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BY IRA KAUFMAN
The Bucs are one win away from making Week 18 irrelevant.
With a game-winning effort next Sunday at home against Carolina, Tampa Bay can take a break from this difficult season and rest up for a first-round playoff game against Team USA.
It wasn’t easy for the team from Tampa, Arizona, as the Bucs scored the game’s final 13 points in an overtime triumph as the Cardinals finished 1-8 at home. Once again the defense kept the Bucs close before Tom Brady found a way.
There were times when Brady looked lost Sunday night as one of the worst defenses in the NFL allowing just one touchdown. Regular Ryan Succop kicked four field goals, including the 7-8 winning streak for the Bucs, which reversed a 4-game road loss.
If Tampa Bay can neutralize a Carolina ground game that Brady duly noted “ran the ball shit” against the Lions on Saturday, the Bucs will likely repeat as NFC South champions. If the Panthers won, they would tie the Bucs at 7-9 and own the tiebreaker advantage by virtue of a season sweep.
Nothing was easy on Sunday night as Brady threw two more interceptions to continue a worrying pattern. Although the running game was productive, Brady threw 48 times. Most of them were fast, short passes as Leonard Fournette and Chris Godwin caught 17 of 20 shots thrown.
Trace McSorley, making his first NFL start, had decent moments for Arizona under center, but averaged less than 5 yards per pass attempt. Todd Bowles did a good job of disguising covers and mixing effective blitzes in an attempt to confuse an inexperienced QB.
Against a better opponent, the Bucs likely would have lost on Sunday night. Falling behind and switching to a 2-minute offense helped Tampa Bay snap out of its lethargy, and Brady responded with late magic — just like he demonstrated against the Rams and Saints.
Here’s how the Bucs did just enough to avoid a setback that would have secured Brady’s losing first season:
Sean Murphy-Bunting has some love for Ira.
* The Tampa Bay secondary deserves credit for a cover job on DeAndre Hopkins. Yes, it was McSorley who delivered the ball instead of Kyler Murray, but Hopkins was targeted 10 times and caught a pass for four yards. Sean Murphy-Bunting, in particular, played a solid game.
* Special teams errors continue to be an issue. Andy Lee victimized the Bucs on a fake punt and Tampa Bay also allowed a 28-yard punt return. On the bright side, Succop has been great.
* Brady has now been knocked out at least twice in each of the past three games. Carolina’s defense is significantly better than Arizona’s and the Bucs can’t keep giving their opponents short runs.
JJ Watt was a force, especially in the first half. The 3-time Defensive Player of the Year finished with 2 tackles for loss and 2 QB hits. Five years after his retirement, he will be fitted for a gold jacket.
* Tristan Wirfs wasn’t close to 100% – and it showed. That gimpy ankle robbed him of a step, but he emptied it on a nighttime left tackle. Josh Wells was hauled in with a knee injury. Edge protection could be an issue against the Panthers.
* Carolina’s offensive line overpowered Detroit and the Panthers went wild. That’s a problem because James Conner just hurt the Bucs on the ground, averaging 5.3 yards on 15 carries, including a 22-yard TD dash that put the Cardinals ahead 16-6 with 10: 47 remaining. The defensive game plan for Bowles is obvious: stack the line of scrimmage and have Sam Darnold beat you through the air.
* Mike Evans and Brady have no chemistry…none. Evans was targeted 8 times but finished with 3 catches for 29 yards. Over the past five games, Brady has completed less than half of the passes for Evans. Evans’ streak of consecutive games without a touchdown has reached 11. How is that possible?
* With Lavonte David and Devin White leading the defensive charge, the Cardinals converted just 5 of 19 on third down. They weren’t going to score in overtime unless Arizona offered another takeaway.
* The league somehow refused to flex the Panthers-Bucs game, keeping it at 1 p.m. Wasn’t a divisional showdown and the presence of Tom Brady enough to get the game into prime time and make Bruce Arians wait a few more hours for his Ring of Honor induction ceremony?
* If the Bucs win on Sunday, there’s no reason to face Brady in Atlanta the following week. Tampa Bay would be locked in as number one in the NFC. 4 seed in the playoffs, so let Blaine Gabbert and Kyle Trask handle it. Brady needs a break more than work on this tough day of the season.
Will go with his good friend and JoeBucFan.com draft guru Sean Sullivan, general manager of Bill Currie Ford and host of the Best In Class podcast. Sean will personally assist you in any way possible. You just have to ask!!!
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— Bill Currie Ford (@BillCurrieTampa) December 23, 2022
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