After their 1997 playoff breakthrough, Tony Dungy's Buccaneers took a step back in 1998, finishing with an 8-8 record and just out of the NFC playoff field, but the defense remained strong and the season was marked with some impressive wins. Those included a 27-24 midseason thriller that gave Dungy's former team, the Minnesota Vikings, their only loss of the 1998 regular season. The Buccaneers also took down long-time nemesis Green Bay, 24-22, in December, in which the defense sacked Brett Favre eight times and forced eight fumbles. The season ended with a 35-0 blowout win at Cincinnati, the biggest road shutout in franchise history, which kept the Bucs' playoff hopes alive for a few extra hours until they were eliminated by other game results while flying home. Warrick Dunn topped 1,000 rushing yards and Mike Alstott added 846 and nine touchdowns, but the Bucs finished 27th in passing yards and couldn't keep up with the NFL's second-ranked defense.
