whole life,” Flowers said afterward. “I couldn’t sleep all week; I put the pressure on this team. If we lost this game, everyone and their mothers were going to be after me.

“Tampa Bay is a great team and they are going to go to the Super Bowl.”

He rolled his eyes when he said that.

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NFC Race

Monday’s loss to the Steelers hurt the Buccaneers’ playoff standing. Top two teams earn first-round byes. Six teams, including four division winners, qualify for playoffs:

*--* 1. Philadelphia Eagles-x 12-3 2. Green Bay Packers 12-3 3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 11-4 4. San Francisco 49ers 10-5 5. Atlanta Falcons-y 9-5-1 6. New York Giants-y 9-6 7. New Orleans Saints 9-6

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x-Clinched first-round bye; y-Clinch wild card playoff spot with victory or Saint loss