TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – Victory at last! The Tampa Bay Buccaneers fought hard until the final second and broke a 3-game losing streak of two.
As of Sunday night, star quarterback Tom Brady was 0-3 against the Los Angeles Rams since his arrival in Tampa Bay. The Buccaneers were also looking to end the losing streak after falling to the Steelers, Panthers and Ravens within the past three weeks.
Sunday night’s game was far from dramatic as the ’21 and ’22 Super Bowl champs faced off in a match that looked like do or die for both teams.
Moving into the game, the Rams were now hoping to take a win to advance 3-5 in their division, but it now looks like their chances of advancing to the NFC West will be a bit daunting.
As far as the Buccaneers are concerned, winning this game was a must. After the Falcons fell to the Chargers, it meant the Bucs would reclaim the number one spot in the NFC South if they won – and they did.
Of course the game began much earlier than how most Buccaneers games began: penalties, dropped balls and disappointment.
After trailing by just one point at halftime, it was clear that the Books would still stand a chance against the Rams. Although Los Angeles scored a touchdown, Tampa Bay scored three field goals with Ryan Sukop.
But in true Tom Brady fashion, the play of the game came within about a minute after going 53 yards down the field and hitting Cade Otten for a short 1-yard touchdown with 13 seconds remaining in the fourth. Went near.
Brady not only became the hero of the game, but he also made NFL history. With nine minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Brady completed a 15-yard run for Leonard Fournet, making Brady the first player in NFL history with 100,000 career passing yards (regular and postseason).
As much as it’s a huge achievement, Brady said the milestone didn’t matter — the victory did.
Brady said, “He was awesome… he was awesome.” Press conference after the game. “we needed [the win], We needed it, we got it, we fought till the end.”
Brady said, “It’s about winning, it’s about winning. Never cared about it, it’s about winning.”
The Buccaneers omitted key players for their defence, Vita V(2), players such as Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, Rakim Nez-Roches and Genard Avery, as Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford sacked five times.
Punter Jake Camarda was also a huge asset to the Buccaneers.
According to Scott Smith, Senior Writer/Editor for the BuccaneersCamarda, who had the fourth-longest punt in franchise history earlier Sunday night, tied the longest punt ever at 74-yards.
The record is tied to Shawn Landetta who set a 74-yard punt record against the New York Jets on December 14, 1997.
Bucks head coach Todd Bowles said Camarda is too big for the team.
“Camarda was huge. We gave him the ball of the game. He was huge today, without him punting that ball and changing the position of the field, we’d probably be in some tough situations,” Bowles said. He also added that Cade Otten was huge.
“Cade was huge, he’s been huge over the last few weeks. Blocking, making quality catches, making timely catches in the game, not being too big for him. I think he has one of those in preseason too The catch was. He’s developing as a pro early in his career,” said Bowles 2022 fourth round draft pick,
On Sunday Otten had his first and only touchdown of the game.
After this win, hopefully the Buccaneers have gained the confidence and momentum to move on for the rest of the season. Brady said he is already looking forward to the next win and is making sure his record is 5-5.
“Hopefully we can win and get to 5-5, and you know, the whole season is ahead of us,” Brady said.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-5) will face the Seattle Seahawks (6-3) on November 13 in Munich, Germany. This matchup will be the first NFL regular season game to be played in Germany.
Kickoff is scheduled for 9:30 AM ET at Allianz Arena.
