Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Losing streaks

The 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost all 14 games during the regular season. They stand as the only NFL team in the modern era to experience a winless regular season. In 1978, the season expanded to 16 games, however, no team has managed to finish 0-16. The Baltimore Colts went 0-8-1 in the strike-shortened 1982 season. A twenty-game road losing streak against AFC teams finally ended with a 17-10 victory over the Denver Broncos on December 26, 1993. In 1980 (against the Cincinnati Bengals at Riverfront Stadium), the Buccaneers began a 27-game losing steak of games played outdoors on AstroTurf. It was not broken until 1995 when the team defeated the Eagles at Veterans Stadium. From their inception, they lost 20 consecutive games in which the temperature at kickoff was below 40°F (4°C). The streak was ended in the final week of the 2002 regular season, when they beat the Bears at Champaign. The only dubious streak which remains as of 2006 is the fact that the Buccaneers are the only team in the NFL without a kickoff return for a touchdown. Before the start of the 2007 football season, the number of regular season kickoff returns stood at 1,851. The Buccaneers have scored touchdowns on five kickoff returns during pre-season games.

Records

* Matt Bryant's 62-yard, game-winning field goal against the Philadelphia Eagles in 2006 tied him for the third-longest field goal in NFL history. It also marked the second-longest game-winning field goal in NFL history.

* The Buccaneers are the first post-merger expansion team to win a division title, win a playoff game, and to host and play in a conference championship game. This was accomplished during the 1979 season.

* The Buccaneers are the first expansion team created since the AFL-NFL Merger to win a Super Bowl.

Distinctions

* The Buccaneers are the first team to win a Super Bowl in each of the following circumstances:
o after having lost at home on opening day (the Buccaneers lost to the New Orleans Saints in overtime)
o after having gained less than 100 yards rushing per game during the regular season
o after having been eliminated in the wild-card round of the prior season's playoffs
o having three interceptions returned for touchdowns

* The Buccaneers are the only team in the NFC South to have won a Super Bowl.

* Due to the long-term success of the Buccaneers in running the Cover 2 defense, it has become well known as the "Tampa 2".

* The Buccaneers defeated the Philadelphia Eagles in both the final pro-football game played at Veterans Stadium, the Eagles' old facility, as well as the first regular season NFL game played in the Eagles' new facility, Lincoln Financial Field. The former was accomplished in the 2002 NFC Championship Game and the latter on the first MNF game of the 2003 season. Coincidentally, both games were won by 17 points.

* No team that has lost to the Buccaneers during the regular season has gone on to win the Super Bowl, often referred to as the Tampa Bay Curse.

* As of January 23, 2007, four members from Tony Dungy's coaching staff are head coaches of other NFL teams
o Herman Edwards for the Kansas City Chiefs (Assistant head coach under Dungy at Tampa Bay)

o Lovie Smith for the Chicago Bears (Linebackers coach under Dungy at Tampa Bay)

o Rod Marinelli for the Detroit Lions (Defensive line coach under Dungy at Tampa Bay)

o Mike Tomlin for the Pittsburgh Steelers (Defensive backs coach under Dungy at Tampa Bay)