Bucs 21, Eagles 7 (third quarter)
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Tom Brady has thrown for two scores and Leonard Fournette ran for another as the Bucs lead the Eagles 21-7 in the third quarter of tonight’s game at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.
Brady threw a two-yard touchdown pass to tight end O.J. Howard on the opening drive to give Tampa Bay a quick 7-0 lead. After Jalen Hurts found tight end Zach Ertz for five yards to tie the game, Brady took the Bucs right back down the field, connecting with receiver Antonio Brown on a 23-yard scoring pass.
Good news, bad news for the Bucs secondary: Jamel Dean has an interception, but Richard Sherman was ruled out for the remainder of the game after leaving in the first quarter with a hamstring injury.
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Brady’s streak without an interception ends
This one won’t be overturned.
There was no doubt about Eagles safety Anthony Harris’ interception of a Tom Brady pass deep downfield late in the first half. The throw was well beyond the Bucs’ deepest receiver on the play, Antonio Brown.
It was the first time Brady had been intercepted in 228 passing attempts (scroll down for futher details).
Philadelphia, trailing by two touchdowns, got the ball back at its 32 with 57 seconds remaining in the half.
Turnabout is fair play
The Eagles didn’t get an interception they thought they had in the second quarter. Instead, the Bucs did.
Cornerback Jamel Dean made amends for a 45-yard interference penalty that set up the Eagles’ first-quarter touchdown by picking off a Jalen Hurts pass for Quez Watkins at the Tampa Bay 28.
The Bucs took their time taking advantage of the opportunity, using 11 plays to drive 72 yards and extend their lead to 21-7 on Leonard Fournette’s two-yard run with just under two minutes to play in the half.
Upon further … and further … review
Tom Brady was nearly intercepted for the first time in five games on the Bucs’ second drive of the second quarter.
On third and four from the Tampa Bay 45, Brady’s pass for tight end Cameron Brate was tipped by linebacker Alex Singleton and, according to the call on the field, intercepted by safety Marcus Epps.
But the ball appeared to make contact with the ground, and the call was overturned following a lennnngthy replay review. Instead of an interception, the Eagles got the ball back on a punt on the following play.
It would have been the first interception in 219 pass attempts for Brady, who threw a combined 11 touchdown passes with no interceptions over his previous four games.
Carrying the load
Leonard Fournette did most of the work on the Bucs’ second possession, but Antonio Brown ultimately reaped the reward.
Fournette caught three passes for 22 yards and ran twice for nine more as Tampa Bay drove 75 yards on nine plays for its second score of the game.
But Brown got the Bucs into the end zone, catching a 23-yard pass from Tom Brady to put Tampa Bay ahead 14-7 in the final minute of the first quarter.
Running back Ronald Jones saw his first action on the drive, running once for four yards and catching a nine-yard pass.
Hurting themselves
The Bucs made a couple of tackles for loss at the start of the Eagles’ opening drive, twice dropping quarterback Jalen Hurts two yards behind the line of scrimmage.
But Tampa Bay penalties allowed Philadelphia to keep the 75-yard drive alive, and Hurts threw a five-yard touchdown pass to tight end Zach Ertz to tie the score at 7.
With the Eagles facing third and 12 from their 23, Shaquil Barrett was penalized for a neutral zone infraction, and Hurts scrambled 11 yards up the middle to pick up the first down. Will Gholston was flagged later in the drive for encroachment.
But the play that really hurt the Bucs was a 45-yard pass interference penalty on cornerback Jamel Dean against Jalen Reagor, moving the ball to the Tampa Bay 5.
Sherman leaves with hamstring injury
The Bucs’ banged-up secondary got more bad news, as cornerback Richard Sherman left early in the first quarter with a hamstring injury and was ruled out for the remainder of the game. He was replaced by Dee Delaney.
Sherman appeared to pull up after a downfield completion by Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts on Philadelphia’s opening possession of the night.
The Bucs started the game without starting cornerbacks Carlton Davis (quad) and Sean Murphy-Bunting (elbow) and safety Antoine Winfield Jr. (concussion).
Carryover effect
Tom Brady completed his last 12 passes Sunday against the Dolphins and seemed to pick up right where he left off Thursday against the Eagles.
He was 5 of 6 for 59 yards on the Bucs’ opening drive, culminating in a two-yard touchdown pass to tight end O.J. Howard in the back of the end zone.
The Bucs only faced one third down on the drive, third-and-8 from the Philadelphia 16, and Brady found Chris Godwin for 10 yards and a first down at the 6.
Leonard Fournette carried four times for 16 yards as Tampa Bay did a nice job of mixing the run and the pass.
Bucs need to learn from last season’s loss in Chicago
This is when things began to go wrong for the Bucs last season.
Just over a month into the season. Only a single loss on their record. A Thursday night game after a short week of practice on the road against a mediocre opponent.
Last season, it was Chicago. Tonight, it’s Philadelphia.
The Bears sacked Tom Brady three times and hit him on eight other occasions in a 20-19 loss on Oct. 8, 2020. Defensive tackle Vita Vea left the field on a cart with a leg injury. The Bucs blew an early 13-point lead, and a Cairo Santos field goal put Chicago ahead with just over a minute remaining.
Tampa Bay’s last hope was extinguished when Brady lost track of downs on his team’s final possession.
The Bucs slipped to 3-2, then dropped three of their next seven games to fall to 7-5. Fortunately, that’s when they righted the ship, winning their final eight games, including a victory over the Chiefs in Super Bowl 55.
Can the Bucs avoid a similar fate tonight against the Eagles?
They’re coming off one of their strongest games of the season, a 45-17 dismantling of the Dolphins on Sunday. Brady played one of his best games as a Buc, passing for more than 400 yards and five touchdowns for the first time in his career while getting the ball to nine different receivers.
And, of course, Tampa Bay has the benefit of hindsight, allowing it to learn from its experience a year ago.
Injuries won’t help, as Brady, who smashed his thumb on an opponent’s helmet Sunday, and the Bucs are banged up. But they’re really in no worse shape than they’ve been at any other point this season.
Inside linebacker Lavonte David is out with an ankle injury suffered against the Dolphins. Tight end Rob Gronkowski (ribs, lung) and safety Antoine Winfield Jr. (concussion) also did not travel with the team.
Outside linebacker Jason Pierre-Paul (shoulder, hand), center Ryan Jensen (hip) and defensive lineman Patrick O’Connor (calf) are listed as questionable on the injury report but expected to play.
Win tonight, and the Bucs will have a chance to avenge that loss to the Bears in their next game. At home. On a Sunday. With nine days to prepare.
Who’s out
Gameday scene
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A read on the game
Here’s some of our content leading up to today’s game:
Rob Gronkowski, Antoine Winfield Jr., Lavonte David out vs. Eagles
Bucs’ big wins in Philly as plentiful as Rocky sequels
Brady’s distribution of the football is on point. Can he keep it going in?
Tom Brady named NFC Offensive Player of the Week
Tom Brady insists thumb issue is ‘no serious injury at all’
Jason Pierre-Paul plays on with shoulder injury, ‘finger split in two’
Tom Brady is a big part of the resurgence in Bucs’ run game
Hard to strut with a limp, but the Bucs defense is getting it done
Bucs removing Jon Gruden from Ring of Honor
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