Forgotten men strike again

Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicker Matt Bryant, left, kicks the game-winning field goal in overtime to defeat the Atlanta Falcons 27-24 in Tampa, Florida, on Saturday. PHOTO: AP

To the layman, there is nothing special about special teams.

But if ever an NFL game underscored the significance of punts, kickoffs and field goals, the Bucs' 27-24 overtime win against the Falcons on Saturday was it.

"This game had everything, from field goals to PAT [point after touchdown] blocks, to punt returns, to getting punts [with good placement]," said defensive end Dewayne White, whose blocked field goal in overtime gave the Bucs new life.

"We had every aspect of special teams in this game. It was huge for us."

There was a myriad of turning points:

Matt Bryant converted a careerlong 50-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter. Holder Josh Bidwell salvaged an errant snap on Bryant's tying extra point in the closing seconds of regulation. White rejected Todd Peterson's winning field goal attempt. Bryant missed his chance to win it in overtime, shanking a 27-yard attempt after another poor snap. Mark Jones set up the offense on the winning drive with a 28-yard punt return. Bryant put the exclamation point on the seesaw day with the decisive 41-yard field goal.

"If you think about it, there's three parts of a team," safety Dexter Jackson said of offense, defense and special teams.

"Special teams stepped up big. You just look at all the teams that have won Super Bowls. When we won it [after the 2002 season], that season [punt returner] Karl Williams got hot on special teams. When you have a tight game, a tight battle, special teams can be the difference."

During the Bucs' march to Super Bowl XXXVII, Williams had several game-changing returns late in the season and in the playoffs, and Aaron Stecker ranked fifth in the NFC in kickoff-return average at 25.2 yards.

Saturday, the parallels were everywhere.

Still, the Bucs will look to clean up their act on special teams. Many positives were offset by disconcerting developments. The two botched snaps by long-snapper Dave Moore were surprising, given that the 14-year veteran has been reliable all season. Bidwell did a yeoman's job on the extra point at the end of regulation, but the snap on the field-goal miss proved tougher to handle.

"It's frustrating," Bidwell said. "You want to go out there and be perfect every single time. For all intents and purposes, we have been this entire season. But when it comes down to what happened [Saturday], we're just grateful we got a second chance. You're not going to get us twice in a row. That's for darn sure."

Not to be overlooked was Edell Shepherd's fumble of the opening kickoff of overtime, a turnover that positioned the Falcons for the field goal that White, a third-year player, blocked.

Special-teams coach Rich Bisaccia came to the defense of his third-year receiver, who also was called for an illegal block in the second quarter that negated Jones' 54-yard punt return to the Atlanta 23.

"He's been playing his butt off," said Bisaccia, who noted that Shepherd had a 30-yard return on the kickoff that set up the Bucs' tying drive during the final four minutes. "He's come in and had never done it before and has really played well. It's an unfortunate situation that he put the ball on the ground."