Tampa Bay Buccaneers Game Recaps

Thu, Feb 4, 2021
By The Associated Press

Game 1
SAINTS 34, BUCANEERS 23

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Tom Brady threw two interceptions in his Tampa Bay debut, Alvin Kamara scored touchdowns running and receiving, and the New Orleans Saints beat the Buccaneers 34-23 on Sunday.

The first of Brady's interceptions led to Kamara's 6-yard touchdown run. The second pick thrown by the new, 43-year-old Bucs QB who left the New England Patriots in free agency after 20 years and six Super Bowl triumphs was returned 36 yards for a touchdown by Janoris Jenkins.

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Game 2
BUCCANEERS 31, PANTHERS 13

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Tom Brady got his first win with the Buccaneers, throwing for 217 yards, one touchdown and an interception.

With another recent acquisition, Leonard Fournette, rushing for 103 yards and two TDs, Brady rebounded from a less-than-stellar debut for his new team to avoid starting a season with consecutive losses for the first time in a 21-year career.

Brady tossed a 23-yard TD pass to Mike Evans in the first quarter. Fournette scored on runs of 1 and 46 yards, the latter coming after Carolina stormed back from a 21-0 halftime deficit to 24-17 on a pair of TD runs by Christian McCaffrey and Joey Slye's 23-yard field goal.

Brady completed 23 of 35 passes, and Evans finished with seven receptions for 104 yards. Fournette averaged 8.6 yards per carry on 12 rushing attempts.

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Game 3
BUCCANEERS 28, BRONCOS 10

DENVER (AP) - Tom Brady threw three touchdown passes and Shaq Barrett celebrated his homecoming with a pair of sacks, one for a safety, in Tampa Bay's 28-10 victory over Denver.

With his first road win for the Bucs (2-1), Brady evened his career record against the Broncos at 9-9 with just his fifth win in a dozen trips to Denver.

The Broncos (0-3) completed a second straight winless September under head coach Vic Fangio, who donned a face shield after getting fined $100,000 for failing to wear a mask last week.

Barrett, who led the league last year with 19.5 sacks in his first season in Tampa, picked up his first sacks of this season in the city where he played from 2014-18 after starring at Colorado State.

His second sack of Jeff Driskel, who started in place of Drew Lock, came in the end zone for a safety that pushed the Bucs' lead to 25-10.

With his full complement of receivers finally available, Brady looked like the methodical QB he was for two decades in New England, driving the Buccaneers to scores on four of five first-half possessions.

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Game 4
BUCCANEERS 38, CHARGERS 31

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Tom Brady threw for 369 yards and five touchdowns, all to different receivers, helping the Tampa Bay rally from a 17-point deficit to beat Los Angeles.

Brady shrugged off throwing an early interception returned for a touchdown and the Bucs (3-1) won their third straight to stay in first place in the NFC South.

Mike Evans, Scotty Miller, O.J. Howard, Cameron Brate and rookie Ke'Shawn Vaughn caught scoring passes from Brady, who threw four of them after falling behind 24-7 in the second quarter.

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Game 5
BEARS 20, BUCCANEERS 19

Chicago (AP) - Tom Brady held up four fingers as if he had one more play remaining, one more opportunity to pull out the win. If that's what he was thinking, the three-time MVP would not say.

Brady fell to Nick Foles again, appeared to lose count of downs on his final play with seconds remaining, and the Chicago Bears beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20-19 on Thursday night after Cairo Santos kicked a 38-yard field goal with 1:17 remaining.

DeAndre Houston-Carson broke up Brady's fourth-down pass with 33 seconds left after Santos kicked the go-ahead field goal. Brady put up four fingers, as if he had one more down. Instead, Chicago took possession and came away with a narrow victory.

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Game 6
BUCCANEERS 38, PACKERS 10

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Tom Brady outplayed Aaron Rodgers in a rare meeting between the Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks.

It was the 43-year-old Brady's first signature victory since signing with the Bucs (4-2) after a historic 20-year run with the New England Patriots, which included nine NFL title game appearances and six championships.

He got his favorite target from his days with the Patriots into the mix, throwing a 12-yard touchdown pass to Rob Gronkowski for a 28-10 halftime lead. It was Gronkowski's first TD since December 2018 and the 79th for the quarterback/tight end tandem tied for fourth on the all-time list with Miami's Dan Marino and Mark Clayton.

Brady also threw a 7-yard TD pass to rookie Tyler Johnson and Ronald Jones had a pair of rushing TDs for Tampa Bay, which got an even more impressive performance from its defense.

Rodgers threw two interceptions Green Bay's first turnovers of the season within a three-pass span of the second quarter to turn a 10-0 Packers lead into a 14-10 deficit.

Green Bay (4-1) never recovered.

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Game 7
BUCCANEERS 45, RAIDERS 20

LAS VEGAS (AP) - Tom Brady threw four touchdown passes to move past Drew Brees for the most in NFL history and ran for another to lead Tampa Bay past Las Vegas.

Brady connected with Rob Gronkowski in the second quarter and on a perfectly placed 33-yarder to Scotty Miller later in the first half. He then helped seal the game with the throw to Chris Godwin that put the Bucs (5-2) up 31-20 midway through the fourth quarter.

Brady added a fourth to rookie Tyler Johnson with 3:08 to play to give him 559 in his career, passing Brees for the most ever. Brees threw two earlier in the day for New Orleans.

The 4-yard pass to Godwin was part of a key stretch when it appeared the Raiders were in position for a comeback after cutting the deficit to 24-17 on Derek Carr's second TD pass of the game.

The Raiders (3-3) were driving for the potential tying score before coming up 1 yard short of a first down on a third-and-4 pass to Darren Waller. Coach Jon Gruden opted for a field goal to make it 24-20.

Brady then engineered another TD drive and the Bucs put it away when Carr threw an interception on Las Vegas' next play to set up Ronald Jones' 1-yard run.

Brady finished 33 for 45 for 369 yards. Carr went 24 for 36 for 284 yards, two TDs and one interception.

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Game 8
BUCCANEERS 25, GIANTS 23

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Tom Brady has felt uncomfortable against the New York Giants before. Most notably in a couple of Super Bowl losses.

He recognized Monday night's 25-23 victory by his Tampa Bay Buccaneers wasn't very artistic. At least, for the star quarterback, it had a better ending.

"We obviously didn't play the way we're capable of, but it was good to get a win," Brady said.

Lackluster for much of the game, Brady did what he does best in the second half. He threw touchdowns passes to Rob Gronkowski and Mike Evans, giving him the career lead in TD throws once more.

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Game 9
SAINTS 38, BUCCANEERS 3

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Drew Brees threw for 222 yards and four touchdowns, regaining the NFL career TD pass lead and lifting the New Orleans Saints into first place in the NFC South with a 38-3 rout of Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday night.

The three-time defending division champions won their fifth straight game, intercepting Brady three times and completing a season sweep of the Bucs (6-3).

The Saints (6-2) weren't perfect turning the ball over twice themselves however the offense was extremely efficient with receivers Michael Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders back in the lineup, and the defense played its best game of the season.

Brees was 26-of-32 passing, including first-half TD throws of 14 yards to Tre'Quan Smith, 8 yards to Adam Trautman and 12 yards to Sanders, who missed the previous two games while on the COVID-19 list. The 41-year-old added a 3-yarder to Josh Hill to make it 38-0 with just over nine minutes remaining.

Brees regained the league career TD pass lead with 564, three more than the 43-year-old Brady, who had thrown for 17 touchdowns and just one interception over his previous six games.

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Game 10
BUCCANEERS 46, PANTHERS 23

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - Tom Brady threw for 341 yards and was involved in four touchdowns, Ronald Jones had a franchise-record 98-yard touchdown run, and the Buccaneers bounced back from a dreadful defeat.

Coming off the most lopsided loss of his illustrious career a 38-3 defeat to the Saints Brady threw touchdown passes to Cameron Brate, Mike Evans and Rob Gronkowski, then ran for another score in the fourth quarter to seal the win.

Jones' run in the third quarter broke open a tight game. He raced up the middle behind left guard, shook off safety Tre Boston and was gone. Jones finished with a career-high 192 yards and became the fourth NFL player with a TD run of 98 yards or longer, joining Tony Dorsett, Derrick Henry and Ahman Green.

Chris Godwin had 92 yards receiving for the Buccaneers (7-3), who swept the season series and handed the Panthers (3-7) their fifth straight loss.

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Game 11
RAMS 27, BUCCANEERS 24

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Goff threw for 376 yards and three touchdowns, and Matt Gay kicked a 40-yard field goal with 2:36 remaining to lift the Rams back into first place in the NFC West.

Goff completed 39 of 51 passes, including short scoring throws to Robert Woods, Van Jefferson and Cam Akers. The Rams' defense pressured Brady all night and sealed the win with rookie safety Jordan Fuller's second interception of the six-time Super Bowl champion.

Brady was 26 of 48 for 216 yards and two touchdowns. The Rams sacked him once after getting to Russell Wilson six times in the previous week's 23-16 victory over the Seattle Seahawks.

Tampa Bay was limited to a touchdown and field goal in the second half, both set up by interceptions thrown by Goff.

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Game 12
CHIEFS 27, BUCCANEERS 24

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Patrick Mahomes threw for 462 yards and three touchdowns to outplay Tom Brady and lead Kansas City past Tampa Bay.

Tyreek Hill scored on receptions of 75, 44 and 20 yards, backflipping into the end zone on his second TD, and finishing with 13 catches for 269 yards the last an 8-yard catch on third-and-7 to give Mahomes an opportunity to run out the clock.

The Chiefs (10-1) won their sixth straight game and clinched their seventh 10-win season in eight years under coach Andy Reid.

The reigning Super Bowl champions improved to 6-0 on the road and have won nine straight away from home going back to last year.

Brady was 27 of 41 for 345 yards, three touchdowns and a pair of second-half interceptions in falling to 2-2 in four career meetings against Mahomes, who built an early 17-0 lead and also had the Chiefs up by 17 entering the fourth quarter.

Brady responded with TD passes of 31 and 7 yards to Mike Evans, the latter trimming Tampa Bay's deficit to 27-24 with 4:10 remaining.

The Bucs never got the ball back.

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Game 13
BUCCANEERS 26, VIKINGS 14

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Tom Brady threw for 196 yards and two touchdowns. Brady tossed TD passes of 48 yards to Scotty Miller and 2 yards to Rob Gronkowski to rebound from losing two straight home games entering Tampa Bay's bye. Ronald Jones had a 1-yard TD run and Ryan Succop kicked field goals of 18 and 48 yards.

The Bucs (8-5) lost three of four games to division title contenders leading into last week's bye, including a pair of 27-24 losses at home to the Rams and reigning Super Bowl champion Chiefs. They entered Sunday holding the sixth playoff spot in the NFC, with the Vikings (6-7) nipping at their heels after winning five of six following a 1-5 start.

Tampa Bay sacked Kirk Cousins six times, the last producing a fumble that ended any chance of a rally in the closing minutes. Cousins finished 24 of 37 passing for 225 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. Dalvin Cook rushed for 102 yards on 22 carries, but Minnesota chances were undermined by another poor performance by kicker Dan Bailey, who missed an extra point and three field goals.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell sat in the stands, wearing a face covering. The Super Bowl will be held at Raymond James Stadium on Feb. 7.

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Game 14
BUCCANEERS 31, FALCONS 27

ATLANTA (AP) - Tom Brady did it again to the Atlanta Falcons.

This time, he didn't even need overtime.

Rallying Tampa Bay from a pair of 17-point deficits, Brady recreated his Super Bowl miracle by leading the Buccaneers on five straight scoring drives in the second half for a victory over the stunned Falcons.

The stakes weren't nearly as high and the deficit wasn't quite as daunting, but Brady's latest blow to Atlanta took the Bucs (9-5) to the brink of their first playoff berth since 2007.

It sure didn't look that way when Atlanta raced to 17-0 by halftime, or when the Falcons (4-10) restored their margin to 24-7 after Brady finally guided the Bucs to a touchdown on the first possession of the second half.

Turns out, the 43-year-old was just getting warmed up.

He certainly had plenty of experience to fall back on when it came to breaking Atlanta's heart.

In the 2017 Super Bowl, Brady famously led the greatest comeback in championship game history, rallying New England from a 28-3 deficit late in the third quarter to a 34-28 overtime victory that secured his fifth of six titles with the Patriots.

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Game 15
BUCCANEERS 47, LIONS 7

DETROIT (AP) - Tom Brady threw four touchdown passes in the only half he needed to play and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers went on to rout the Detroit Lions 47-7 Saturday, sealing a spot in the playoffs for the first time since 2007.

The Bucs (10-5) set a franchise record with 588 yards and snapped the NFL's second-longest postseason drought behind Cleveland's 18-year run that can end Sunday.

Tampa Bay rested Brady ahead 34-0, its largest halftime lead in franchise history. Blaine Gabbert threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Rob Gronkowski on his first snap, one play after Detroit running back D'Andre Swift fumbled, and a 22-yard pass to Mike Evans later in the third quarter.

Brady was 22 of 27 for 348 yards with a mix of passes deep down the field and darts in traffic. The six-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback threw touchdown passes to Gronkowski, Evans, Chris Godwin, who made a one-handed catch, and Antonio Brown from 33, 27, 7 and 12 yards.

The 43-year-old Brady, who split time with Drew Henson in college at Michigan, started his 298th game to tie Brett Favre's record for an NFL quarterback and played in his 300th game.

The Lions (5-10) started the game without interim coach Darrell Bevell along with assistants on the defensive staff because of COVID-19 contact tracing.

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Game 16
BUCCANEERS 44, FALCONS 27

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Tom Brady threw for 399 yards and four touchdowns, helping playoff-bound Tampa Bay clinch the fifth seed in the NFC with a regular season-ending win over Atlanta.

The victory, which means the Bucs (11-5) will face the NFC East champion, Washington or the Giants, on the road in the club's first postseason game in 13 years, may have come with a steep cost.

Star receiver Mike Evans was carted to the locker room with a left knee injury late in the first quarter and did not return.

Brady threw touchdown passes of 29 and 4 yards to Chris Godwin. The six-time Super Bowl champion also tossed scoring passes of 25 and 30 yards to Antonio Brown, finishing with a Tampa Bay single-season record 40 in his first season with the Bucs.

Brady also joined Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning and Dan Marino as the only players with multiple seasons of at least 40 TD passes. Rodgers has done it three times, the others twice.

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Wildcard Playoffs
BUCANEERS 31, WASHINGTON 23

LANDOVER, Md. (AP) - Tom Brady threw for 381 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Tampa Bay Buccaneers past Washington 31-23 in their NFC wild-card game Saturday night for their first playoff victory since the 2002 season.

Brady was 22 of 40 passing and at 43 years, 159 days passed George Blanda as the oldest player to throw a TD pass in a playoff game. A 36-yard scoring connection with Antonio Brown was Brady's longest in the playoffs since 2011.

Brady had to outduel Washington's Taylor Heinicke, who had a breakout performance in just his second pro start and first in the playoffs in place of injured starter Alex Smith. Heinicke signed in early December to the practice squad ran for 46 yards and a touchdown and threw for 306 yards and a score.

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Divisional Playoffs
BUCCANEERS 30, SAINTS 20

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Tom Brady's best game in three tries against New Orleans kept the Buccaneers moving on in the NFL playoffs, and Saints quarterback Drew Brees headed home perhaps for good.

Brady and the Bucs' offense turned three Saints turnovers, including two interceptions of Brees, into touchdowns, and Tampa Bay beat New Orleans 30-20 in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs Sunday night.

Two of those touchdowns came on short passes to Mike Evans and Leonard Fournette. And after Brees was intercepted by linebacker Devin White in the middle of the fourth quarter, Brady drove the Bucs to the 1, from where he scored himself to all but ensure his 14th trip to a conference championship game his first in the NFC.

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NFC Championship
BUCCANEERS 31, PACKERS 26

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) - Tom Brady will become the first quarterback to play a Super Bowl on his team's home field. He owes the Tampa Bay defense that sacked Aaron Rodgers five times, and a curious late call on fourth-and-goal by the Packers as Brady and the Bucs beat top-seeded Green Bay 31-26 for the NFC title Sunday.

The Bucs (14-5) will face the Kansas City Chiefs (16-2) at Tampa's Raymond James Stadium on Feb. 7. No, a host team in the Super Bowl has never happened in 54 previous games.

Brady is back in his first year at Tampa Bay after reaching this stage nine times with the New England Patriots. He went 20 of 36 for 286 yards and three touchdowns, but also threw three interceptions as Tampa Bay squandered most of an 18-point lead. Shaquil Barrett and Jason Pierre-Paul combined for five sacks to help the Bucs hang on for their franchise-record eighth consecutive road victory.

The Bucs snapped Green Bay's seven-game winning streak. They were aided by a strange decision from Packers coach Matt LaFleur with just over two minutes remaining in a 31-23 game.

After three straight incompletions had the Packers facing fourth-and-goal from the 8, the Packers elected to kick a field goal to get within five. Tampa Bay then ran out the clock on the Packers (14-4).

Rodgers went 33 of 48 for 346 yards with three touchdowns and one interception, but fell to 1-4 in conference championship games as a starting quarterback. The Packers had the NFL's best red-zone offense this season, but they twice settled for field goals after having a first-and-goal Sunday.