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Buccaneers: Week four winners and losers

By Michael Horan

TAMPA, FL - OCTOBER 1: Quarterback Jameis Winston #3 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers looks for tight end O.J. Howard for a 58 yard touchdown pass during the first quarter of an NFL football game against the New York Giants on October 1, 2017 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Brian Blanco/Getty Images)
TAMPA, FL - OCTOBER 1: Quarterback Jameis Winston #3 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers looks for tight end O.J. Howard for a 58 yard touchdown pass during the first quarter of an NFL football game against the New York Giants on October 1, 2017 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Brian Blanco/Getty Images) /
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ARLINGTON, TX – DECEMBER 18: Cameron Brate of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers celebrates after catching a pass from Jameis Winston #3 during the third quarter against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium on December 18, 2016 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TX – DECEMBER 18: Cameron Brate of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers celebrates after catching a pass from Jameis Winston #3 during the third quarter against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium on December 18, 2016 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

Winners

Cameron Brate

When the Buccaneers took O.J. Howard in the first round of this years’ draft it became easy to forget about Cam Brate. All 6’6 of Howard cast something of a shadow over Brate, but on Sunday the Harvard product reminded everyone that he’s still one of the best tight ends in football.

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Even on a day in which Howard caught his first professional touchdown –  a 58 yard bomb – Cam Brate still managed to steal the show. Brate finished the game with four catches for 80 yards and a touchdown, and two of those four catches were among the biggest plays in the entire game. Brate’s touchdown was a 14 yard reception that gave Tampa a 22-17 lead with seven minutes left in the game. The Giants would shortly after score a touchdown to take a 23-22 lead, which set the stage for Brate’s final play. Facing 3rd and one, Jameis Winston heaved a deep pass to Brate who reeled it in for 26 yards and the opportunity for a chip-shot field goal for the win. The rest is history.

Jacquizz Rodgers

For the first two games of their season the Buccaneers struggled mightily to run the football. One of the few teams worse than them were the New York Giants. Both teams tried to establish the run early on, but only one actually found success.

Thanks to some tough running from Jacquizz Rodgers, the Bucs finally got their ground attack going which helped take some pressure off of Jameis Winston and the passing game. Rodgers finished the game with over 100 combined yards; 83 rushing and 25 receiving on two catches, including a long run of 36 yards. This looked like the Jacquizz Rodgers that we saw last season against Carolina and San Francisco. Even with Doug Martin returning this week from suspension we can still expect to see plenty of Rodgers.

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