Bucs Nation
Another week where the Buccaneers began the game with the football but did not open with points, one first down and one punt. The Buccaneers’ defense has had its ups this season, but there have been downs aplenty. Arizona’s opening drive featured both those ups and downs. Arizona ran at will and moved the ball deep in Tampa territory, however, the drive netted zero points when Jamel Dean undercut a crossing route, tipping the ball in the air for Antoine Winfield Jr. to snag— Interception, Tampa Bay. A scoreless opening quarter in Tampa Bay, 0-0 with 0:00 on the clock.
With eight minutes and two minutes left in the game’s second quarter, the scoreboard operator at Raymond James Stadium finally had to clock in. The Bucs’ offense strung together some efficient runs in combination with a deep ball to Chris Godwin and slid all the way into the red zone— Their kryptonite. A dropped pass in the end zone forced Tampa to settle for a short field goal. 3-0, Tampa Bay.
Moments before the two-minute warning, the Buccaneers scored their first touchdown of the game until— Referees chimed in. Offensive pass interference on Tez Johnson erased Tampa’s score, but there wouldn’t be any need to fret because the Buccaneers would score again. After working back down to the goal line, a toss play to Bucky Irving would give the back a clear lane and allow him to cruise into the end zone until— Referees chimed in. A holding penalty on Bucky’s lead blocker, Payne Durham, pulled the seven points back off the board. While removing those touchdowns may have annoyed Bucs’ fans in the moment, they set the stage for one of the season’s greatest plays. Under center on third down and goal, the Buccaneers ran a play action pass and flipped the ball out to Tristan Wirfs on the backside of the play for a wide open walk-in score. Wirfs’ first career catch doubled as his first career score. 10-0, Bucs.
Up 10-0, Todd Bowles got greedy. His defense had Jacoby Brissett backed up and facing a third down and nine. Bowles, under the impression the Buccaneers’ defense would get off the field and give his offense another opportunity at points call ed a timeout. Post Tampa’s time out, Brissett proceeded to complete the third down pass attempt and catch a small bit of fire and lead the Cardinals into field goal range. 10-3, Buccaneers.
With turnovers being a big part of the reason Tampa’s lead was Tampa’s lead the defense would go back to the well one more time as the game’s second half got under way. A solid Cardinal drive stumbled as Bam Knight fumbled. Tykee Smith’s recovery gave the Bucs the ball and favorable field position. They favored punting as more penalties and opposing pass-rush sent Tampa’s offense back off the field.
The two Cardinal drives that bookended Sunday’s intermission were very Yin and Yang. After making...
