Bucs head coach Bruce Arians doesn’t mince words very often. This Sunday was no exception, as Arians was critical of the Bucs second half offensive performance in a 33-27 victory over the Bills. Tampa Bay executed poorly in the second half, but the play-calling also left a lot to be desired. But after the game, Arians seemed to cast blame on quarterback Tom Brady for the offensive struggles.

“We missed wide open guys and didn’t covert on third down,” Arians said when asked about the second half. “So we couldn’t stay on the field. When we ran it, we got a little bit. But we were always third-and-fourth, third-and-five, third-and-six and punt. Just go back and look at the tape to see what we’re doing right and what we’re doing wrong.”

After an unbelievable first half performance, Brady uncharacteristically missed a few second half throws. The future Hall of Famer missed Rob Gronkowski down the seam on the first possession of the second half. A completion there would have put the Bucs in field goal range. Instead, the offense went four-and-out. On the next possession, Brady threw too low for a wide open Chris Godwin in the middle of the field on third down.

Bucs QB Tom Brady – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

However, outside of those two throws, Brady’s accuracy was mostly outstanding. Those throws certainly mattered in the context of the game, but it seems unusual that Arians would zero in on just a couple plays. After all, the Bucs ran the ball poorly almost all second half. Offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich also put Brady in several bad situations with questionable play calls as well.

“I’ll grade the tape,” Arians said. “But really we had guys wide open and we just missed them on offense.”

Brady finished the game 31-46 for 363 yards and two touchdowns. The Bucs’ best player committed zero turnovers while being sacked twice. Brady also ran for 16 yards and a touchdown.

“No, he’s fine,” Arians said when asked about Brady’s health post-scrambles. “We checked him a number of times, but it wasn’t his best second half. It was a great first half and a good overtime.”

In the first half, Brady was 19-26 for 216 yards and two touchdowns (one rushing, one passing). During the second half, Brady was just 8-16 for 76 yards and no scores. The Bucs managed just one field goal in regulation after halftime. But in overtime, Brady went 4-4 for 71 yards and the game-winning touchdown.