Brady throws for five touchdowns, Bucs rally to beat Chargers 38-31
TAMPA, Fla. — Tom Brady is introducing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a new way of winning.
The six-time Super Bowl champion led a come-frombehind victory for the first time since joining his new team, throwing for 369 yards and five touchdowns to help the Bucs rally from a 17-point deficit to beat the Los Angeles Chargers 38-31 on Sunday.
It’s the 46th time Brady has delivered a winning drive in the fourth quarter or overtime of a regular-season game — fourth on the NFL list behind Peyton Manning (54), Drew Brees (50) and Dan Marino (47). The 43-year-old quarterback has overcome a deficit of 10 or more points to win a league-best 34 times, including postseason.
“Tom, he’s never behind in his mind. We can always make plays to win games,” coach
Bruce Arians said.
“How can you not believe in him? He’s the greatest to ever do it,” receiver Scotty Miller said. “We just go in there and follow his lead.”
With several members of the newly crowned Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning cheering on from a suite at Raymond James Stadium — along with the Cup — Brady shrugged off throwing an early interception returned for a touchdown to keep the Bucs in first place in the NFC South.
Five players — Miller, Mike Evans, O.J. Howard, Cameron Brate and rookie Ke’Shawn Vaughn — caught scoring passes from Brady, who threw four of them after the Bucs (3-1) fell behind 24-7 in the second quarter.
Brady completed 30 of 46 passes with one interception and zero sacks. It was the seventh five-TD performance of his career, first since Sept. 24, 2017 for New England against Houston.
“We’ve got to keep building on the confidence in one another because there’s nothing we’re doing out there that’s perfect,” Brady said. “But we’re going to have to keep building on the good things and learn from the bad things.”
Rookie Justin Herbert completed 20 of 25 passes for 290 yards and three touchdowns for the Chargers (1-3), who’ve lost three straight with the sixth overall pick in this year’s draft playing earlier than expected because of injuries to Tyrod Taylor.
Michael Davis intercepted Brady’s sideline throw intended for Justin Watson and returned the ball 73 yards for a first-quarter score and a 14-7 lead. L.A. extended the advantage to 17 with a 19-yard TD pass to Donald Parham Jr. and Michael Badgley’s 53-yard field goal.
“We have to get over the hump,” Herbert said, noting the Chargers came close in all three losses. “We have to learn to close big games. When we are up 17 points, we can’t shoot ourselves in the foot.”
The game swung dramatically in the final minute of the opening half.
Ndamukong Suh forced a fumble inside the Los Angeles 10 with the Chargers attempting to run out at the clock. Linebacker Devin White recovered, setting up Brady’s 6-yard TD to Evans, who finished with seven catches for 122 yards.
“I was a bit surprised they didn’t just take a knee,” Evans said. “It was 24-7. They’d had a great first half. They made a mistake. We capitalized on it, got a touchdown and had momentum going into the second half and ran with it.”