The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are off to the NFC Divisional round of the playoffs after a tough win vs the Washington Football Team.
In their first playoff game in over a decade, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were looking for a big win on the road vs a tough team. That’s exactly what they got after Tom Brady threw for 381 yards and two touchdowns in a 31-23 win.
The Bucs will now wait and see to find out who will they face next. If New Orleans beats Chicago it would set up an NFC division matchup and a chance at revenge in the Brady vs Brees saga. If the Bears are able to pull off the win vs the Saints, the Bucs will face the Rams.
The Bucs were without Ronald Jones due to injury, but Leonard Fournette stepped up in his absence and was one of the best players of the game.
Even with the win, Tom Brady feels there is still a lot to work on and feels the game wasn’t perfect. This type of attitude has helped change the culture in Tampa Bay, and will play a large role in not growing complacent down the stretch.
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Washington was without their number one quarterback, Alex Smith, who had made his comeback this season after 17 surgeries to repair his injured leg, but couldn’t recover from a calf injury suffered a couple of weeks back.
The WFT turned to Taylor Heinicke, who was playing his first playoff game in the NFL, and he did a pretty good job and was one of the stories of the game. Another key player in the win for Tampa was Mike Evans.
Evans suffered an injury in the last game of the season and wasn’t sure if he would play, but the tests came back negative. Evans came back to have a major impact, catching six passes for 119 yards. The Bucs scored the first points of the game when Ryan Succop kicked a 29-yard field goal after Brady wasn’t able to score on the opening drive.
A couple of possessions later, Brady finally scored the first touchdown of the game when he found another star player, Antonio Brown, for a 36-yard reception to make it 9-0, but Succop’s extra-point attempt would be blocked.
Washington finally got on the board when J.D. McKissic would run in a two-yard touchdown, The Bucs would respond when Brady found Chris Godwin on the next offensive drive with a 27-yard reception for the touchdown.
The Bucs would add a field goal with 1:50 left in the first half when Succop kicked a 23-yard field goal to make it 18-7, and that would be the score going into halftime.
On the first possession of the second half, Washington drove down the field but failed to convert and settled for a 36-yard field goal kicked by Dustin Hopkins. The Bucs’ first possession of the half wasn’t good as they went three and out.
In the next possession, everything was going smoothly for the offense until disaster struck when they fumbled the ball and Washington recovered at its own 39-yard line. They converted and scored a touchdown when the quarterback himself would dive in and hit the pylon.
They would attempt a two-point conversion but failed to tie the game. The next possession, Brady started off well again, but once again, they would settle for a field goal to give them a five-point lead.
The Bucs defense did a very good job the next drive as they forced a three and out, and Brady got the ball right back to try and increase their lead. Leonard Fournette would run in a three-yard touchdown after an amazing drive where Brady connected with Mike Evans and Scotty Miller to drive the ball down the field.
Heinicke would respond on the next play when he went on a drive of his own that ended with a Cam Sims 11-yard touchdown. The Bucs would seal the win by kicking another field goal with three minutes left in the game.
Washington had one last chance to try and score, but the defense did an amazing job shutting them down and pressuring the quarterback. Heinicke would end up throwing the ball in a panic to the right sideline, and the Buccaneers escaped with their first playoff win since the Super Bowl.
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