TAMPA, Fla. — For a significant stretch of Sunday’s breathtaking affair, Tom Brady didn’t seem content with trying to out-duel 25-year-old counterpart Josh Allen.
He had to try and out-dual him.
Though Allen finished with 109 yards on 12 carries in a losing effort, Brady (seven carries, 16 yards, one touchdown) had the upper legs at one point of Sunday’s 33-27 overtime triumph. At halftime, in fact, the 44-year-old future Hall of Famer had six carries — two more than the entire Bills team.
One of them included a 3-yard scramble up the middle on third and 2 inside the Bills red zone. Brady took a shot while stretching his middle-aged body for the first down.
“That’s enough of that s—,” Bucs coach Bruce Arians said.
Brady now has 26 carries for 68 yards and two touchdowns this season. The yardage total is his most since 2011, when he ran for 109.
“It’s been pretty unlike me for a long time, but I kind of like getting out of there and making a couple of plays,” said Brady, who converted twice on third down and had a 1-yard scoring sneak Sunday.
“But yeah, I’d much rather hand it to the running backs, let me just say that, or throw it the guys who have much more talent with the ball in their hands than I do.”
Millennial mark for Godwin
With a dozen shopping days remaining in the holiday season, and 4½ games remaining in the regular season, Chris Godwin put a bow atop the second 1,000-yard campaign of his career.
The fifth-year receiver’s monstrous first half (seven catches, 91 yards) pushed him past the milestone, making him the sixth Bucs player to post multiple 1,000-yard receiving seasons. The others: Mike Evans, Vincent Jackson, Kevin House, Keyshawn Johnson and Joey Galloway.
Godwin finished with a team-high 10 catches for 105 yards. In his last two games, he has totaled 25 receptions (on 32 targets) for 248 yards.
Sherman sighting
Playing his first game in nearly two months, Richard Sherman wasn’t content to make a cameo. He had to make a little history. Lining up primarily as an extra safety in nickel and dime packages, the 33-year-old veteran intercepted Allen with a minute remaining in the first half. The pick was the 37th of his all-pro career, most of any active NFL player.
Injury update
Reserve tailback Giovani Bernard exited with assistance from trainers with a hip injury late in the first half and didn’t return. Neither did cornerback Jamel Dean (illness), also absent the entire second half. Arians couldn’t provide specifics on Dean. “He just got foggy,” he said.
By the numbers
15 Career sacks for third-year inside linebacker Devin White, who recorded 1.5 Sunday.
27 Career rushing touchdowns for Brady, who scored on a 1-yard sneak late in the first half.
47 Kickoff temperature differential between the Bills’ home game Monday night against the Patriots (33 degrees) in Orchard Park, N.Y., and Sunday’s game in Tampa (80).
113 Rushing yards (on 19 carries) for Leonard Fournette, his most as a Buccaneer.
604 Career regular-season catches by Rob Gronkowski, who had five Sunday. Gronkowski became the 10th tight end in NFL history to reach the 600-reception mark.
7,156 Career regular-season completions for Brady, eclipsing the NFL record previously held by Drew Brees (7,142).
