CHI - FG, PAUL EDINGER 30 YD, 9:17. Drive: 9 plays, 68
          yards in 3:49. Key plays: Thomas 9-yard run to
          Chicago 29; Miller 11-yard pass to Booker to
          Chicago 40; Miller 26-yard pass to White to
          Tampa Bay 34; Booker 13-yard run to Tampa Bay
          21; 10-yard roughing-the-passer penalty on
          Buccaneers' Barber to Tampa Bay 11. CHICAGO 3-0

 TAM - FG, MARTIN GRAMATICA 25 YD, 7:15. Drive: 6 plays,
          17 yards in 2:44. Key plays: Abraham 18-yard
          interception return to Chicago 24; B Johnson
          7-yard pass to K Johnson to Chicago 13. TAMPA
          BAY 3, CHICAGO 3
CHI - TD, MARTY BOOKER 2 YD PASS FROM JIM MILLER (PAUL
          EDINGER KICK), 10:24. Drive: 6 plays, 64 yards
          in 3:14. Key plays: Miller 62-yard pass to
          Terrell on 3rd-and-10 to Tampa Bay 2. CHICAGO
          10-3
CHI - FG, PAUL EDINGER 46 YD, 15:00. Drive: 6 plays, 25
          yards in 0:58. Key plays: Boone 6-yard fumble
          return to Chicago 47; Miller 25-yard pass to
          Terrell to Tampa Bay 25; Miller 10-yard pass to
          Baxter to Tampa Bay 25. CHICAGO 13-3

 CHI - TD, FRED BAXTER 18 YD PASS FROM JIM MILLER (PAUL
          EDINGER KICK), 6:49. Drive: 5 plays, 69 yards
          in 5:10. Key plays: Thomas 21-yard run to Tampa
          Bay 30; Miller 8-yard pass to Davis to Tampa
          Bay 21; Miller 2-yard run on 3rd-and-1 to Tampa
          Bay 20. CHICAGO 20-3

CHI - TD, ANTHONY THOMAS 5 YD RUN (PAUL EDINGER KICK),
          3:35. Drive: 8 plays, 51 yards in 4:24. Key
          plays: Thomas 13-yard run to Tampa Bay 33;
          Thomas 14-yard run to Tampa Bay 19; 6-yard
          unsportsmanlike penalty on Buccaneers' Quarles
          on 4th-and-1 to Tampa Bay 5. CHICAGO 27-3

PLAYER STATISTICS

RUSHING
Tampa Bay	Att	Yards		Chicago	Att	Yards
W Dunn	10	27		Thomas	31	173
Alstott	7	23		M Booker	1	13
B Johnson	1	11		L Johnson	3	11
				J Allen	2	9
				J Miller	3	1

RECEIVING
Tampa Bay	Att	Yards		Chicago	Att	Yards
K Johnson	7	119		Terrell	3	94
W Dunn	4	28		D White	3	32
Alstott	3	12		M Booker	3	19
K Williams	2	18		Baxter	2	28
Moore	2	14		Davis	1	8
				Thomas	1	5
				Shelton	1	4

TACKLES-ASSISTS-SACKS (UNOFFICIAL)
Tampa Bay	T	A	S		Chicago	T	A	S
Barber	8	1	0		Parrish	1	0	0
Jackson	8	1	0		Holdman	8	0	1
Lynch	5	2	0		Urlacher	4	4	0
Abraham	5	1	0		Mi Brown	5	2	0
D Brooks	5	1	0		Traylor	4	1	0
J Duncan	5	0	0		Green	3	0	0
Jones	3	0	1		Colvin	3	0	0
Mcfarland	3	0	0		Washington	3	0	0
S Rice	3	0	2		Br Robinson	2	1	0
Sapp	2	1	0		W Harris	2	0	0
Quarles	1	2	0		A Boone	1	1	0
White	2	0	0		Powell	1	0	0
Kelly	1	1	0
Singleton	1	0	0
Cerqua	1	0	0

MISSED FIELD GOALS

None.

INTERCEPTIONS

Tampa Bay (Abraham 1 for 18 yards); Chicago (Mcquarters 1 for 0 yards, Parrish 1 for 0 yards).

FUMBLES LOST

Tampa Bay (K Johnson, B Johnson).

OPPONENT'S FUMBLES RECOVERED

Chicago (Parrish, A Boone).

Officials
Referee-Bob Mcelwee, Umpire-Jeff Rice, Head linesman-Tony Veteri, Line judge-Dave Anderson, Field judge-Bill Lovett, Side judge-Tommy Moore, Back judge-Tony Steratore.

A: 66,944; T: 3:04.

TEAM STATISTICS TAM CHI

FIRST DOWNS                    10             21
Rushing                         4             13
Passing                         6              6
Penalty                         0              2
3RD-DOWN EFFICIENCY          2-14           5-16
4TH-DOWN EFFICIENCY           0-1            0-1
TOTAL NET YARDS               238            379
Total plays                    59             72
Average gain                  4.0            5.3
NET YARDS RUSHING              61            207
Rushes                         18             40
Average per rush              3.4            5.2
NET YARDS PASSING             177            172
Completed-attempted         18-40          14-29
Yards per pass                4.3            5.4
Sacked-yards lost            1-14           3-18
Had intercepted                 2              1
PUNTS-AVERAGE              8-39.9         7-44.3
RETURN YARDAGE                177             83
Punts-returns                5-65           3-34
Kickoffs-returns             4-94           2-49
Interceptions-returns        1-18            2-0
PENALTIES-YARDS              5-36           3-15
FUMBLES-LOST                  3-2            0-0
TIME OF POSSESSION          23:59          36:01

Game Story

CHICAGO 27, TAMPA BAY 3
-----------------------

CHICAGO (Ticker) -- Thanks to a defense which forced another
four turnovers, the running of rookie Anthony Thomas and an
effective short passing game, the Chicago Bears are headed to
the playoffs for the first time since 1994.

Thomas rushed for 146 of his 173 yards and a touchdown in the
second half and Jim Miller threw a pair of scores to lead the
Bears to a 27-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and a
sweep of their final NFC Central series.

The Bears (10-3) reached double figures in wins for the first
time since 1991 when they finished 11-5 and moved one game ahead
of Green Bay (9-4), which lost at Tennessee, in the NFC Central.

"It's exciting since I've been here when we haven't been too
good," said Miller, who has been with the Bears since 1998. "For
us to have this opportunity, I think we deserve it."

The surprise team of the season after compiling a 19-45 record
over the previous four years, including an 11-21 mark in the
last two under coach Dick Jauron, the Bears dominated the line
of scrimmage on Sunday, rushing for 207 yards and holding the
Bucs to just 61 yards on the ground and 10 first downs.

With tackles Ted Washington and Keith Traylor and linebacker
Brian Urlacher patrolling the middle, Tampa Bay's backfield
tandem of Mike Alstott and Warrick Dunn combined for just 50
yards on 17 carries.

The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for the Buccaneers
(7-6), who played their last road game of the regular season and
slipped behind the New Orleans Saints (7-5) in the battle for
the third and final NFC wild card berth.  New Orleans hosts the
St. Louis Rams on Monday.

"We didn't play with a lot of energy and turnovers hurt us,"
said Bucs coach Tony Dungy. "The turnovers from the effort and
hustle on behalf of the Bears was the key."

The Bucs play New Orleans next Sunday and close the season with
games against Baltimore and Philadelphia.

The Bears forced three of their turnovers in the first half when
they built a 13-3 lead.  Safety Tony Parrish intercepted a pass
by quarterback Brad Johnson in the end zone, linebacker Warrick
Holdman forced a fumble by Johnson which defensive tackle
Alfonso Boone recovered and cornerback Walt Harris negated a
long reception by Keyshawn Johnson when he knocked the ball out
of the receiver's hands inside the Chicago 10 and Parrish
recovered for the Bears.

Miller hit Marty Booker with a two-yard touchdown pass and
connected with tight end Frd Baxter on an 18-yard scoring play
in the third quarter to help the Bears open a 20-3 lead.

Thomas ran roughshod over the Bucs in the second half, gaining
146 yards on 23 carries and capping the scoring with a five-yard
touchdown run with 3:35 left.

"We knew we'd get back to the run because we knew we had to run
the ball to win," Jauron said.

It was the third 100-yard game for Thomas, who rushed for a
season-high 188 yards in an October 21 game at Cincinnati.  He
has rushed for 865 yards.

David Terrell, another rookie, also made a big contribution to
the win, catching three passes for 94 yards, including a 62-yard
bomb which set up Miller's touchdown pass to Booker with 4:36
left in the first half.

Keyshawn Johnson was the lone bright spot for the Buccaneers,
catching seven passes for 119 yards, raising his league-leading
total to 100 receptions. Herman Moore holds the single-season
record with 123 catches for the Detroit Lions in 1995.

The Bucs were without four-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Warren
Sapp for most of the second half when they faltered against the
run.  While Thomas was rumbling through the defense, Sapp winced
in pain on the sidelines with a shoulder injury.

The Bears posted a 27-24 victory at Tampa Bay last month as
Miller connected with Booker on three touchdown passes. Since
then, the Bucs reeled off three straight wins before Sunday's
loss.

"They were the better team both times we played," Bucs safety
John Lynch said. "They played like a playoff team."

Chicago's first six possessions resulted in a 30-yard field goal
by Paul Edinger, four three-and-outs and an interception.

Tampa Bay's first five possessions resulted in four punts and an
interception. Trailing 3-0, the Bucs had a first down at the
Chicago 32 when Brad Johnson lofted a pass into the end zone and
Parrish made a leaping interception in front of receivers
Keyshawn Johnson and Karl Williams.

Tampa Bay finally scored on its sixth possession, but had to
settle for a 25-yard field goal by Martin Gramatica with 7:45
left in the half after cornerback Donnie Abraham returned an
interception 18 yards to the Chicago 24.

But after totaling 77 yards on their first six possessions, the
Bears broke from their trend of shallow pass patterns and Miller
connected with Terrell on a 62-yard bomb on a 3rd-and-1 play.
Lined up in the slot on the left side, Terrell raced past safety
Dexter Jackson on a deep out, caught a long pass and stumbled at
the Chicago 2 after being tackled by Jackson.

"David came through today and made a big play for us," said
Miller, who was 14-of-29 for 190 yards with an interception.

Three plays later, Miller lofted a pass in the left corner of
the end zone to Booker, who made a leaping catch and was able to
keep his left foot inbounds and drag his right toe.  It was
initially ruled that Booker was out of bounds after the catch,
but the Bears challenged and the replay reversed the call,
giving Chicago a 10-3 lead with 4:36 left in the half.

"When I saw it on the scoreboard, it looked like a TD to me,"
Jauron said. "People upstairs thought he caught it too."

The Bucs turned the ball over on their next two possessions. The
one that hurt the most came when Keyshawn Johnson caught a pass
over the middle on a third-down play and raced 47 yards to the
Chicago 8 before the ball was punched out of his hands from
behind by Harris.  Parrish recovered at the 1 and returned the
fumble 21 yards to the 22.

After the two-minute warning, the Bucs reached the Chicago 27.
But this time time Brad Johnson was sacked by Holdman for a
nine-yard loss and fumbled and Boone recovered for the Bears and
returned it six yards to the 47.

"The turnovers towards the end of the first half as we were
driving really hurt," said Brad Johnson.  "That turned the
momentum towards the Bears. From that point on, the Bears made
all the big plays."

Chicago took advantage as Miller hit Terrell with a 25-yard pass
and connected with Baxter on a 10-yard play to set up a 46-yard
field goal by Edinger on the final play of the half, giving the
Bears a 13-3 lead.

The Bears deflated Tampa Bay by marching 69 yards on just five
plays in their first possession of the second half.

Thomas broke off a 21-yard run around left tackle to the Tampa
Bay 30 and Baxter capped the drive with a leaping 18-yard TD
catch between two defenders with 8:11 left in the third quarter,
increasing the lead to 20-3.