| Team: | Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
| Year: | 1993 |
| Record: | 5–11 |
| Division Place: | 5th NFC Central |
| Coach: | Sam Wyche |
| General Manager: | Rich McKay |
| Owner: | Hugh Culverhouse |
| Pro Bowlers: | MLB Hardy Nickerson |
| Ap All-Pros: | MLB Hardy Nickerson |
| Mvp: | MLB Hardy Nickerson |
| Stadium: | Tampa Stadium |
| Playoffs: | Did not qualify |
| Shortnavlink: | Buccaneers seasons |
The 1993 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season was the franchise's 18th season in the National Football League (NFL). The Buccaneers wore the initial Mr. C on the right side of the sleeve ends of the jerseys in honor of their owner Hugh Culverhouse who was battling cancer who then died after the 1993 season.
1993 was mostly seen as a rebuilding year for coach Sam Wyche[1] who moved on without Vinny Testaverde and went with young quarterback Craig Erickson, another University of Miami alumnus who won a national championship as their quarterback. He had a solid 3,054 passing yards. The Buccaneers lost five of their first six games on the way to a 5–11 season.
The 1993 Buccaneers have the distinction of being the only team in NFL history to have played eleven games against teams that would go on to make the playoffs; the Buccaneers were 3–8 in these games.
In his first season with the team, Hardy Nickerson set a NFL record with 214 tackles.
See main article: 1993 NFL draft. Prior to the season they drafted John Lynch who would become one of the most popular players of all time in Tampa.
| Pick | Round | Player | Position | School |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | Round 1 | Eric Curry | Defensive End | Alabama |
| 34 | Round 2 | Demetrius DuBose | Linebacker | Notre Dame |
| 60 | Round 3 | Lamar Thomas | Wide Receiver | Miami |
| 82 | Round 3 | John Lynch | Defensive Back | Stanford |
| 91 | Round 4 | Rudy Harris | Running Back | Clemson |
| 104 | Round 4 | Horace Copeland | Wide Receiver | Miami |
| 145 | Round 6 | Chidi Ahanotu | Defensive Tackle | California |
| 176 | Round 7 | Tyree Davis | Wide Receiver | Central Arkansas |
| 220 | Round 8 | Darrick Branch | Wide Receiver | Hawaii |
| 224 | Round 8 | Daron Alcorn | Kicker | Akron |
Daron Alcorn was the last player selected in the draft, commonly referred to as "Mr. Irrelevant".
| Regular season | |||||||
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Game site | Attendance | Record | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 5 | Kansas City Chiefs | L 27–3 | 63,378* | 0–1 | ||
| 2 | September 12 | at New York Giants | L 23–7 | 75,891 | 0–2 | ||
| 3 | Bye | ||||||
| 4 | September 26 | at Chicago Bears | L 47–17 | 58,329 | 0–3 | ||
| 5 | October 3 | Detroit Lions | W 27–10 | Tampa Stadium | 40,794* | 1–3 | |
| 6 | October 10 | at Minnesota Vikings | L 15–0 | 54,215 | 1–4 | ||
| 7 | Bye | ||||||
| 8 | October 24 | Green Bay Packers | L 37–14 | Tampa Stadium | 47,354* | 1–5 | |
| 9 | October 31 | at Atlanta Falcons | W 31–24 | 50,647 | 2–5 | ||
| 10 | November 7 | at Detroit Lions | L 23–0 | 65,295 | 2–6 | ||
| 11 | November 14 | San Francisco 49ers | L 45–21 | Tampa Stadium | 43,835* | 2–7 | |
| 12 | November 21 | Minnesota Vikings | W 23–10 | Tampa Stadium | 40,848* | 3–7 | |
| 13 | November 28 | at Green Bay Packers | L 13–10 | 56,995 | 3–8 | ||
| 14 | December 5 | Washington Redskins | L 23–17 | Tampa Stadium | 49,035* | 3–9 | |
| 15 | December 12 | Chicago Bears | W 13–10 | Tampa Stadium | 56,667* | 4–9 | |
| 16 | December 19 | at Los Angeles Raiders | L 27–20 | 40,532 | 4–10 | ||
| 17 | December 26 | at Denver Broncos | W 17–10 | 73,434 | 5–10 | ||
| 18 | January 2 | San Diego Chargers | L 32–17 | Tampa Stadium | 35,587* | 5–11 | |
| Notes: Division opponents are in bold text | |||||||
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