2005 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season
| 2005 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Jon Gruden |
| Owner | Malcolm Glazer |
| Home field | Raymond James Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 11–5 |
| Division place | 1st NFC South |
| Playoff finish | Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Redskins) 10-17 |
| Pro Bowlers |
3
|
| AP All-Pros |
3
|
| Team MVP | RB Carnell Williams |
| Team ROY | RB Carnell Williams |
The 2005 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season was the franchise's 30th season in the National Football League.
The season began with the team trying to improve on their 5–11 record in 2004 and The Bucs made a complete rebound from last season to make the playoffs since 2003 with an 11-5 record. Carnell Williams won rookie of the year.
The Bucs would lose in the Wild-Card playoff game at home to the 2005 Redskins.
Although the Bucs had another strong season in 2010, they missed out on the playoffs after losing a tiebreaker to the Green Bay Packers, who won the Super Bowl that season.
In the 2005 season, the Bucs returned to their winning ways. The Buccaneers selected Carnell "Cadillac" Williams in the first round of the 2005 draft, and the rookie would provide a running game the Buccaneers hadn't possessed since the days of James Wilder in the 1980s. Williams set the NFL record for most yards rushing in his first three games with 474, and was named as the AP's 2005 Offensive Rookie of the Year. His shoes and gloves from the third game of the season are now on display in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
With their 2005 campaign marking the Buccaneers' 30th Season in the NFL, the team won their first four games before entering a midseason slump hampered by a season-ending injury to starting QB Brian Griese during a win over the Miami Dolphins. Replacement starter Chris Simms struggled early as the Bucs lost games to the San Francisco 49ers and Carolina Panthers, but Simms came into his own when he led the team to a last-minute win over the Washington Redskins in a 36–35 thriller to break that slump. In a gutsy move, Gruden went for the win with a two-point conversion plunge by fullback Mike Alstott. A booth review of that play was inconclusive, and Redskins coach Joe Gibbs stated after the game his belief that Alstott had not scored.
...
Wikipedia