Looking to avoid a third straight loss, the Bucs headed to Arizona for a Christmas night matchup with the Cardinals. And like they’ve done so many times before, the Bucs stumbled and stumbled all night long only to pull out a 19-16 overtime win thanks to late heroics from Tom Brady and a game-winning 40-yard field goal from Ryan Succop.

The Bucs got the ball first and went right to work, with Julio Jones drawing a 30-yard pass interference call on the first play from scrimmage. Then, after two Rachaad White netted 25 yards, Tampa Bay was on the edge of the red zone. But just when things got going, a Tom Brady miss on 3rd & 3 forced a Ryan Succop field goal try. He connected from 38 yards out, giving the Bucs an early 3-0 lead.

Bucs OLB Anthony Nelson – Photo by: USA Today

Tampa Bay’s defense looked to get off the field pretty quickly on Arizona’s first drive, but a fake punt pass by punter Andy Lee moved the chains. Arizona drove methodically down the field from there and threatened inside the red zone, but a third-down strip sack by Anthony Nelson — with Devin White on the recovery — kept the Bucs’ lead intact.

Tampa Bay failed to take advantage of the turnover, and right before the end of the first quarter, a 20-yard run by Greg Dortch was the only play the Cardinals needed to set Matt Prater up for a 56-yard game-tying field goal. Through 15 minutes, the two teams were knotted at 3-3.

After a couple of stagnant drives, Brady and the Bucs offense got moving again on their next possession. A third-and-short conversion from Brady to Chris Godwin moved things along before a 23-yard run by Fournette — his longest run of the season — got Tampa Bay into Arizona territory.

A fourth-down Brady sneak to the 16-yard line gave the unit a fresh set of downs, but penalties kicked in after that. An illegal shift nullified a Jones touchdown, then a holding penalty on Tristan Wirfs negated a first down. After failing to convert a 3rd & 19, the Bucs had to settle for another Succop field goal. Still, the 35-yarder gave the visitors a 6-3 lead midway through the second quarter.

Bucs QB Tom Brady – Photo by: USA Today

After a punt gave them solid field position around midfield, the Bucs once again got just outside the red zone before disaster struck. Pressure allowed by third-string left tackle Brandon Walton led to Brady’s seventh interception in the last six games.

Yet again, Tampa Bay’s defense held strong. A Sean Murphy-Bunting pass breakup and heavy pressure on third down by Davis and White forced another Cardinals punt. But the offense continued to stagnate, and finally, McSorley and the Cardinals took advantage. It only took a 35-yard drive to set Prater up for another game-tying field goal — this time from 53 yards out. At halftime, it was a 6-6 game.

Out of the break, the Buccaneer defense forced a quick three-and-out. But what followed was an even quicker three-and-out from Tampa Bay’s offense. The pressure, once again, was on the defense to do something. Helped by a couple of Cardinals penalties, the unit forced another three-and-out.

But just as the Bucs started moving the chains again, Brady threw his second interception of the night — again to Marco Wilson and again on a pass intended for Mike Evans.

Cardinals QB Trace McSorley – Photo by: USA Today

And as well as the Bucs kept the Cardinals in check offensively, it couldn’t last forever. One big play, which happened to be a 47-yard deep ball from McSorley to Hollywood Brown, got Arizona within Prater’s range. To open the fourth quarter, the veteran kicker made it a 9-6 lead for the home team with a 39-yard field goal.

In response to Arizona’s go-ahead drive, the Tampa Bay offense went three-and-out again. And to make matters worse, Pharoh Cooper returned the ensuing punt 28 yards to the Bucs’ 33, hurdling Jake Camarda along the way. After a questionable spot on a third-down McSorley sneak, James Conner ran for a 22-yard touchdown to put the Cardinals up 16-6 with 10:47 to go.

The Bucs finally showed some offensive life with their backs against the wall. A 33-yard kick return by Deven Thompkins and a 44-yard catch-and-run by Fournette got Tampa Bay to Arizona’s 23. Eventually, the Bucs found the end zone. Brady hit Rachaad White for a three-yard touchdown on third down to get them back within three with 8:03 to go.

On the Cardinals’ next possession, rookie Keaontay Ingram couldn’t handle a 3rd & 1 pitch play, and Will Gholston recovered the loose ball. With just under five minutes to go, the Bucs had it back right around midfield.

A 12-yard pass to Godwin and an eight-yarder to Russell Gage got the ball moving, but the offense soon stalled. After a 3rd & 8 miss, Succop came on to tie the game with a 42-yard field goal. With 2:27 to go, the Bucs and Cardinals were even at 16.

The Bucs ultimately got the ball back with 1:36 to go, starting at their own 34 and needing a field goal to escape the desert with an improbable win. A second-down completion to Otton set up 3rd & 3 and against a stacked box, they ran Fournette up the middle for one yard. That meant, with under a minute to go, Tampa Bay had to punt. Arizona went from its own 20 and got to midfield, but a last-second Hail Mary attempt was intercepted by Keanu Neal to send the game to overtime.

The Cardinals won the coin toss in overtime, but they quickly had to punt the ball away. Thompkins called for a fair catch at the 12 on the kick, so Brady and the offense went from there — once again needing just a field goal to win.

Bucs QB Tom Brady – Photo by: USA Today

Throws to Evans and Gage moved the chains twice for Tampa Bay, getting the ball down to the 47. A five-yard pass to Jones then got the Bucs into Cardinals’ territory before Brady and Evans connected for a gain of 16 to the 32. They didn’t go conservative from there, either, with Brady finding Gage for another 13 yards to the 19 on the next play. A false start and two runs later, Succop came on to drill a game-winning 40-yard field goal. Bucs 19, Cardinals 16.

Brady had a game to forget for most of the night, but he finished with 281 yards and a touchdown to two interceptions on 32-of-48 passing. Fournette was the go-to guy, catching nine of his 10 targets for 90 yards while running for 72 yards on 20 carries. White had the touchdown to go with 36 yards on seven carries and four catches for 17 yards. Gage was the guy who came through on the game-winning drive, and he finished the game with five catches for 65 yards.

Defensively, Devin White had three quarterback hits, as did Joe Tryon-Shoyinka. Nelson came up with the sack and a forced fumble, while White had the recovery. Succop was the hero, of course, connecting on all four of his field goal attempts and his extra point try to account for 13 of the team’s 19 points.

The Bucs (7-8) now return to Raymond James Stadium next Sunday with a chance to clinch the NFC South. They’ll need to beat the Panthers (6-9) to capture their second consecutive division crown. Kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m.