Tillman's costly penalty lets Bucs out of OT hole

It was difficult, even for some of his teammates, to exonerate Charles "Peanut" Tillman for the unnecessary roughness penalty in overtime that turned what should have been the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' seventh three-and-out offensive series into their game-winning field-goal drive.

Tampa was buried in the shadow of its own goal post after Brad Maynard expertly placed a 46-yard punt out of bounds at the Bucs' 7-yard line. Three plays produced 3 yards.

But after the third-down play had been whistled dead, Tillman saw Bears defensive end Adewale Ogunleye on the ground being mugged by a pair of Bucs, including offensive tackle Jeremy Trueblood. Tillman waded in, grabbing wide receiver Michael Clayton and appearing to take a swing, drawing a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty that restarted the Bucs' drive at the 25.

It also forced a tired Bears defense back onto the field. The final 3 of Brian Griese's 38 completions moved the Bucs 64 yards and into position for the game-winning field goal.

"There still were a lot of chances to win that game, and it didn't boil down to the play with Peanut," defensive end Alex Brown said. "But you have to keep your cool. You can't do it. It doesn't matter what it was, regardless of whatever explanation he had, you cannot do that because it gives them the ball back. We could've had the ball maybe on the 40."

Tillman, who led the Bears, unofficially, with 11 tackles, also forced a fumble and broke up 2 passes. He left the locker room quickly but blamed his penalty on emotions in a game that frequently had post-whistle altercations.

"It was a costly mistake on me," Tillman said. "It shouldn't have happened. I was just trying to pull them off and one thing led to another. It got a little physical. I've just got to be smarter than that. No excuses. You know the saying: 'They always see the second man who hits.' Obviously, they saw that second push. I shouldn't have put myself in that situation."

Bears defensive tackle Tommie Harris said he wouldn't expect a teammate to just walk away from the situation, but he said it could have been handled with a bit more tact.

"One of the dudes was doing something dirty to Wale," Harris said. "If I see my teammate down there getting stomped, or if it's me, if they walk off while I'm down there, we've got a problem. They better at least pull the dude off me. Don't come in there jumping and going wild, but at least pull the dude off of me. You don't just leave your teammate."

The Bucs' Trueblood claimed he was provoked.

"They did some things underneath the pile I took exception to," he said. "So instead of getting up, I just stayed on (Ogunleye) and started pushing a little bit. It was all within the rules ... at least I tried to keep it within the rules. One thing I don't stand for is being grabbed by the genitals. I don't know who did it, but the guy underneath me (Ogunleye) paid the price."

So did Tillman and all the Bears.