Tom Brady comes through at the death to deliver a Buccaneers win

For over 59 minutes of game time on Sunday, it looked like Tom Brady’s season of misery was going to continue.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were struggling to generate any offense against the Los Angeles Rams. The non-existent Tampa Bay rushing attack remained so, as the Buccaneers gained just 51 yards on 20 carries against the Rams, averaging just 2.1 yards per rushing attempt. Brady, forced to shoulder the entire offensive load, was finding it difficult yet again to create explosive plays.

Despite all of this, Brady and the Buccaneers had a chance to win the game before the two-minute warning. Trailing 13-9, Tampa Bay drove down the field and faced a 1st and goal at the Rams’ 7-yard line.

They would fail to score.

Perhaps the most difficult play to see came on second down, when Brady dropped into the pocket and targeted wide receiver Scotty Miller. His pass found Miller wide open, and hit him right in the hands.

And fell incomplete:

Then two plays later, Brady tried to squeeze in a throw to Mike Evans, but was lucky that Jalen Ramsey only broke up the pass, instead of intercepting it:

Game over, right?

Wrong.

Tampa Bay’s defense, which was rock-solid in the fourth quarter in particular, forced a three-and-out from the Rams. A pivotal play on that series came on second down, when Cooper Kupp made the decision to slide on a run around the right edge to work the clock and force Tampa Bay to take a time out, rather than trying to pick up the first down. Kupp’s run on 2nd and 10 covered just five yards, and on the next play the Buccaneers’ defense stopped the clock with their final time out.

If the Rams managed to pick up the first down, it would have indeed ended the game. Instead, the defense stuffed Darrell Henderson, and forced a punt from the Rams with under a minute remaining.

That would be just enough time for Brady.

The drive began on the Buccaneers’ own 40-yard line, and kicked off with a big play. Brady connected with tight end Cade Otton up the left seam for 28 yards and a fresh set of downs.

Thanks to the trusty “dots” from Next Gen Stats, you can see how Brady attacked the coverage with Otton’s seam route:

After a spike to stop the clock with 28 seconds remaining, Brady went back to work underneath. First he connected with Leonard Fournette in the left flat for a gain of four, but more importantly, the back was able to dip out of bounds to stop the clock.

On third down, Brady connected with Miller on a stop route along the left sideline, and again, the receiver was able to duck out of bounds to stop the clock.

Tampa Bay faced a 1st and 10 at the Rams’ 14-yard line, and again Brady looked towards MIller, targeting him on a speed out route along the left sideline. The connection went for a gain of seven yards, but most importantly, Miller was able to stride out of bounds and stop the clock.

Now it was time for some controversy.

On the next play, a 2nd and 3 from the Rams’ 7-yard line, Brady looked to the end zone, in the direction of Mike Evans on a slant route. The pass fell incomplete, but something else fell too.

A penalty flag.

Derion Kendrick was flagged for pass interference, which gave the Buccaneers a first down at the Los Angeles 1-yard line.

They would score on the next play, with Brady hitting Otton for the game-winning touchdown:

The play, interestingly enough, came from the quarterback himself:

You can also view the game-winning drive, in its entirety, here:

The win may have turned around Tampa Bay’s fortunes, and perhaps saved their season. The victory improved the Buccaneers’ record on the season to 4-5, absolutely not where they expected to be in terms of a win/loss record. But it did move them back into first place in the NFC South, as they have the same record as the Atlanta Falcons but do own a tiebreaker over their division rivals thanks to a win back in Week 5.

Beyond that, it certainly changed the narrative around Brady, at least for the time being. We can be honest, it has been a tough year for the veteran quarterback, both on-the-field and off, making some question why he made the decision to return to the game at all after retiring last spring.

For one drive however, Brady looked like his vintage self. He called his own shot at the end, and delivered a win for the Buccaneers. Could it truly turn Tampa Bay’s season around? We’ll know more about that in a week, when the Buccaneers travel overseas to take on the Seattle Seahawks in the NFL’s first game in Germany.

But for one night, or even just one drive, it seemed like that was truly a possibility.

Something Buccaneers fans would gladly take at the moment. An injection of hope during a season that seemed to be slipping away.