It was a bizarre performance for the Bucs offense in Week 10, falling to Washington 29-19. Tampa Bay’s offense managed just six first half points, then received limited opportunities the rest of the game. The Bucs had just four second half drives, scoring touchdowns on two of them. But one missing element of the offense was concerning: the lack of splash plays in the passing game.

With Washington dropping into tons of deep zone coverages, opportunities to convert down the field were few and far between. Brady’s 5.0 air yards per attempt was by far his lowest mark of the season. Most of the game, interior pressure and Washington’s coverage scheme prevented big plays. Four first half drops and two turnovers were the bigger story for the Bucs offense.

But in the second half, Brady did pass on a couple open intermediate throws to go underneath. Speaking to the media on Saturday, Brady was honest about his play in Week 10.

Bucs QB Tom Brady and HC Bruce Arians – Photo by: USA Today

“They did a good job,” Brady said. “They did a good job. I think we just have to keep understanding how teams are trying to defend us. There [are] definitely some throws that I wish I would have held on to the ball longer to throw the ball. More intermediate passes I would say. I have to do a good job of getting the ball to the guys who are open and just putting us in a position to find the open guy and make a good throw. I can certainly do a better job at that than I did last week.”

Most will focus on Brady’s admittance that he should have thrown the ball downfield a couple more times. But his statement about understanding how teams are defending the Bucs is even more critical. Opposing defenses are smothering the deep portions of the field right now, forcing the Bucs underneath in the passing game. If Tampa Bay is going to thrive offensively, they must attack intermediate like they did out of the bye week in 2020. The best way to do that is inserting copious amounts of play-action into the offense again.

On Monday’s episode of the Pewter Report Podcast, Paul Atwal and I broke down the All-22 tape of Brady’s performance. You can watch that episode in its’ entirety right here.