2002 NFL Season Recap

Originally published on Sept. 26, 2020

By Zane Miller

On Sunday, January 26th, 2003, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Oakland (now Las Vegas) Raiders 48-21 in Super Bowl XXXVII to win the 83rd championship in NFL history. It was the first championship for the Buccaneers franchise as Buccaneers safety Dexter Jackson won the Super Bowl MVP Award. The game was held at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California.

Raiders quarterback Rich Gannon won the 2002 MVP Award with 26 passing touchdowns and 4,689 passing yards. Buccaneers linebacker Derrick Brooks won the 2002 Defensive Player of the Year Award with five interceptions, three of which were returned for touchdowns, along with one forced fumble and one sack.

Out of Playoffs: Denver Broncos (9-7), Miami Dolphins (9-7), New England Patriots (9-7), New Orleans Saints (9-7), Buffalo Bills (8-8), San Diego Chargers (8-8), Kansas City Chiefs (8-8), Baltimore Ravens (7-9), Washington Redskins (7-9), St. Louis Rams (7-9), Seattle Seahawks (7-9), Carolina Panthers (7-9), Minnesota Vikings (6-10), Jacksonville Jaguars (6-10), Dallas Cowboys (5-11), Arizona Cardinals (5-11), Chicago Bears (4-12), Houston Texans (4-12), Detroit Lions (3-13), Cincinnati Bengals (2-14)

Out in first round: Green Bay Packers (L 27-7 to Falcons), New York Giants (L 39-38 to 49ers), Indianapolis Colts (L 41-0 to Jets), Cleveland Browns (L 36-33 to Steelers)

Out in second round: Pittsburgh Steelers (L 34-31 (OT) to Titans), New York Jets (L 30-10 to Raiders), San Francisco 49ers (L 31-6 to Buccaneers), Atlanta Falcons (L 20-6 to Eagles)

Out in third round: Philadelphia Eagles (L 27-10 to Buccaneers), Tennessee Titans (L 41-24 to Raiders)

Most passing touchdowns: #12 Tom Brady (Patriots)- 28 TD

Most rushing touchdowns: #31 Priest Holmes (Chiefs)- 21 TD

Most receiving touchdowns: #81 Terrell Owens (49ers)- 13 TD

Most sacks: #99 Jason Taylor (Dolphins)- 18.5 sacks

Most forced fumbles: #93 Dwight Freeney (Colts)- 9 FF, 1 fumble recovery & 13 sacks

Most interceptions: #26 Rod Woodson (Raiders)- 8 INT & 2 TD

Best field goal percentage (min. 12 attempts): #4 Adam Vinatieri (Patriots)- 27 for 30, 90%

Scoring Summary

 

Link to stats database: https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/2002/