Welcome to a NEW post-game column, where I’ll take a look at the moment(s) the game turned either in favor or against the Buccaneers. This isn’t meant to be a comprehensive look at all the reasons the Bucs won or lost, but instead the key moment or two where things went north or south for the team.
The Game-Changer
The key turning point in the game was obvious, as Chargers running back Joshua Kelley let a handoff slip through his arms with the team attempting to run out the clock on a 24-7 first half lead with 47 seconds left until the break.
With the Bucs desperately in need of a big play on defense, defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh knifed through the Chargers offensive line and dropped Kelley three yards deep in the backfield, knocking loose a football that the rookie running back was already struggling to hold onto. Linebacker Devin White recovered the loose ball, and the Bucs offense was in business with a first-and-goal from the six-yard line.
Joshua Kelley fumble inside his own 10 yard line #GoBucs ball pic.twitter.com/FAlTWCFOY0
— Roto Street Journal (RSJ) (@RotoStJournal) October 4, 2020
Three plays later, Tom Brady scrambled and found Mike Evans in the back of the end zone for a touchdown, cutting the Chargers halftime lead to 24-14. If the Chargers weren’t going to be aggressive and try to score with under 50 seconds left in the half, why not just kneel the ball and head to the locker room? The puzzling call came back to bite Los Angeles on the fumble, and the Bucs capitalized.
But there was a second game-changing moment that occurred in the second half, with the Bucs trailing 24-21. Tom Brady had been working the short-intermediate area of the field for the most part, but failed to hit Scotty Miller deep on a few throws in the first half.
That changed in the second half, when the Bucs took over with a first-and-10 from their own 37-yard line. On first-and-10, Brady dropped back to throw and heaved the ball 44 yards deep to Miller, who hung on for a huge gain to the Chargers’ 19-yard line.
Back-to-back throws to Scotty Miller have the @Buccaneers on top! @TomBrady
📺: #LACvsTB on CBS
📱: NFL app // Yahoo Sports app: https://t.co/wvEEn0SFTV pic.twitter.com/6TcoRpLCM2— NFL (@NFL) October 4, 2020
The Bucs simply run verticals on the outside and a post from O.J. Howard in-line, and the single-high free safety sits on the post long enough for Brady to drop one in over the top to Miller. The Bucs diminutive receiver raced right by Casey Heyward on the go route, showing off that 4.3 speed.
On the very next play, the Bucs went play-action from the shotgun (gasp!), with Brady pulling the ball out of Ronald Jones’ stomach to rifle in the crossing pattern to Miller for an easy touchdown.
Although the Bucs only held the 28-24 lead for a mere 52 seconds before the Chargers answered back, it was a clear indication that the Tampa Bay offense had all of the firepower and talent they needed offensively, if they could just get out of their own way with drops and penalties. With the defense holding the Chargers to just seven second half points, the Bucs offense found their rhythm, and rolled up 24 points after halftime to improve to 3-1.