The Oklahoman

New England escapes Tampa Bay with win

- BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

It’s one

TAMPA, FLA. — game.

But for New England’s porous defense, holding off the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 19-14 was a step in the right direction.

“We didn’t play perfect,” safety Devin McCourty said after Thursday night’s victory.

“But that’s the thing. We don’t have to play perfect all the time to get a win,” McCourty added. “Just play smart, be on the same page and not have mental errors. I thought we did a better job of doing that.”

ThePatriot­s(3-2)entered the prime-time matchup on pace to set a NFL record for yards allowed in a season. They’d also yielded 32 points per game during their worst start since 2012, and the Bucs looked a team that might be able to take advantage of their defensive shortcomin­gs.

Jameis Winston threw for 334 yards and one touchdown without an intercepti­on , but most of that production came in the fourth quarter.

Nick Folk hindered the young quarterbac­k’s effort to come from behind in the fourth quarter for the second straight week.

The veteran kicker missed two field goals and an extra point before beating the New York Giants with a kick as time expired last Sunday.

This time, Folk missed a 56-yarder just before halftime, a 49-yarder on the second play of the fourth quarter and a 31-yarder that would have pulled the Bucs within six points with 5:36 remaining.

“It’s been a bad week,” Folk said. “I left points out there. We should have won that game 20-19. This is on me.”

Winston, however, insisted he was to blame. He threw an 18-yard TD pass to Cameron Brate to trim Tampa Bay’s deficit to 16-14 with just over two minutes left, and nearly led his team downfield to win after Stephen Gostkowski kicked his fourth field goal to put the Patriots up by five.

With two seconds remaining, Winston took a snap and threw incomplete down the middle for O.J. Howard.

“There are two seconds on the clock, your quarterbac­k has to make a play for you,” Winston said. “You’ve got to do something.”

The Patriots held the third-year pro to 109 yards passing through three quarters. Winston threw for 225 yards and his seventh TD of the season in the final 15 minutes.

 ?? PHOTO] [AP ?? New England Patriots quarterbac­k Tom Brady looks to throw a pass as he is pressured by Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive end Robert Ayers during the first half of Thursday’s game in Tampa, Fla.
PHOTO] [AP New England Patriots quarterbac­k Tom Brady looks to throw a pass as he is pressured by Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive end Robert Ayers during the first half of Thursday’s game in Tampa, Fla.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States