The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were riding high versus the Seattle Seahawks until a Leonard Fournette to Tom Brady trick play ended in disaster.
Entering Allianz Arena, Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers knew this would be a season-defining game.
Throughout the first half of the game, it seems like Brady’s locker room emphasis on effort made an impact. The Bucs were utilizing their run game successfully, alternating between Leonard Fournette and Rachaad White. Devin White has been playing within his zone while still managing to make big plays. Through the many positive changes seen throughout this game, in the third quarter, the Bucs made a baffling decision that threw the game into question.
On a trick play that turned Fournette into the quarterback and Brady into a receiver, Fournette targeted Brady for a sideline catch. The problem was, unlike a previous play where Brady was wide open as a receiver, Brady was covered by Seahawks rookie phenom Tariq Woolen. Fournette targeted Brady, Brady slipped, and Woolen came away with a pick. To make matters worse, Brady embarrassingly tried to trip Woolen with his feet, resulting in a 15-yard penalty.
Remarkably, this was followed by another 15-yard penalty on Akiem Hicks, giving the Seahawks an easy 30-yard advantage after scoring a turnover.
After a careful game, the reckless play and ensuing penalties encapsulated what the Bucs have been battling against all season.
Leonard Fournette interception targeting Tom Brady sums up Buccaneers season
The Buccaneers did end up recovering a fumble and scoring another touchdown after the failed trick play, but their carefully-curated gameplan versus the Seahawks made this questionable play even more confounding.
Emmanuel Acho brought up a sore point for any Brady fan: the “Ziege“, as Germans call him, doesn’t have much success as a wide receiver in big games.
The Bucs Wire’s Luke Easterling found a silver lining in it all — Brady’s fall may have resulted in an interception, but at least he hasn’t been throwing them much this season.
In fact, later in the game, Brady was three passes away from breaking yet another record: most consecutive passes without an interception.
At 399, he threw his second interception of the season to Cody Barton.
Bucs fans can be thankful the team got a quick lead, because in the second half, the team is starting to look a lot more like its old self.
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