The Atlanta Falcons walked the dog on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers through the first half on Sunday as they took a 17-0 lead to the locker room. It was a pedestrian lead, as the Buccaneers offense had slept through 61 yards and four punts before intermission.
But, the passive poodle-like offense turned into a rollicking pitbull at the outset of the second half.
Quarterback Tom Brady took an immediate bite out of the Falcons defense when he drove the Buccaneers 80 yards in seven plays in only 3:32. The wake-up call was a half late, but it was in time.
“I couldn’t be prouder of our guys,” said Tampa Bay head coach Bruce Arians. “We talked about it at halftime – we got the ball, go make something happen. I was really happy that they went back, scored and answered it.”
By the end of the third quarter, Brady had hit Chris Godwin with a 4-yard touchdown pass to cap an eight-play drive. Then, Tampa Bay finished a 7-play touchdown drive with a four-yard touchdown run as the Buccaneers shaved the Atlanta lead to 24-21 after three quarters.
“It was great poise by everybody,” Brady said. “Everybody hung in there. We got off to a tough start, but found a way to win. Defense came up huge and made some big stops. Offensively, everyone made a bunch of different plays and it was a great win for our team. We’re going to have to keep building on it.”
The Buccaneers built on the success of the third quarter in the fourth. The impressive thing about the game-winning touchdown drive was that Brady hit Antonio Brown on a 46-yard touchdown pass with 6:19 to play.
“He’s been working hard at that and we finally got him an opportunity to touch one of those,” said Brady of Brown’s first score as a Buccaneer. “Mike (Evans) did a good job on the other side; the safety kind of got stuck in the middle and A.B. just ran right by him. I put it out there for him and he made a great catch. Love seeing him get in the end zone.”
Brown has changed since his time away from football. He has become a contrite person who now values his position in the NFL and the personal help that Tom Brady had given to help him get back into the League.
“It’s been a long journey for me,” said Brown. “Anytime I get that opportunity, I’m always grateful — thankful to God. As soon as I caught it, I went straight to my knees and called God and gave praise.”
With the heroics of such a win, the biggest problem that the Buccaneers face is trying to get the offense to consistently produce throughout the entirety of a game. If that ever happens, the Buccaneers will be as tough of an out in the playoffs as many thought they would be coming into the season.
“Whatever it takes to get the win,” commented Brown. “We can’t make excuses. I think we can play better. I think when we watch the tape, we’ll see some things that we can improve on.”