In the Wild Card playoffs Tampa Bay lost 31–9, to the Philadelphia Eagles for the second year in a row.
Despite holding a poor Cowboys club to only 127 yards, a fourth-quarter touchdown run by Johnson was needed to seal the victory.
Three Martin Gramatica field goals and a Warrick Dunn touchdown run gave the Buccaneers a 16–13 lead in the fourth quarter.
Shelton Quarles intercepted Brett Favre and returned the ball 98 yards for a touchdown, the longest such in franchise history.
The Buccaneers intercepted Favre a total of three times, and Mike Alstott clinched the victory with a 39-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter.
The Steelers sacked Brad Johnson ten times, and Jerome Bettis rushed for 143 yards, as the Buccaneers fell to 2–3 on the season.
Brad Johnson connected on two touchdown passes, and Martin Gramatica scored two field goals for a 20–14 lead late in the fourth quarter.
Martin Gramatica scored two field goals, and the Buccaneers held a 13–6 lead, With 8 seconds left in regulation, Jon Kitna connected with Corey Dillon for a game-tying 6-yard touchdown pass, and forced overtime.
The Lions never managed to reach the endzone, however, Tampa Bay's offense struggled all day and found themselves trailing 12–7.
Though he was tackled, the long return was not for naught, as two plays later, Brad Johnson connected with Karl Williams for a 14-yard touchdown, and a lead the Buccaneers never surrendered.
In the first half, Williams, Mike Alstott and Warrick Dunn each scored touchdowns, while Martin Gramatica added three field goals.
With 2 minutes remaining in the game, Ronde Barber intercepted Aaron Brooks pass, and returned it 36 yards for an "icing-on-the-cake" touchdown.
Adding a little insult to injury, back-up quarterback Shaun King attempted a two-point conversion, and with its success, the Buccaneers tied the franchise record for most points in a game at 48.
The victory game Tampa Bay their third consecutive win against a defending Super Bowl champion: (Broncos- XXXIII, Rams- XXXIV, Ravens- XXXV) Originally this game was to be played back in Week 2 and was thought to be a highly anticipated rematch from last season's wild card round.
On the ensuing kickoff, Karl "The Truth" Williams fumbled the return at the Tampa Bay 24-yard line, and it was recovered by Philadelphia.
It was the second consecutive season in which Philadelphia eliminated Tampa Bay from the playoffs during the wild card round, and two days later, Buccaneers coach Tony Dungy was fired.
But McNabb made up for his mistake with a 39-yard run on third down and 5 on Philadelphia's ensuing possession, setting up a field goal for David Akers that tied the game, 3–3.
Tampa responded with a 10-play, 65-yard drive, but once again could not dent the end zone and had to settle for another Gramatica field goal, cutting their deficit to 10–6.
Later in the quarter, Eagles punter Sean Landeta pinned the Buccaneers back at their own 5-yard line and Tampa Bay could not get a first down with their next drive.
After receiving Mark Royals' short 28-yard punt at the Buccaneers 31-yard line, McNabb threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Duce Staley with 35 seconds left in the half.
But Tampa Bay managed to respond with Gramatica's third field goal before halftime, set up by a 46-yard reception from Keyshawn Johnson, cutting their deficit to 17–9.