Pats fall to Bucs in rain-soaked affair
Late missed FG by Folk seals Pats’ fate
FOXBORO -- Tom Brady trotted into Gillette Stadium wearing enemy colors Sunday night, his head down and competitive hate stirring in his heart.
The New England sky wept.
Light rain fell throughout Brady’s pregame warmups, his first ever as a visitor. He slung dozens of passes to teammates and coaches, and calmly prowled the familiar turf. Brady eventually retreated into the locker room, gathered all of the Buccaneers and led them back onto the field. There, surrounded by 68,000 broken New England hearts, some healed and others still bleeding, the living legend was greeted a mix of longing and grief.
“Bra-dy! Bra-dy!” they chanted amid a smattering of boos.
Then, a funny thing happened: Brady, a master of the moment, threw 10 passes with no chance of being caught in the first half alone. His high-powered offense short-circuited, a struggle that, much like his New England successes, was driven equally by his physical performance and a wily Bill Belichick game plan.
The rain continued to fall, but by the end, Brady rediscovered himself in the place his legend was born.
Taking over with less than five minutes left, Brady directed a go-ahead field goal drive that lifted the Buccaneers to a 19-17 lead they would never relinquish. Tampa Bay kicker Ryan Succop drilled a 48-yarder with 1:57 remaining, the sixth lead change in an epic showdown between the greatest coach and quarterback of all time. The Pats responded with their own final push, which fell short when Nick Folk’s 55-yard try hit the left upright and tumbled to the turf.
Patriots rookie quarterback Mac Jones went 31-of40 for 275 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. His last three attempts were midfield incompletions for Jakobi Meyers fired at Tampa Bay’s 44-yard line.
Down by two with as many minutes remaining, the Patriots covered 20 yards on a defensive pass interference penalty by Bucs safety Jordan Whitehead, then nine yards on a short completion to Hunter Henry before Jones and the offense stalled out. The Pats fell to 1-3 with their third home loss on the season.
The Patriots opened with a spread, no-huddle approach aimed at hurting the Bucs where they were weakest: cornerback. Newly-signed veteran Richard Sherman started four days after signing off the street. His starting counterpart, Carlton Davis, was later lost to leg injury late in the first half. However, the offense didn’t click until its fourth series, undone by a non-existent running game.
Meanwhile, Brady hit on long completions to all three of his Pro Bowl wideouts -Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Antonio Brown -- in the first quarter. He steered the Bucs into the red zone on two of their opening three drives, both of which stalled out. Tampa Bay kicker Ryan Succop nailed a 29-yard field goal, then sent a 36-yarder wide right to open the second quarter.
Buoyed by their good luck, the Pats marched 74 yards to their first touchdown. Jones overcame a second holding penalty by left guard Michael Onwenu, then benefitted from flags against Sherman and Davis that generated first downs. Facing second-and-7 from Tampa’s 11-yard line, Jones needed no further fortune, only time in the pocket, as he whipped through his progressions and fired left for Henry.
The high-priced tight end slipped a tackle from Antoine Winfield Jr., and bounced into the end zone for his first touchdown as a Patriot. After an ensuing trade of punts, Brady directed a sharp 2-minute drill that ended with three consecutive overthrows and yielded another field goal for a 7-6 halftime deficit.
As the Patriots offense opened with a three-and-out and fumble, Brady finally landed his first punch midway through the third quarter. The last play of his 47yard drive, an 8-yard touchdown run by Ronald Jones, represented a shift in philosophy for Tampa Bay, which successfully bullied the Pats instead of relying on Brady’s arm to score.
Not to be outdone by his childhood idol, Jones answered right back. He completed seven straight passes on the next possession to six different targets without any aid of a running game. Jonnu Smith was the only Patriot with two receptions, his second a 1-yard touchdown grab off play-action with no Buccaneers around him.
Ahead 14-13, the Pats yielded another field goal to Brady and fell behind by one at 8:01 remaining. That led to another all-passing possession from Jones that eventually snapped his 13-of-13 stretch to start the second half inside the deep red zone. From there, Folk hit a 27-yarder that set up another dramatic Brady comeback in Foxboro.
Here were the best and worst Patriot performances from Sunday:
Best
Red-zone defense The Pats forced three field goals on four Tampa trips inside their 20-yard line, exactly the type of performance they needed against Brady.
LB Matt Judon Another game, another sack for the star pass rusher. Judon also added an extra QB hit and six tackles.
QB Mac Jones The rookie withstood constant pressure, the weight of the Brady-versus-Belichick matchup and repeatedly delivered.
Worst
OL Michael Onwenu The Patriots’ best offensive lineman through three games took two holding penalties in the first half.
RB J.J. Taylor Taylor lost a third-quarter fumble and finished with two touches for zero yards.