The drought ended, appropriately enough, with Tom Brady raining deep passes from above.
Saturday’s 47-7 win over the Lions in Detroit put a stop to talk about slow starts. Brady passed for 348 yards and four touchdowns to as many receivers. Rob Gronkowski, Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Antonio Brown each caught a touchdown from the 43-year-old quarterback, who put on a ballcap and watched from the sideline after halftime.
Scream it from Palmetto to Port Richey. Let them hear it from Lutz to Lakeland. For the first time since 2007, the Bucs are headed to the NFL playoffs.
They will be the wildest of wild cards. A day after the New Orleans Saints won their fourth straight NFC South title, the Bucs served notice that their significant accomplishment Saturday could turn into a stunning success story.
Six days earlier, there had been so much hand wringing about the Bucs having only 60 yards in the first half at Atlanta. Against the Lions, they had a franchise-best 410 before halftime.
The Bucs had only one touchdown in the first quarter of their previous six games combined. On Saturday, they set a club record with 34 points in the first half.
What an intoxicating time for Tampa Bay sports.
The Lightning won the Stanley Cup. The Rays won the American League pennant and pushed the Dodgers to six games in the World Series. Could it be the Bucs’ turn with Brady, who now owns the single-season franchise record for passing touchdowns (36)?
At 10-5, the Bucs can clinch the fifth seed in the NFC playoffs by winning next week at home vs. Atlanta. In the past two halves of football that Brady played, the Bucs offense has scored 65 points, compiled 766 total yards and hauled in six touchdown passes from Brady.
Let’s be honest; the Lions (5-10) are a mess. Five coaches were unavailable Saturday due to COVID-19 protocol, including interim head coach Darrell Bevel. Quarterbacks coach Sean Ryan was calling plays for the first time. Evan Rothstein had never called defensive plays until Saturday. Receivers coach Robert Prince was the acting head coach. Emphasis on acting.
The Lions have given up 40 or points in a game five times this season, the most of any team since 1948. To make matters worse, quarterback Matthew Stafford was forced to leave the game after one series with an ankle sprain.
If you want to nitpick, the Bucs special teams were awful. Place-kicker Ryan Succop missed two extra points and a field goal. The Lions’ only score came on a 74-yard punt return for a touchdown by Lions receiver Jamal Agnew.
But Bucs fans have waited all season to witness the kind of onslaught that occurred at Ford Field on Saturday.
The Bucs could have gone three-and-out to start Saturday’s game when Brady was sacked on third down, but the Lions were offsides to give them another chance. Brady connected with Godwin for a first down and they never looked back.
Brady lofted a 33-yard pass to Gronkowski for a touchdown. He hit Evans from 27 yards for another score. Godwin made a one-handed grab for a 7-yard TD. Brady’s final scoring pass was a 12-yard laser to Brown on a skinny post that he squeezed into a keyhole.
Blaine Gabbert replaced Brady in the third quarter and his first pass was a touchdown to Gronkowski. Evans caught his second touchdown pass in the third quarter, expanding his club-record to 13 on the season. He needs only 40 receiving yards to become the only player in NFL history to reach the 1,000-yard milestone for the first seven seasons to start a career.
But Saturday’s performance was exactly the kind that the Bucs needed. To generate momentum. To gain confidence. To fulfill at least goal by ending their long playoff drought.
