TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- Warren Sapp sat at his locker, savoring the taste of a victory over the Green Bay Packers.
Sapp and his Tampa Bay teammates sacked Brett Favre eight times and bagged a 24-22 victory, their first over NFC Central rival Green Bay since 1995. The win bolstered the Buccaneers' wild-card playoff chances and thrilled a sellout crowd attending the first Monday night game at Tampa in 15 years."This town has waited a long time for us to take Green Bay down," Sapp said. "It's even more special that the whole country got to watch it."
The Packers had won six straight in the Battle of the Bays, usually because Favre outplayed Trent Dilfer. But this time Dilfer threw for two touchdowns and ran for another while Favre was harried into six fumbles.
Although the Packers recovered five of the loose balls, the scrambles typified their performance. Injury-riddled Green Bay fell behind 14-3 early and spent the rest of the night trying to catch up.
"After playing these guys six times, we were beginning to think we were never going to win," Bucs coach Tony Dungy said. "The difference was that we got ahead. In the past they got ahead early and controlled the game."
With three games left, Tampa Bay (6-7) climbed into a three-way tie with Arizona and New Orleans in the race for the final NFC wild-card spot. The Cardinals and Saints hold the tiebreaker edge over the Bucs, who play Pittsburgh on Sunday.
"Our backs were against the wall," Dungy said. "They're still against the wall."
The game was less critical to the two-time defending NFC champion Packers (8-5), although they missed a chance to clinch a wild-card berth.
"Oh, we're definitely going to make the playoffs," running back Dorsey Levens said. "We're going to win the next three games."
They'll have to do it shorthanded. Plagued by injuries all year, the Packers lost center Frank Winters to a broken leg, and receiver Robert Brooks re-injured his hamstring.
"The injuries are unbelievable," Favre said. "We're losing guys right and left. We did a great job with who we had."
Green Bay outgained the Bucs rushing and passing but spent too much time going backward. Although Favre went 29-for-41 for 228 yards, he often fumbled before he could throw.
Brad Culpepper and Regan Upshaw had two sacks apiece.
Favre's record against the Bucs fell to 13-2. Dilfer, meanwhile, beat the Packers for just the second time in nine starts.