The Buccaneers played ugly football once again on Sunday night, but that didn’t stop them from getting a win in Arizona.
After falling behind 16-6 in the fourth quarter, the Buccaneers scored 10 straight points to tie the game and then forced a Cardinals punt on the first drive of overtime. Tom Brady completed five straight passes, including a 16-yard pass that moved the team to the fringes of field goal range. A 13-yard catch-and-run by Russell Gage moved Brady to six straight completions and set the stage for Ryan Succop’s game-winning field goal attempt.
Succop hit from 40 yards and made the Bucs 19-16 winners in overtime.
The win means the Buccaneers can clinch the NFC South with a victory over the Panthers next Sunday. They will be the fourth seed in the NFC if that happens.
Brady threw two interceptions to Marco Wilson earlier in the game, but he was able to hit Rachaad White for the team’s only touchdown of the game before his sharp work in overtime. Leonard Fournette ran 20 times for 72 yards and caught nine passes for 90 yards over the course of the evening.
Cardinals quarterback Trace McSorley was 24-of-45 for 217 yards in his first NFL start. He avoided disaster for much of the night, but a pitch to running back Keontay Ingram on the drive after White’s touchdown clanged off Ingram’s hands and Buccaneers defensive lineman William Gholston recovered to set up a game-tying field goal.
Arizona will be in Atlanta next week in a game that only matters for draft position. Despite looking no better than the Cardinals for most of the night, Tampa has a lot more to play for next weekend.