Bucs' Postgame Quotes
Head Coach Tony Dungy "I want to start out by saying this team played with a lot of effort. I have to take my hat off to Detroit. They played hard, they have good players and they are well-coached. I knew this was going to be a tough game. We moved the ball the first half but we didn't come up with any points. There were some big plays down the stretch."
On Keyshawn Johnson's TD: "That was a great way for Key to get on the board. The guys wanted it. It would have been nice to have that earlier."
On the Bucs defense: "The defense shut them down. They had to settle for field goals. They played sharper and with great effort. (Mike) McMahon played well. He sat poised and didn't throw any turnovers."
FB Mike Alstott "There was a lot of character and heart shown in that last drive. A lot of plays and it was humid out there, but the guys went out and fought and fought and never gave up. We believed that it takes 60 minutes to win the game. It was a huge win."
CB Ronde Barber "I am just glad we won. It wasn't one of our stellar performances, but I couldn't write it any better. You go through the heartburn and the ulcers forming, but we have confidence and it's the positive thing to take out of it. We are trying to get some place and we needed this victory."
On Keyshawn Johnson: "You have to expect him to catch it. It had to get done and I expect him to do it. He is a clutch guy. You throw it to him, he is going to grab it."
On Detroit QB Mike McMahon: "I have to give credit to their quarterback. He is a young, mobile guy. They won the field position battle and it was frustrating all day."
LB Derrick Brooks "A win is a win. We are used to it coming down to the end. We have a three-game winning streak and we have to try to find a way to win next week on the road. Our offense showed up big on the last drive and the special teams finished it off. Give the Lions credit. They play everyone until the end and it is kind of unfortunate the breaks are going the other way for them. We are going to try and use this to springboard forward and continue to put ourselves in position for the playoffs."
C Jeff Christy On the final drive: "It is tougher when you know they are coming. It is when the chips are on the line. Obviously we did something right to get down the field."
RB Warrick Dunn "I think our two-minute offense is actually the thing that has won some games for us this year. We drive on that. We just went out and executed in the two-minute offense and that's all you can ask for."
QB Brad Johnson On Keyshawn Johnson: "Keyshawn ran a corner route. I just threw it up. It came at a good time. We always like to spread the ball around to a lot of different guys. Keyshawn plays very physical. He's a winner. Today the coverage took the ball away from him a little bit, but he does a great job of catching the ball in traffic."
On the offense: "We tried to throw the ball in the first half and we didn't quite get it done. This one (win) is one we'll celebrate for a long time. We didn't panic. Their front four are probably the toughest in this league to play against."
On the humid conditions: "It was hot out there today. I think this is probably the most drained I've ever felt after a football game."
WR Keyshawn Johnson "To be honest I would have liked a touchdown the entire game, but I'll take it when it comes. I'm just going to play my game. I think the media was concerned with it (no touchdowns in first 11 games) more than I was. I've been in these kind of streaks before, but I just keep moving the chains. I was very tired. It was hot and my legs were dead. We haven't had this kind of weather in a long time."
More on the touchdown: "I had to dig deep. I had to make the play. I knew I was going to get hit as soon as I caught the ball. I'm not trying to save a season, I was trying to save a football game. This was my first time to make a huge impact."
On the last drive: "I told Brad Johnson to hang in there, and give me the opportunity and he did. He hung in there. Then I have to live up to my end of the bargain."
S John Lynch "It is huge. I can't imagine what we would have felt like if we haven't pulled this one out. Every game is coming down to the two-minute warning and we are starting to win them, and that is the important thing."
On Keyshawn Johnson: "He is a stud. He makes big plays when the game is on the line. It is fitting he scored the touchdown today. He has meant so much to us."
DT Warren Sapp "We had to find a way to get it done, whatever is required, that is our thing."
On Keyshawn Johnson: "He is the ultimate warrior. Nothing is going to keep him down on Sunday. He makes plays for us. He has done it all year long, and that's what we pay him for. You can't find a better receiver on Sunday. You have to put the ball in his hands because he does good things for you. It is a monster challenge every week and I think he relishes it like I do."
On James Stewart: "We knew we would have to contend with Stewart today. I thought he would run around like a chicken with his head cut off, but he stayed in between the tackles and you have to give him credit for that."
WR Karl Williams "I am just glad to be back in the offense and get out there and help out. I like to make plays and come through when my number is called. Today I made some big catches and kept some drives alive. That's what it is all about, keeping drives going and finishing them off in the red zone."
Lions' Postgame Quotes
Head Coach Marty Mornhinweg On the play of QB Mike McMahon: "In this game, there was one objective with Mike and that was ball control. When he took the sack at the end there, that was obviously the wrong thing to do there. We were playing field position at that point."
On the loss to the Bucs: "They're all tough, all heartbreakers, and they're all very difficult. We take the games very seriously and you can tell by the way we play. A lot of our games this year have come down to the final play. It's been a crazy year."
On a 'cursed' season: "We took Tampa Bay to two fourth-down plays. We had tight coverage on both, so I don't think that's the case. They made four or five great plays down at the end there."
On the onside kick: "We had good execution, and we had a blocker there, but we just didn't get it. We knew when we put it in that if we didn't get it the defense had to step up, and that's exactly what they did."
On dealing with all the losses: "Every week we talk about the game ahead. We discuss how we're going to handle the situation, and all the players have been great."
On Keyshawn Johnson's first TD of the year: "He's a great player. We doubled him much of the game, and we did a good job with that. We left him one-on-one some with our blitzing, but I guess it's just ironic."
On the team's attitude: "This was a heavyweight fight. In this league, you can't rely on the officials to win the game for you or hope that your opponent loses the game. You have to knock out your opponent. We have to keep battling and we have to go take it. We can't just hope that we win."
QB Mike McMahon They did a lot more man coverage than we expected, but it's not something we didn't prepare for. The main thing in the red zone is to score points. Four field goals is not enough. We need to go back and work harder."
On playing a complete game: "I felt comfortable that we could move the ball. We were doing everything we needed to do. The defense was playing great all day."
On not committing a turnover: "It was definitely a goal. You really have to finish when you get down there (red zone). The offensive line did a heck of a job."
On staying in the pocket: "I don't like to get out of the pocket. I like to stay there and deliver the ball."
RB James Stewart On the game: "It's grueling. I felt so deeply that we had this one. (Mike) Alstott had that play in the fourth (quarter) and Keyshawn (Johnson) in the end. It's hard to be so close in so many games. I have to just stay focused. We still continue to work hard to get that first win. I think destiny is within yourself. Teams make their own destiny. We just could not get over the hump."
On the Lions' defense: "Our defense was playing hard and we just needed one stop. I think this is one that we had if we just make one more play."
On Lions QB Mike McMahon: "He did a great job. He wasn't nervous. He needed to find open people and he did. When we didn't have stuff open in the passing game, he made it happen with his legs. This game showed that we can win with this guy."
WR Johnnie Morton On the game: "This one hurts. Sometimes I am in disbelief, but this one is just depressing. It's like the stages of death. You go through all these stages but right now it's just depressing. We do some good things, but we don't do enough good things. We didn't kill ourselves as bad today, but we need to find a way to close the door on teams."
K Jason Hanson On the Lions deciding to punt: "If I miss it, they get the ball on the 41(-yard line). But by punting, they still had 80 yards to go."
On the onside kick: "That was one of those deals that the guy (Eric Vance) made a great play. We should have never jumped that fast. We executed it right but he stopped it fast and couldn't get it."
CB Jimmy Wyrick On Keyshawn Johnson's touchdown: "As a corner, you always think they are coming your way. I felt like I had good coverage. We both went up and he just got higher than I did."
CB Bryant Westbrook On WR Keyshawn Johnson: "I think the whole stands knew that they were going to him. He's their guy; he carries them."
On another heartbreaking loss: "It feels terrible. There are no moral victories here. We got close the last couple weeks, but we just got to find a way to win and we've just got to go the extra mile."
