With a lot of rain and little inspiration, the Sunday Night Football duel was defined by the kickers
On Tom Brady's return to Foxborough, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the New England Patriots 19-17, and the crowd had to see their former quarterback win at Gillette Stadium.
The duel between the two teams involved a lot of expectations, after all, it was the 12 shirt's reunion with the franchise for which he defended for 20 seasons, won six Super Bowl titles and marked his name in NFL history. However, on the field, the rain appeared more than the talent of the players and stopped the game a lot.
In the first quarter, the big break was when Brady managed to break the record for most air yards in league history, overtaking Drew Brees who has 80,358 yards. However, there was no touchdown, the first score being a 29-yard field goal kicked by Ryan Succop for the Bucs.
For the Patriots, quarterback Mac Jones flinched and threw a pass into the hands of defensive back opponent Antoine Winfield. With possession at the start of the second quarter, Tampa Bay's attack failed to evolve well and had to shoot again, but Succop missed the 36-yard attempt.
The home team took advantage of the error and sought to recover in the match. In a nice drive, Jones found tight end Hunter Henry in the end zone to make the first touchdown of the night. With the score 7-3, the Bucs were looking for more points, however, they only managed to advance a little in the attack and kicked a 44-yard field goal to stay a point behind.
The first half was already weak, and the half-time lap managed to be worse! Little happened other than punts. However, the Bucs' attack had a brief moment of inspiration and managed the touchdown with a Ronald Jones run.
In the last quarter, the game gained some emotion due to the change of leadership. The Patriots got another touchdown, again with a pass from Jones to a tight end, only this time to Jonnu Smith.
The visitors returned to attack and arrived in a good position on the field, but they did not have the ability to score the TD. With that, Succop had to kick again and hit the 27-yard attempt. With plenty of time on the clock, the Pats returned to seek victory and achieved a great advance after a trick play that had a pass from Jacoby Meyers to Nelson Agholor. The touchdown chance was great, but the Tampa defense closed the door and it was up to Nick Folke to convert a shot from 27 yards.
Brady returned to the field to try to lead a victory campaign in his old home. He made good plays, but again, the New Englad defense held back the Bucs' mighty attack. Succop sprang into action again and converted the 48-yard shot that gave the visitors victory.
The Patriots even had a chance to win the duel. After some good plays, Jones made it to the attacking field, but didn't make much progress. With no time to call, on a fourth down and needing just one field goal to win, Folk was called in to shoot from 56 yards, but failed to make the attempt.
With the win, the Bucs are 3-1 this season, lead the NFC South and will face the Miami Dolphins in Tampa Bay in Week 5. The Patriots are 1-3, third in AFC East and play away from home. against Houston Texans.
No comments:
Post a Comment