There was a time, oh a once upon a time, when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were a proud team, and Green Bay which was a once proud franchise was on the bottom. In fact, in an unheard of since domination of Green Bay, the Bucs went a stretch of 5-0-1 against the Packers, sweeping Green Bay in the Bucs NFC Central championship seasons of 1979 and 1981, and beating them on the road in 1980 while managing the only tie in franchise history at home, 14-14.
1979
The Bucs went up to Green Bay 2-0 with the tag “undefeated” for the first time in history. They dominated them 21-10 before beating the Rams at home and Chicago on the road to go to 5-0. But then Tampa Bay hit the skids, losing to the winless Giants in New York who was starting rookie QB Phil Simms for the first time, then beaten up hard by the New Orleans Saints 42-14 in a game that was scoreless at halftime! So in come the Packers, and the Bucs handled them 21-3 in complete domination.
watch the video in your browser here…
1980
The ’80 season was similar to what the Bucs are going through in 2011. Coming off a 10-6 season of success, things didnt work out as easy for the Bucs. Green Bay came to town in week 6 finding the Bucs 2-3 after starting 2-0, and the Packers had every possible chance to win the game, but they didn’t because of their kicking game. Twice, at the end of regulation, and at the end of overtime, the Packers missed a FG that would have won the game. Later that year in week 13, the Bucs came from behind in dramatic fashion to score the winning TD just under the two minute warning.
Check out the video in your browser
1981
The Bucs started out the year 1-2 before winning two in a row and facing the Packers in Green Bay. The Bucs handled them again 21-10 in a game that was not that close. The 5-4 Bucs then hit a two game losing skid that was bad, losing 25-10 at Minnesota before losing to Denver 24-7 home against Denver, and EVERYTHING looked really bad for the Bucs. In came the Packers, and the Bucs set a then record for scoring; a 37-3 demolition of the Packers, and it was the last time the Bucs had such a domination over Green Bay, ever. From Don Majkowski to Brett Favre and now Aaron Rogers, there is a special gunman at the helm for the Pack, who’ve been back ever since!
Watch the 1981 Green Bay video clip in your browser
Notice the video they mention McKay put the Bucs through padded practice? hmmmmm
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