The Buccaneers bounced back in a big way on Sunday, going on there road and dismantling the Carolina Panthers 46-23. With over 500 yards of offensive a lot went right and the Most Impressive List was pretty easy this week.
Here are the Bucs Most Impressive from Sunday’s win over Carolina.
RB Ronald Jones
Jones went from goat to hero during the course of Sunday’s win over Carolina. With his second fumble on a pass reception in the last three weeks, the gaffe cost the Buccaneers seven points as Carolina was able to capitalize on the miscue and take an early 7-0 lead. But unlike the Giants game, Jones bounced back and did so in a big way running for a career-high 192 yards on 23 carries including a back-breaking 98-yard jaunt which is the longest scoring play in Buccaneers history.
QB Tom Brady
Brady missed at least three deep balls that would have likely been touchdowns, but still had a terrific game going 28-of-39 for 341 yards with three passing scores and one on the ground. Brady was on a mission to rebound from the worst loss of his career in last week’s disaster to the Saints, and unfortunately for Panthers he took out his frustration on their secondary.
OLB Jason Pierre-Paul
Pierre-Paul brings the energy and leadership to the Bucs defense. On Sunday his interception of a Teddy Bridgewater pass sparked what had been a somewhat shaky performance by Tampa Bay’s defense up until to that point. Pierre-Paul also collected a sack on the day to push his team-leading total to 7.5 on the season. Pierre-Paul finished the day with three tackles to go along with his sack and interception.
Bucs Offensive Line
After the worst performance of the year last week against the Saints, the Bucs offensive line came back in stellar form against the Panthers. Brady was sacked just once on the afternoon and when given time, he is proving to essentially be unstoppable. Add in the fact they were able to rack up 210 yards on the ground it was even more impressive that they did it without their best lineman, Ali Marpet, in the lineup.
TE Cam Brate
Brate has been overshadowed this year with the addition of Rob Gronkowski, but just comes to work and makes the most of his opportunities. On Sunday Brate made a really tough catch to get Tampa Bay on the board in the first quarter, but it was his catch-and-run for a first down on third-and-19 that earned him a spot on this weekly list.
WR Chris Godwin
All three of the Bucs starting wide receivers – Godwin, Mike Evans and Antonio Brown – had solid days, but Godwin was the grinder and ended the afternoon as the teams leading receiver with 92 yards on six receptions. Oh, and he did it with pins still in his hand from a broken finger that occurred last month at Las Vegas.
K Ryan Succop
After years of trying to replace Matt Bryant, Tampa Bay has found their man in Succop who was perfect on the day on field goals going 4-for-4. Succop did miss an extra point, however it was blocked and not technically missed. On the year Succop has now racked 90 points, most by any kicker in the NFL.
Honorable Mentions: WRs Mike Evans and Antonio Brown, TE Rob Gronkowski