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TAMPA, Fla. — For 54 minutes and 39 seconds Monday evening, the Bucs had been lifeless on offense, trailing 16-3 to the Saints and effectively on their solution to a 3rd straight dwelling loss to New Orleans with out scoring a single landing.
The Bucs had not crossed the New Orleans 40 because the opening drive of the sport and had mustered 71 yards of whole offense within the second half.
Then Tom Brady calmly pulled off the biggest fourth-quarter regular-season comeback of his profession — one level shy of the biggest fourth-quarter comeback in Tampa Bay historical past as effectively — main the Bucs for 2 touchdowns within the ultimate three minutes and a shocking 17-16 win over the Saints.
Brady threw touchdowns to a pair of rookies, first to tight finish Cade Otton with three minutes left, after which, extra dramatically, to working again Rachaad White with three seconds remaining — the most recent go-ahead landing to win in his 23-year NFL profession.
“Identical to we drew it up,” Brady joked as he took the rostrum.
In consecutive video games at Raymond James Stadium, Brady has pulled off two of the three newest fourth-quarter comebacks of his profession. 4 weeks in the past, he threw a game-winning rating to Otton with 0:09 left to beat the Rams, and Monday’s successful landing got here with simply three seconds left.
“It was an amazing route by Rachaad, nice catch. Byron [Leftwich] made an amazing name,” Brady stated.
Three performs earlier, as if the Bucs hadn’t overcome sufficient, Brady thought he had thrown the game-winning rating to Chris Godwin, however the landing was negated by a holding penalty on left sort out Donovan Smith, pushing the Bucs again to the 15-yard line with 0:16 left. However Brady discovered Godwin once more for 9 yards to the six, getting out of bounds with 0:08 left, and that arrange the game-winner to White, who caught the brief go, turned and stretched out to increase the ball into the top zone.
“We’re very appreciative, very grateful that we acquired out of there,” White stated.
The Bucs protection had stored Tampa Bay within the sport, thrice getting stops within the purple zone to carry the Saints to subject objectives as an alternative of touchdowns. The protection had arrange every landing drive by getting a three-and-out to present the ball again to the offense.
Dealing with a fourth-and-10 from his personal 25 with 7:06 left, coach Todd Bowles contemplated going for it, however he trusted in his protection to get the ball again and punted the ball away. The protection acquired the three-and-out, and the Bucs took over with 5:21, however at their very own nine-yard line.
Brady was masterful, main his crew 91 yards in 10 performs with out going to 3rd down as soon as. He opened with passes to 4 totally different gamers — Godwin for 13 yards, receiver Mike Evans for 14, receiving Julio Jones for eight, then working again Leonard Fournette for 10 yards. Evans drew a 44-yard go interference penalty to the one-yard line, and Brady discovered Otton for the primary landing.
The protection got here up with one other cease, with Carl Nassib sacking Andy Dalton to arrange a third-and-17, holding there for an additional punt to present the Bucs the ball at their 37 with 2:29 left and one timeout they would not even want. The message on the Bucs’ sideline? “Maintain going, bro,” defensive lineman Akiem Hicks stated. “By no means die, by no means give up.”
“It simply jogged my memory of my time in New England,” Hicks stated of Brady’s calm. “One thing about the way in which he leads, one thing about the way in which he takes cost. One thing about how when all the things’s on the road, he is capable of make that one play that may make the distinction. I’ve a variety of respect for him as a frontrunner, not simply as a quarterback.”
This time, the Bucs went 63 yards in 11 performs, Brady connecting with six totally different gamers on the game-winning drive. Scotty Miller acquired a primary down on third-and-6, Jones caught a 15-yard go to the five-yard line, and after Smith’s penalty, Godwin acquired 9 yards to arrange the ultimate play.
“They confirmed grit, they performed onerous. It was a whole crew effort,” Bowles stated of the win. “The protection acquired the ball again, the offense cashed in, acquired it again yet one more time, they cashed it in yet one more time.”
The ultimate rally marked Brady’s forty fourth profession fourth-quarter comeback, transferring him previous Peyton Manning for probably the most in NFL historical past. Teammates who’ve skilled far lower than that discovered confidence in Brady’s presence down the stretch.
“It is superior. While you get the ball and you’ve got an opportunity, there’s by no means a seed of doubt,” heart Robert Hainsey stated. “That is acquired to be your mentality. Go compete, do your job and go get it. It is actually enjoyable, a very good feeling. It is what you’re employed for. We did not play the very best sport, and there is at all times issues to wash up. However you get the win, which is what issues, and also you get it by not giving up and by no means stopping the combat. That is what good groups are constructed on.”
The Bucs at the moment are 6-6, basically with a two-game lead on the Falcons, who’re 5-8 however would lose a tiebreaker to Tampa Bay. The Bucs have given themselves a small cushion atop the NFC South, which may assist them with a brief week and a tricky sport at San Francisco on Sunday.
With 5 minutes to play, it regarded like the identical irritating story for the Bucs in Tampa towards the Saints, who shut them out 9-0 final season and took a shutout into the fourth quarter in Tampa in 2020 on the way in which to a 38-3 rout. The Saints had a 16-3 lead — over the previous 5 years, NFL groups had been 2-530 when down 13 with 4 minutes to play, however the Bucs pulled off the unlikely comeback.
The one better fourth-quarter comeback in Brady’s profession is the “28-3” Tremendous Bowl comeback towards the Falcons, when the Patriots had been down 19 early within the fourth earlier than rallying to win in additional time. Within the Bucs’ historical past, their solely better fourth-quarter comeback was from 14 down towards the Saints in 2009, rallying to win in additional time.
“It is so surreal,” Otton stated of his position within the comeback. “There are occasions the place I am within the huddle and I go searching and see who I’m within the huddle with. It is simply so unbelievable to me. On the similar time, you hear the decision, you line up, and you’ve got a job to do.”
Prime tales from FOX Sports activities:
Greg Auman is FOX Sports activities’ NFC South reporter, masking the Buccaneers, Falcons, Panthers and Saints. He’s in his tenth season masking the Bucs and the NFL full-time, having hung out on the Tampa Bay Occasions and The Athletic. You may comply with him on Twitter at @gregauman.
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