TAMPA, Fla. ― On the sixth play of Saturday’s preseason opener against the Bengals, Tom Brady took a shotgun snap and was sacked immediately, disappearing under Bengals defensive linemen Trey Hendrickson and Joseph Ossai.
For a few breathless seconds, as Brady was sprawled on the turf, it was fair to question the sanity of playing the 44-year-old Bucs quarterback in a meaningless game.
There simply wasn’t enough biscuit to risk it.
Fortunately, Brady got off the ground in one piece and the Bucs defense of their Super Bowl 55 title is still whole.
The Bucs lost to the Bengals 19-14 in a turnover-marred game in which Tampa Bay didn’t have the football much. They compiled only 135 total yards on 43 offensive plays entering the fourth quarter.
The defense forced four turnovers, including two fumbles to stop Bengals drives. One was caused by linebacker Lavonte David, who stripped running back Samaje Perine at the Bucs 21-yard line. Safety Ross Cockrell forced the other, recovered by rookie linebacker K.J. Britt in the first half.
Linebacker Joseph Jones intercepted Cincinnati’s Kyle Shurmur and returned the ball 15 yards for a touchdown with 11:10 remaining in the game. A conversion pass from Kyle Trask to Codey McElroy cut the Bengals lead to two points, but the Florida rookie was unable to mount a comeback.
“We just stayed calm,” David said. “They were keeping us honest offensively, mixing it up — run, play-action, screens. But we were able to stay composed and get a takeaway to get the ball back.”
Bucs backup quarterback Blaine Gabbert responded with a 15-play drive, capped by running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn powering across the goal line for a 2-yard TD run.
The Bucs tried to use some razzle dazzle on the conversion, lining holder Bradley Pinion up at quarterback with kicker Ryan Succop at running back before shifting into the normal kicking formation. The PAT was good, but ruled invalid because the ball wasn’t placed at the 15-yard line.
“It was a good drive,” said Gabbert, who went 6 of 11 passing for 64 yards. “It as an up-and-down drive. We had a few misses on those, but all and all it was great to put a drive together and put some points on the board. The guys played great, and it was a good way to start off the preseason.”
Vaughn, a third-round pick from Vanderbilt last year, was the Bucs’ workhorse in the first half. He rushed for 24 yards on eight carries (he finished with 27 on 11), including the TD, while adding a 7-yard reception.
“He’s a great running back,” Gabbert said of Vaughn, who is fourth on the depth chart behind Ronald Jones, Leonard Fournette and Giovani Bernard.
Unfortunately, the Bucs couldn’t protect the football. Quarterback Ryan Griffin had two passes deflected into the air and intercepted.
The Bengals took the lead on Chris Evans’ 1-yard run and added a 40-yard field goal by Evan McPherson to make it 10-6.
Bucs coach Bruce Arians said earlier in the week that Brady would start the game unless the field conditions weren’t good.
But other teams have elected not to allow their starting quarterback to play at all in the preseason. The list includes Bengals starter Joe Burrow, who has returned from offseason surgery to repair a torn ACL; and Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, whom coach Sean McVay said wouldn’t take a snap this preseason.
For the record, Brady finished 1-for-2 passing with a 9-yard completion to Bernard for a first down.
But the best thing Brady did was crawl out under the pile of Bengals defenders and walk to the sideline, where he safely stood the rest of the night.
