The 1989 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season was the franchise's 14th season in the National Football League the 14th playing their home games at Tampa Stadium and the third under head coach Ray Perkins. The team matched on a 5–11 season in 1988, in which finished winning two of their last three games including an upset of the 1988 AFC East Champion Buffalo Bills, a win that was not only Tampa Bay's high point of the season, but turned out to be hugely impactful on the AFC playoff picture, as Buffalo's loss combined with an overtime win by the Cincinnati Bengals over Washington in the season finale meant that the Bengals clinched the home-field advantage that would have otherwise gone to the Bills; Cincinnati ended up winning a close AFC title game at home against Buffalo and got to Super Bowl XXIII. The season started with a road win against the improved Green Bay Packers, and game two brought the Super Bowl champion San Francisco 49ers and Joe Montana to Tampa Stadium. With Joe trying to direct a 4th quarter comeback, cornerback Ricky Reynolds dropped what would have been a game ending interception on second down in the end zone. On third down, Montana rolled out and ran untouched into the endzone for a winning TD that left a rare sellout crowd stunned and silent in defeat. The Bucs extended their record to 3–2 by beating the hated Chicago Bears finally in Tampa Stadium, holding off the Bears to a 42–35 victory. It was an impressive win, but then the Bucs lost to the Detroit Lions in the last minute and entered into an overall five-game losing-streak tailspin. Tampa Bay would sweep Chicago to end the streak (an achievement which was diluted by the Bears having their worst season in several years) but ended with a disappointing 5–11 record. James Wilder Sr.’s final season was highlighted by a 100-yard receiving game in week 9. Many fans felt the Bucs were far better than the final record suggested, and offseason acquisitions would help the Bucs win the next year.
Offseason NFL draft Pick Round Player Position School41Broderick ThomasOutside LinebackerNebraska332Danny PeeblesWide ReceiverN.C. State904Anthony FlorenceDefensive BackBethune-Cookman1175Jamie LawsonRunning BackNicholls State1466Chris MohrPunterAlabama1546Derrick LittleLinebackerSouth Carolina2008Carl BaxGuardMissouri2309Patrick EguRunning BackNevada25710Ty GrangerTackleClemson28411Rod MountsGuardTexas A&M29011Willie GriffinDefensive EndNebraska30211Herb DuncanWide ReceiverNorthern Arizona32912Ulysess TurnerDefensive BackVirginia Union
Roster Tampa Bay Buccaneers roster Quarterbacks Kerwin Bell Joe Ferguson
Running backs William Howard FB Alvin Mitchell Sylvester Stamps KR Lars Tate James Wilder
Wide receivers Mark Carrier Willie Drewrey PR Bruce Hill Danny Peebles Frank Pillow
Tight ends Ron Hall William Harris Jackie Walker Offensive linemen Carl Bax G John Bruhin G Mark Cooper G Dan Graham C Randy Grimes C Paul Gruber T Tom McHale G Harry Swayne T Rob Taylor T
Defensive linemen John Cannon DE Reuben Davis DE Robert Goff DE Shawn Lee NT Rhondy Weston DE Linebackers Eugene Marve ILB Winston Moss OLB Kevin Murphy OLB Peter Najarian ILB Ervin Randle ILB Broderick Thomas OLB
Defensive backs Sherman Cocroft FS Donnie Elder CB/KR Bobby Futrell CB/PR Harry Hamilton FS Odie Harris SS Rod Jones CB Ricky Reynolds CB Mark Robinson SS
Special teams Sam Anno LS John Carney K Donald Igwebuike K Chris Mohr P Reserve lists Sidney Coleman LB (IR) Curt Jarvis NT (IR) Jamie Lawson FB (IR) Ray Seals DE (IR) Mike Simmonds G (IR) Don Smith RB (IR) Vinny Testaverde QB (IR)
Practice squad
47 active, 7 inactive, 3 practice squad
rookies in italics
Regular season Schedule Regular season Week Date Opponent Result Game site Attendance Record 1 September 10 at Green Bay Packers W 23–21 Lambeau Field 55,650 1–0 2 September 17 San Francisco 49ers L 20–16 Tampa Stadium 64,087 1–1 3 September 24 New Orleans Saints W 20–10 Tampa Stadium 44,053 2–1 4 October 1 at Minnesota Vikings L 17–3 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 54,817 2–2 5 October 8 Chicago Bears W 42–35 Tampa Stadium 72,077 3–2 6 October 15 Detroit Lions L 17–16 Tampa Stadium 46,225 3–3 7 October 22 at Washington Redskins L 32–28 Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium 52,862 3–4 8 October 29 at Cincinnati Bengals L 56–23 Riverfront Stadium 57,225 3–5 9 November 5 Cleveland Browns L 42–31 Tampa Stadium 69,162 3–6 10 November 12 Minnesota Vikings L 24–10 Tampa Stadium 56,271 3–7 11 November 19 at Chicago Bears W 32–31 Soldier Field 63,826 4–7 12 November 26 at Phoenix Cardinals W 14–13 Sun Devil Stadium 33,297 5–7 13 December 3 Green Bay Packers L 17–16 Tampa Stadium 58,120 5–8 14 December 10 at Houston Oilers L 20–17 Astrodome 54,532 5–9 15 December 17 at Detroit Lions L 33–7 Pontiac Silverdome 40,362 5–10 16 December 24 Pittsburgh Steelers L 31–22 Tampa Stadium 29,690 5–11
Notes: Division opponents in bold text
Season summary Week 1: at Green Bay Packers
Week 9: vs. Cleveland Browns
With the loss, the Buccaneers fell to 3-6 and 0-2 against the AFC Central. This would be the Buccaneers last home loss against the Browns until 2026.
Standings
References Buccaneers on Pro Football Reference