Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - Packer Plus
Bucs build confidence with win streak
Tampa, Fla. — The first-place Tampa Bay Buccaneers are building confidence with each victory.
Tom Brady is one reason. Another is the continued growth of a young defense that’s doing its part to help the six-time Super Bowl champion transform the team into a consistent winner.
The Bucs (3-1) haven’t made the playoffs since 2007, a stretch of 12 consecutive seasons that’s the second-longest postseason drought in the NFL.
A three-game winning streak has them in unfamiliar territory – alone atop the NFC South standings, where they’ve finished last much of the past decade-plus.
“Once you get there,” said coach Bruce Arians, noting Brady’s leadership and the team’s growing belief in itself, “you want to stay there.”
With Brady throwing for a season-high 369 yards and five touchdowns, the Bucs overcame a 17-point deficit to beat the Los Angeles Chargers, 38-31, on Sunday.
Tampa Bay has a short week of preparation before facing the Bears (3-1) on Thursday night. After the Bears, the Bucs face the Packers on Oct. 18. Green Bay beat the Atlanta Falcons, 30-16, on Monday night, and have a bye in Week 5.
A usually reliable Tampa defense that’s been trending in the right direction since late last season didn’t play particularly well against LA, especially in the first half.
But despite allowing two TD passes of over 50 yards and not doing much to keep the Chargers from building a 24-7 lead, the unit forced a fumble to set up Brady’s TD throw to Mike Evans just before halftime and then limited LA to seven points after intermission.
Defensive coordinator Todd Bowles said the Bucs demonstrated how much they have progressed.
“I don’t think we were mature enough to win this game a year ago,” Bowles said. “Going forward, we understand that we can’t make those mistakes … but they’re still good enough to come back from adversity. We’ve got to be better, and they know that.”
WHAT ’S WORKING
A commitment to running the ball is paying off, no matter who gets the carries. With Leonard Fournette already sitting out with an ankle injury, LeSean McCoy limped off with sore ankle in the first half. That left the majority of the workload to Ronald Jones, who gained a season-best 111 yards on 20 carries.
WHAT NEEDS HELP
The offense put up 38 points and scored on four straight possessions in the second half. However, Brady is striving for more consistency over four quarters. Injuries that are beginning to test the team’s depth have been part of the problem.
Pro Bowl receiver Chris Godwin has sat out two of the past three games, Evans missed a week of practice leading up to one
game and several others, including Fournette and receivers Scotty Miller and Justin Watson, have been banged up.
Brady threw the winning TD pass Sunday to fourth-string running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn, a rookie playing his first significant snaps on offense.
INJURIES
Tight end O.J. Howard, who had a TD catch against the Chargers, may have a ruptured Achilles tendon, which would force him to miss the rest of the season. Howard had an MRI on Monday, but Arians said he had not received the results.
Evans (ankle), Godwin (hamstring), Fournette (ankle), McCoy (ankle), Miller (hip/groin) and Watson (chest) did not practice Monday as the team prepares to play Thursday night at Chicago.