1989 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season

NFL team season March 2026 May 2024 August 2023 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1989 5–11 5th NFC Central Ray Perkins Hugh Culverhouse WR Mark Carrier WR Mark Carrier Tampa Stadium Did not qualify Buccaneers seasons The 1989 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season was the franchise's 14th season in the National Football League the 14th playing their home games at Tampa Stadium and the third under head coach Ray Perkins. The team matched on a 5–11 season in 1988, in which finished winning two of their last three games including an upset of the 1988 AFC East Champion Buffalo Bills, a win that was not only Tampa Bay's high point of the season, but turned out to be hugely impactful on the AFC playoff picture, as Buffalo's loss combined with an overtime win by the Cincinnati Bengals over Washington in the season finale meant that the Bengals clinched the home-field advantage that would have otherwise gone to the Bills; Cincinnati ended up winning a close AFC title game at home against Buffalo and got to Super Bowl XXIII. The season started with a road win against the improved Green Bay Packers, and game two brought the Super Bowl champion San Francisco 49ers and Joe Montana to Tampa Stadium. With Joe trying to direct a 4th quarter comeback, cornerback Ricky Reynolds dropped what would have been a game ending interception on second down in the end zone. On third down, Montana rolled out and ran untouched into the endzone for a winning TD that left a rare sellout crowd stunned and silent in defeat. The Bucs extended their record to 3–2 by beating the hated Chicago Bears finally in Tampa Stadium, holding off the Bears to a 42–35 victory. It was an impressive win, but then the Bucs lost to the Detroit Lions in the last minute and entered into an overall five-game losing-streak tailspin. Tampa Bay would sweep Chicago to end the streak (an achievement which was diluted by the Bears having their worst season in several years) but ended with a disappointing 5–11 record. James Wilder Sr.’s final season was highlighted by a 100-yard receiving game in week 9. Many fansAugust 2013 felt the Bucs were far better than the final record suggested, and offseason acquisitions would help the Bucs win the next year. Offseason NFL draft Pick Round Player Position School41Broderick ThomasOutside LinebackerNebraska332Danny PeeblesWide ReceiverN.C. State904Anthony FlorenceDefensive BackBethune-Cookman1175Jamie LawsonRunning BackNicholls State1466Chris MohrPunterAlabama1546Derrick LittleLinebackerSouth Carolina2008Carl BaxGuardMissouri2309Patrick EguRunning BackNevada25710Ty GrangerTackleClemson28411Rod MountsGuardTexas A&M29011Willie GriffinDefensive EndNebraska30211Herb DuncanWide ReceiverNorthern Arizona32912Ulysess TurnerDefensive BackVirginia Union Roster Tampa Bay Buccaneers roster Quarterbacks 11 Kerwin Bell 12 Joe Ferguson Running backs 43 William Howard FB 41 Alvin Mitchell 24 Sylvester Stamps KR 34 Lars Tate 32 James Wilder Wide receivers 88 Mark Carrier 87 Willie Drewrey PR 84 Bruce Hill 83 Danny Peebles 80 Frank Pillow Tight ends 82 Ron Hall 86 William Harris 85 Jackie Walker Offensive linemen 75 Carl Bax G 69 John Bruhin G 71 Mark Cooper G 65 Dan Graham C 60 Randy Grimes C 74 Paul Gruber T 73 Tom McHale G 70 Harry Swayne T 72 Rob Taylor T Defensive linemen 78 John Cannon DE 79 Reuben Davis DE 94 Robert Goff DE 97 Shawn Lee NT 77 Rhondy Weston DE Linebackers 99 Eugene Marve ILB 58 Winston Moss OLB 59 Kevin Murphy OLB 57 Peter Najarian ILB 54 Ervin Randle ILB 51 Broderick Thomas OLB Defensive backs 25 Sherman Cocroft FS 40 Donnie Elder CB/KR 36 Bobby Futrell CB/PR 39 Harry Hamilton FS 20 Odie Harris SS 22 Rod Jones CB 29 Ricky Reynolds CB 30 Mark Robinson SS Special teams 56 Sam Anno LS  3 John Carney K  1 Donald Igwebuike K  5 Chris Mohr P Reserve lists 53 Sidney Coleman LB (IR) 7px 95 Curt Jarvis NT (IR) 7px 38 Jamie Lawson FB (IR) 7px 98 Ray Seals DE (IR) 7px 62 Mike Simmonds G (IR) 7px 47 Don Smith RB (IR) 7px 14 Vinny Testaverde QB (IR) 7px Practice squad 81 Herb Duncan y WR 28 Anthony Florence y CB 52 Maurice Oliver y LB 47 active, 7 inactive, 3 practice squad rookies in italics Regular season Schedule Regular season Week Date Opponent Result Game site Attendance Record 1 September 10 at Green Bay Packers W 23–21 Lambeau Field 55,650 1–0 2 September 17 San Francisco 49ers L 20–16 Tampa Stadium 64,087 1–1 3 September 24 New Orleans Saints W 20–10 Tampa Stadium 44,053 2–1 4 October 1 at Minnesota Vikings L 17–3 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 54,817 2–2 5 October 8 Chicago Bears W 42–35 Tampa Stadium 72,077 3–2 6 October 15 Detroit Lions L 17–16 Tampa Stadium 46,225 3–3 7 October 22 at Washington Redskins L 32–28 Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium 52,862 3–4 8 October 29 at Cincinnati Bengals L 56–23 Riverfront Stadium 57,225 3–5 9 November 5 Cleveland Browns L 42–31 Tampa Stadium 69,162 3–6 10 November 12 Minnesota Vikings L 24–10 Tampa Stadium 56,271 3–7 11 November 19 at Chicago Bears W 32–31 Soldier Field 63,826 4–7 12 November 26 at Phoenix Cardinals W 14–13 Sun Devil Stadium 33,297 5–7 13 December 3 Green Bay Packers L 17–16 Tampa Stadium 58,120 5–8 14 December 10 at Houston Oilers L 20–17 Astrodome 54,532 5–9 15 December 17 at Detroit Lions L 33–7 Pontiac Silverdome 40,362 5–10 16 December 24 Pittsburgh Steelers L 31–22 Tampa Stadium 29,690 5–11 Notes: Division opponents in bold text Season summary Week 1: at Green Bay Packers Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1989 2; text-align:center collapsed Week 1: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Green Bay Packers September 10, 1989 1:00 p.m. CST Buccaneers 0 20 3 0 Packers 7 0 7 7 Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin Overcast, 60 F C CBS Jim Nantz and Pat Haden First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter Top passers TAM – Vinny Testaverde – 22/27, 205 yards, 1 TD GB – Don Majkowski – 21/32, 313 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT Top rushers TAM – William Howard – 17 rushes, 67 yards GB – Brent Fullwood – 8 rushes, 54 yards Top receivers TAM – Mark Carrier – 6 receptions, 73 yards GB – Keith Woodside – 6 receptions, 49 yards Week 9: vs. Cleveland Browns Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1989 2; text-align:center collapsed Week 9: Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Cleveland Browns November 5, 1989 1:00 p.m. CST Browns 7 28 0 7 Buccaneers 7 10 7 7 Tampa Stadium, Tampa, Florida Overcast, 85 F C NBC Tom Hammond and Joe Namath First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter Top passers TAM – Vinny Testaverde – 27/50, 370 yards, 2 TD, 4 INT CLE – Bernie Kosar – 18/22, 164 yards, 3 TD Top rushers TAM – James Wilder – 6 rushes, 23 yards CLE – Eric Metcalf – 17 rushes, 87 yards, 1 TD Top receivers TAM – James Wilder – 8 receptions, 107 yards, 2 TD CLE – Eric Metcalf – 7 receptions, 52 yards, 1 TD With the loss, the Buccaneers fell to 3-6 and 0-2 against the AFC Central. This would be the Buccaneers last home loss against the Browns until 2026. Standings References Buccaneers on Pro Football Reference Tampa Bay Buccaneers season Tampa Bay Buccaneers Category:20th century in Tampa, Florida Category:Tampa Bay Buccaneers seasons