Wild Card Round: Detroit Lions at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Houlihan's Stadium), the bracket opens here. Kickoff: Sun December 28, 1997 at 4:00pm. Winner advances to the divisional round. Loser starts the offseason early.[1][2]
Wild card weekend is the most chaotic football the calendar produces. Detroit Lions at Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Houlihan's Stadium is the kind of game that decides whether a season was a long buildup or a quick exit. These are the games where the second-tier playoff teams have to prove they belong. Most don't. The few who do define the rest of January.
The bracket has narrowed to the teams that survived the regular season. Detroit Lions and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are two of them; the rest of the league is in scouting mode for the offseason. What happens in Houlihan's Stadium shifts the rest of the tree: a road favorite winning rearranges seeding expectations; a home upset shows the bracket math underweights heart.
Detroit Lions versus Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Wild Card Round. The teams who reach this round have already proven they survive a long schedule; the stats that matter most now are the ones that compress: scoring differential, red-zone efficiency, turnover margin. At this stage of the year, the simple math is that defenses tighten and the team that protects the ball wins more often than the team that scores the most. Whichever side of Detroit Lions-Tampa Bay Buccaneers cleans up the careless plays first usually walks out with the result. Conservative-game expectations should not surprise the reader; both staffs know exactly what worked all season and will lean hard on what travels. The early answer is the kicking game, where any swing of field position compounds.
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 11-5 | W2 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 11-5 | L1 |
| Tennessee Oilers | 8-8 | W1 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 7-9 | W3 |
| Baltimore Ravens | 6-9-1 | L1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| New England Patriots | 10-6 | W1 |
| Miami Dolphins | 9-7 | L2 |
| New York Jets | 9-7 | L1 |
| Buffalo Bills | 6-10 | L3 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 3-13 | L1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Kansas City Chiefs | 13-3 | W6 |
| Denver Broncos | 12-4 | W1 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 8-8 | W2 |
| Oakland Raiders | 4-12 | L5 |
| San Diego Chargers | 4-12 | L8 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco 49ers | 13-3 | L1 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 7-9 | L1 |
| Carolina Panthers | 7-9 | L2 |
| New Orleans Saints | 6-10 | L1 |
| St. Louis Rams | 5-11 | W1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Green Bay Packers | 13-3 | W5 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 10-6 | W1 |
| Detroit Lions | 9-7 | W2 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 9-7 | W1 |
| Chicago Bears | 4-12 | L1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| New York Giants | 10-5-1 | W3 |
| Washington Redskins | 8-7-1 | W1 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 6-9-1 | L3 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 6-10 | L5 |
| Arizona Cardinals | 4-12 | -- |
1997 NFC Wildcard Detroit Lions at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
1997 NFC Wild Card Detroit v Tampa Bay
Buccaneers vs Lions 1997 NFC wild card playoff 
NFL on FOX - 1997 Lions vs Buccaneers - NFC Wild Card Playoff
bucs vs lions playoff game 1997
1997 NFC Divisional Playoff Tampa Bay v Green Bay
NFL on FOX - 1997 NFC Wild Card Playoffs - Dec. 28 pregame show from Tampa Bay Detroit Lions None, Tampa Bay Buccaneers None
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit Lions | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0031010 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 3 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 313202020 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Buccaneers | Michael Husted 22 yard field goal | 0-3 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Buccaneers | Horace Copeland 9 yard pass from Trent Dilfer ( Michael Husted kick) | 0-10 |
| Buccaneers | Michael Husted 42 yard field goal | 0-13 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Buccaneers | Mike Alstott 31 yard rush ( Michael Husted kick) | 0-20 |
| Lions | Jason Hanson 33 yard field goal | 3-20 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Lions | Tommy Vardell 1 yard rush ( Jason Hanson kick) | 10-20 |
Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated Detroit Lions 20-10 at Houlihan's Stadium in the Wild Card Round. The final scoring play was Lions: Tommy Vardell 1 yard rush ( Jason Hanson kick). Top line of the day: Trent Dilfer: 181 pass yards on 13-of-26, 1 TD, 1 INT. Tampa Bay Buccaneers advance to the divisional round.[1][2]
Tampa Bay Buccaneers walked out of Houlihan's Stadium as the team that survived a Wild Card Round Detroit Lions will replay in its head for the entire offseason. The scoreboard says 20-10. The final scoring play came from Lions: Tommy Vardell 1 yard rush ( Jason Hanson kick). Whether it was the game-decider or just the period at the end of the sentence depends on what the camera caught earlier. Tampa Bay Buccaneers advance to the divisional round.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20, Detroit Lions 10. Round: Wild Card Round. Attendance: 73361. Q1: 1 scoring play. Q2: 2 scoring plays. Q3: 2 scoring plays. Q4: 1 scoring play. Top performers:
- Trent Dilfer: 181 pass yards on 13-of-26, 1 TD, 1 INT
- Warrick Dunn: 72 rush yards on 18 carries
- Johnnie Morton: 8 catches for 88 yards
Wild Card Round, played at Houlihan's Stadium. Final: Detroit Lions 10, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20, with Tampa Bay Buccaneers taking the result by 10. **First quarter**
- Buccaneers: Michael Husted 22 yard field goal
Second quarter
- Buccaneers: Horace Copeland 9 yard pass from Trent Dilfer ( Michael Husted kick)
- Buccaneers: Michael Husted 42 yard field goal
Third quarter
- Buccaneers: Mike Alstott 31 yard rush ( Michael Husted kick)
- Lions: Jason Hanson 33 yard field goal
Fourth quarter
- Lions: Tommy Vardell 1 yard rush ( Jason Hanson kick)
Top performers
- Trent Dilfer: 181 pass yards on 13-of-26, 1 TD, 1 INT
- Warrick Dunn: 72 rush yards on 18 carries
- Johnnie Morton: 8 catches for 88 yards
| Lions | Buccaneers | |
|---|---|---|
| Team totals | ||
| First Downs | 18 | 15 |
| Total Yards | 307 | 316 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 2 |
| Passing | ||
| Comp/Att | 21/40 | 13/26 |
| Pass yards | 207 | 181 |
| Pass TD | 0 | 1 |
| Interceptions | 1 | 1 |
| Sacks taken | 2 | 2 |
| Sack yards lost | 9 | 6 |
| Net pass yards | 198 | 175 |
| Rushing | ||
| Rushes | 27 | 32 |
| Rush yards | 109 | 141 |
| Rush TD | 1 | 1 |
| Discipline | ||
| Fumbles | 1 | 2 |
| Fumbles lost | 0 | 1 |
| Penalties | 4 | 4 |
| Penalty yards | 20 | 25 |
| Player | C/A | Yds | TD | Int | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DET | |||||
| Frank Reich | 11/15 | 129 | 0 | 0 | |
| Scott Mitchell | 10/25 | 78 | 0 | 1 | |
| TAM | |||||
| Trent Dilfer | 13/26 | 181 | 1 | 1 | |
| Player | Att | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DET | ||||
| Barry Sanders | 18 | 65 | 0 | 15 |
| Scott Mitchell | 4 | 20 | 0 | 14 |
| Ron Rivers | 1 | 17 | 0 | 17 |
| Frank Reich | 1 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Tommy Vardell | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| John Jett | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| TAM | ||||
| Warrick Dunn | 18 | 72 | 0 | 11 |
| Mike Alstott | 11 | 68 | 1 | 31 |
| Reidel Anthony | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Trent Dilfer | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Player | Rec | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DET | ||||
| Johnnie Morton | 8 | 88 | 0 | 21 |
| Herman Moore | 4 | 44 | 0 | 15 |
| Barry Sanders | 5 | 43 | 0 | 15 |
| Tommy Vardell | 1 | 12 | 0 | 12 |
| Tommie Boyd | 2 | 11 | 0 | 6 |
| David Sloan | 1 | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| TAM | ||||
| Robb Thomas | 2 | 66 | 0 | 50 |
| Reidel Anthony | 3 | 62 | 0 | 32 |
| Karl Williams | 1 | 23 | 0 | 23 |
| Horace Copeland | 2 | 14 | 1 | 9 |
| Mike Alstott | 1 | 12 | 0 | 12 |
| Jackie Harris | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Warrick Dunn | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
Find or start the canonical thread for this game on r/49ers. The thread title is deterministic so anyone running this Rewatch lands on the same place.
Find the thread Start the threadCanonical title: [Rewatch Party] 1997 Wild Card Round - Detroit Lions at Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Game Thread
