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Dilfer tosses two touchdown passes
TAMPA, Fla. -- Tampa Bay fans must be wondering why it took the Buccaneers so long to bench Trent Dilfer.
The embattled quarterback delivered his second solid performance since returning to the lineup after a one-week absence, throwing for 270 yards and two touchdowns in Sunday's 17-10 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.
Jacquez Green hauls in a 52-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter, giving the Bucs a 17-3 lead.
Dilfer was benched three games ago, ending a streak of 72 consecutive starts after the Bucs (5-4) stumbled to a 3-3 start while ranking 29th in the NFL in passing and averaging just 13 points.
He regained the job last week because Eric Zeier is injured and has been a different player, leading the team to its two highest yardage totals of the season and throwing for five TDs vs. one interception in two victories.
"It was ugly. I get benched after a win. You know: 'Can we win another game? Dilfer stinks. They can't score any points,' " Dilfer said. "The only way you can get through it is being enthusiastic, enjoying preparation, enjoying one another. I think that's something we've done."
The sixth-year pro threw for three touchdowns with no interceptions as Tampa Bay scored a season-high 31 in a win at New Orleans. Against the Chiefs (5-4), he was 17-of-27 and threw a long TD pass to Jacquez Green for the second week in a row.
"I think the last two weeks he's had fun. Part of that may be when you sit out a week you realize how much you do miss it," said Bucs coach Tony Dungy, who had declared the switch to Zeier as permanent.
"He was very fired up on the sideline, and he's been fired up all week. He's playing very loose and relaxed. I think our whole team is starting to play that way."
Green scored on a 52-yard reception, giving the Bucs a 17-3 third-quarter lead, and finished with seven catches for a career-high 164 yards. Dave Moore caught a 35-yard TD pass in the second quarter.
Kansas City pulled within a touchdown on Elvis Grbac's 50-yard pass to Joe Horn with 10:40 remaining, however an inability to make the most of six Tampa Bay's turnovers ultimately cost the Chiefs.
Safety Reggie Tongue forced three fumbles before recovering one by Mike Alstott with Tampa Bay driving and looking to put the game away with just over two minutes to go.
Grbac was 7-for-9 passes for 66 yards to move the Chiefs from his own 20 to the Bucs 13 with 28 seconds to go. The threat ended two plays later, though, when Tampa Bay's Hardy Nickerson intercepted a throw intended for Tony Gonzalez in the end zone.
"I got greedy," said Grbac, who finished 23-of-38 for 202 yards, one TD and one interception. "I made a mistake and it cost us the game ... It's disappointing to get all those turnovers, and great field position, and not get points out of it."
GAME NOTES
Kansas City running back Bam Morris was inactive for the game.
Tampa Bay limited the Chiefs to 5 yards passing in the first half, breaking the franchise record of 6 in the second half of a loss to Chicago in 1979.
Jacquez Green beat Chiefs cornerback Eric Warfield on a 54-yard catch in the fourth quarter as well as his long TD reception.
Dungy wasn't sure what to make of Tampa Bay's generosity, which included five fumbles and an interception.
"We talked about it before the game -- if we made mistakes, don't worry about it. I guess they took me literally," the coach said. "It's unbelievable that you could win with that many turnovers and that many chances to put them away and not do it."
Alstott lost three fumbles and Dilfer and Warrick Dunn each left the ball on the ground once for Tampa Bay. Chiefs cornerback James Hasty intercepted a pass in the end zone to stop a Tampa Bay threat in the first half.
"You don't want to play a mistake-filled game ... But when you do, if you can make the plays to overcome them, you can still win," Dilfer said. "We had the mentality today, offensively, that we were going to make enough plays to overcome our mistakes."
The Bucs led 10-3 at the half, despite not taking advantage good field position and two turnovers by the Chiefs.
They failed to score after Warren Sapp sacked Grbac and recovered a fumble at the Chiefs 21, then settled for Martin Gramatica's 25-yard field goal when Derrick Brooks picked Donnell Bennett's fumble and returned it 4 yards to the Kansas City 13 just before halftime.
The interception Grbac threw on Kansas City's last drive was his first in four games. The Chiefs lead the NFL with a turnover ratio of plus-17, but fell to 1-4 on the road compared to 4-0 at home.
"This is a tough loss," coach Gunther Cunningham said. "I'm a firm believer in plus-turnovers ... We get this many, we should win."
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