Tom Brady and the Bucs looked great in the first half, taking a 21-0 lead as Carolina committed three turnovers leading to a pair of Bucs touchdowns. TB12’s line for the day wasn’t earth-shattering, as he threw for 217 yards with a touchdown and an interception, but Leonard Fournette looked like he was playing in college for LSU again, gashing the Panthers defense for 103 yards on 12 carries with two touchdowns thrown in there.
This seems to be a pattern for Carolina, as they gave up 93 yards and three touchdowns to Josh Jacobs in the Panthers’ Week 1 loss to the newly relocated Las Vegas Raiders. The Bucs’ defense, in contrast, held the Panthers’ superstar back Christian McCaffery to 3.3 yards a carry (59 yards rushing). The Bucs gave up some big plays through the air to Panthers quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, but they managed to come up with some big turnovers and did another great job defending the run, with the Panthers only managing to get 87 yards on the ground.
So breathe a sigh of relief, Bucs fans. The Bucs are going to be alright.
Following last week’s disappointing (but expected) loss to New Orleans, the Bucs wanted to bounce back, Brady specifically. He threw a pair of interceptions last week and just looked out of sync with his receivers. That continued today, with the Bucs having four drops (one from LeSean McCoy on an easy touchdown near the end of the game), but luckily Fournette was able to erase some of those mistakes with some big time runs.
Mike Evans also looked much better today, with seven catches for 104 yards and a beautiful touchdown reception on a well-thrown back-shoulder pass from The GOAT. That is what we wanted to see, and I would expect more of that as the season progresses.
Chris Godwin’s absence was felt, as Brady had to settle for targeting Justin Watson quite a bit and even some guy named Cyril Grayson (just signed from the practice squad) got a target (yeah, the one that bounced off of his helmet). Godwin is hopeful to return for Week 3, but he is still going through the NFL’s concussion protocol following the big hit he took in the game in New Orleans.
In other news around the NFC South, the Atlanta Falcons had an epic (I hate that word, but it is absolutely appropriate here) meltdown against the Cowboys, blowing a 29-3 lead (looks familiar) and failing to recover an onside kick in what will go down as probably the worst special teams play of the season, putting the Bucs in second place in the NFC South (never too early to watch the standings).
Hopefully this game was a sign of things to come, as the Bucs head to Denver next week to match up against the Broncos. Denver lost their starting quarterback Drew Lock to a shoulder injury Sunday, and will be out for 2-6 weeks, according to Adam Schefter. The Bucs lost their last regular season matchup with Denver in Week 4 of the 2016 season, with Jameis Winston throwing a pair of interceptions and the Bucs losing 2 fumbles. It is doubtful this result will repeat itself, especially with the Broncos forced to start backup (and former Gator) Jeff Driskell.
Things are trending in the right direction for Tampa. Maybe the Lightning can win the Cup this week.
Get more of Carter Brantley 's Tampa Bay sports takes by following his Twitter @CTBrantley12.
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This article appears in Sep 24-30, 2020.