Buccaneers 31, Washington 23
January 9th, 2021
Bring on the Saints!!!!
Or another home game against the Rams!
The Bucs had their struggles tonight in Washington, but they powered through and did a handful of impressive things.
First, racking up 31 points and 500-plus yards of offense on Washington is damn special. The hadn’t allowed more than 20 points — twenty — since Nov. 15.
The Bucs were balanced, with Tom Brady hanging 381 yards and two touchdowns on Washington, and the run game was there through th night.
Unfortunately, the Bucs also impressed by making Washington quarterback Taylor Heinicke, a true third-stringer that was out of football for much of this season, look like a special quarterback.
Even without a running game, Heinicke was able to carve up the Bucs. Totally unacceptable for a prideful Bucs defense that finished in the NFL’s top-10.
Major love for Mike Evans bouncing back after an ugly knee injury with 119 yards on 6 catches and 10 targets, and Cameron Brate was money all game. How bout two seventh-year Bucs shining in their first taste of the playoffs!!
Chris Godwin had the dropsies and Rob Gronkowski was invisible, and the Bucs offense didn’t even need them.
The depth showed up big time, with Ted Larsen stepping in for injured Alex Cappa, and Leonard Fournette rising up with a full-time load for injured Ronald Jones (bad quad).
A big sack late by Lavonte David was a sweet ending to the Bucs’ first playoff win since the Super Bowl 18 years ago!
January 9th, 2021 at 11:36 pm
The Bucs D cant do that lame ass zone defense.
Real teams will eat them up.
January 9th, 2021 at 11:36 pm
We won!!!!
January 9th, 2021 at 11:36 pm
Chase Young got owned.
January 9th, 2021 at 11:37 pm
That was way too close, but somehow ( because of TB12) I knew we would win!!
GO BUCS!
January 9th, 2021 at 11:37 pm
Gronk was too busy doing Donnie’s job.
January 9th, 2021 at 11:37 pm
Go Bucs!
And rooting for the Bears here so that we can host the Rams!
January 9th, 2021 at 11:37 pm
Prideful defense???
January 9th, 2021 at 11:37 pm
It’s a playoff game we shouldn’t just expect to roll teams. Great gutted out win! First playoff win since the Super Bowl! Crazy!
January 9th, 2021 at 11:37 pm
Happy the Bucs won but, that secondary needs a lot of help, maybe it’s the zone coverage.
January 9th, 2021 at 11:37 pm
Glad we won but I said a couple of days ago, Let’s stop putting ourselves in the Super Bowl ! This team is still inconsistent. I’m glad Evans and David showed up big in their first playoff game.
January 9th, 2021 at 11:38 pm
Media needs to let BA know how we all feel about this defense right now. NOT GOOD. Can Vita Vea play next week??? I know he already addressed that but man, we need Vita!!
Smh
January 9th, 2021 at 11:38 pm
Where was the defense? Way too close for comfort. A win is a win but that was not good.
January 9th, 2021 at 11:38 pm
Curse of kirk in Washington
January 9th, 2021 at 11:38 pm
Donovan Smith stepped up
January 9th, 2021 at 11:38 pm
Our secondary is a problem, but damn this feels great! It’s been a long time coming but here we are! Let’s go!!!!
January 9th, 2021 at 11:38 pm
I got 2 words for this gm.
TOM BRADY
January 9th, 2021 at 11:39 pm
I’m so happy we won a playoff game! First one since the super bowl, something to be proud of! Plus the offense looked awesome against a good D. The bad….. The D should be embarrassed. If it wasn’t for David, they might have lost that game. Let SMB walk home and figure out how to cover a receiver. The D line was a joke tonight, can’t get to the QB at all.
January 9th, 2021 at 11:39 pm
I don’t even feel like we won. This game was just a glimpse into our issues again. Defense is really bad
January 9th, 2021 at 11:39 pm
Player of the game: Mike Evans
January 9th, 2021 at 11:39 pm
Awesome game, Bucs offense looked really good against a very good WFT Defense
January 9th, 2021 at 11:40 pm
Look up Chase Young’s stat line and you will see…Donavon f**c#!ng Smith! Go Bucs!
January 9th, 2021 at 11:40 pm
What is with all of the complaining? SCOREBOARD.
January 9th, 2021 at 11:40 pm
Backup XFL QB made the bucs D look awful.
Better hope the bears can do it tomorrow, Rodgers and Brees smoked a cigar watching this game.
January 9th, 2021 at 11:40 pm
Great win for Bucs! but Heinicke played a helluva game! – he deserves some credit. The guy eluded the Bucs pass rush all night.
January 9th, 2021 at 11:40 pm
As much as they kept showing him you would have thought that Chase Young was a perennial All-Pro. He did nothing.
I can do without ever watching a game announced by Tony Dungy and Mike Tirico ever again.
January 9th, 2021 at 11:41 pm
Not sure I’ll survive the stress of next weekend!!!
January 9th, 2021 at 11:41 pm
Great to win a playoff game!!!.. Shouldn’t have been this close.
January 9th, 2021 at 11:41 pm
Doosh…
Excellent point about Gronk, but Hey, DS76 didn’t have a penalty at just the wrong time so👍😁
January 9th, 2021 at 11:41 pm
I’m emotional right now.
I haven’t seen the Bucs win a playoff game since I was 20 years old.
I’LL NEVER STOP LOVING THE BUCS.
CHEERS to all my fellow REAL BUCS FANS.
It’s been too long brothers and sisters!
And they’re not done yet!
January 9th, 2021 at 11:41 pm
We won which is unreal!!!!!
But that defensive backfield is just putrid. Need to get more pressure or they are TOAST
January 9th, 2021 at 11:41 pm
Okay, Godwin got it out of his system.
“System…did you hear that?!”
Out…of…his…system.
Next week we’re back to the same ‘ol.
He doesn’t drop nuthin!
January 9th, 2021 at 11:42 pm
Game ball Donovan Smith. Haters silenced!!
January 9th, 2021 at 11:42 pm
Not going off on the secondary, any QB that comfortable in the pocket will pick apart a team
January 9th, 2021 at 11:42 pm
Joe, Godwin did have the dropsies…but Gronk was blocking like a beast all night long. Just didn’t need him running routes tonight!
January 9th, 2021 at 11:42 pm
Glad we got the win!
But sadly we better soak it up cuz this defense is gonna get killed next week.
January 9th, 2021 at 11:42 pm
Tom’s little but looked so hot. I want to swallow me some Gronk! Slurp!
January 9th, 2021 at 11:43 pm
Gronk chipped Young some but Donovan Smith owned him. Had him one on one most of the time. Give the man some respect.
January 9th, 2021 at 11:43 pm
Succop…….Money
January 9th, 2021 at 11:43 pm
Godwin was awful his TD catch. Like wtf happened to him?
4 drops in 1 game?
January 9th, 2021 at 11:43 pm
This is a very different game with Devin White and Ronald Jones on the field.
JPP has no business playing right defensive end anymore. He rarely generates a rush.
January 9th, 2021 at 11:43 pm
Gronk loves to block.
January 9th, 2021 at 11:43 pm
I hope Bowles gets the ATL job … we gotta get a real DC. And some DBs. Dean and Burnting are horrible.
January 9th, 2021 at 11:43 pm
We found a way to win THANK YOU BUCS!!!!!!!!
January 9th, 2021 at 11:43 pm
*after his TD catch
January 9th, 2021 at 11:43 pm
Thank God the Bucs is not a one and done team like the Seahawks…. GO BUCS !
January 9th, 2021 at 11:44 pm
It’s a playoff win so I’ll take it.
At least I can watch football tomorrow now.
The Saints will prolly take them out next week.
January 9th, 2021 at 11:44 pm
Our defense sucks. Period.
January 9th, 2021 at 11:44 pm
We would have crucified Alex Smith tonight…
January 9th, 2021 at 11:44 pm
Skins are usually pesky for us.
January 9th, 2021 at 11:44 pm
D Smith played pretty great. He deserves some props.
In fact the whole o-line played pretty well outside 1 of the sacks then they let a d/lineman get free and rush unblocked.
January 9th, 2021 at 11:46 pm
Smith stole Chaed Young’s lunch made him his bitch
January 9th, 2021 at 11:46 pm
No screens to AB tonight…..surprised…..
Gronk was blocking all night…..
We definitely missed Devin White…..only one fast enough to take down their mobile QB…..
January 9th, 2021 at 11:46 pm
Whew. We did it. But now we know why the line was so small- everybody’s figured out we don’t have a secondary.
January 9th, 2021 at 11:46 pm
Super disappointing not to see Rojo run, Fournette had his best game of the season but..,
January 9th, 2021 at 11:46 pm
I want these players to hold me down and grunt when they release in me. Great win! So happy! I’ll enjoy a Milwaukee Milkshake tonight.
January 9th, 2021 at 11:46 pm
I’m so tired of watching SMB looking lost n out of place. He was garbage on his delay corner blitz. He n JDean are outta their league. They are very passive deer in the head light tacklers. We need to address the corners next year, CDavis is fine. He’s an aggressive baller.
January 9th, 2021 at 11:47 pm
Can we please love Shaq back to the right. He is much more effective rushing from the right end
January 9th, 2021 at 11:47 pm
Fournette has what Brady loves. Brains, blitz pick-up, running style, route running with good hands. He ran a beautiful route on a screen.
January 9th, 2021 at 11:49 pm
The Bucs pulled it off and kept jerking and tugging on them to get the win! Great win! They made sure to hold the other team close and slurp up their mistakes! Great win!
January 9th, 2021 at 11:50 pm
alright
I need to give a shoutout to Donavan Smith for really stepping up tonight.
January 9th, 2021 at 11:51 pm
Hope Cappa is ok by next week Need Devin White Zone defense is a disaster for this team
January 9th, 2021 at 11:53 pm
This team is amazing. They kept grabbing and releasing pressure and swallowing hard when it got hard. The lapped up and completely swallowed what the men on the other team kept sticking down their throats. Great win!
January 9th, 2021 at 11:54 pm
Godwin just had a bad game. It happens. Brady believes in him. He right back to him. I have noticed all year that he leaves his feet sometimes when he doesn’t need to. Miller does it too. Anyway Godwin will bounce back big.
January 9th, 2021 at 11:57 pm
Heinekin had no mental pressure, was not expected to do well, easier to play like that. What happened to ROJO cause we need Vaughn to warm the bench that was a costly fumble Fournette performed and Brate was money! Gronk is a real team player no diva nonsense.
January 9th, 2021 at 11:57 pm
Devin White returns next week right? Kevin Minter is a decent player while White is not. White is not decent he’s one of the best in the league and as TBBF mentioned we really missed his speed and I would add fire.
Take the starting star MLB and the starting RB from any team and it’s tough.
Although Fournette did not miss a beat…it was the best he’s run all year…he looked like the Fournette of old.
BTW I’m growing weary of the hyperbole about Donavan Smith. How many times did Chase Young get to Brady…one hurry for sure..perhaps another… on one of Fournette’s runs in the 4th it was DS who absolutely stonewalled Young giving Fournette a huge hole.
I just wish I didn’t have to hold my breath with our ST’s…at least we have the best kicker since…Grammatica? Succop was money tonight…alas his OL was not. Is that the 2nd or 3rd xtra point blocked. And am I the only one who holds his breath on every ST return. At least Mickens seems to be steady if totally unspectacular and marginally effective.
January 9th, 2021 at 11:58 pm
Yeah would like to see Barret back to the right. Should draft jpp replacement next year. Would be nice if we could find a good rotational guy like Barret that can become a starter
January 9th, 2021 at 11:58 pm
I hope Todd Bowles knows that his defense sucks tonight. I hope BA is not sugarcoating his defense on what we saw in this game.
January 9th, 2021 at 11:58 pm
In free agency as well
January 10th, 2021 at 12:00 am
Who balled out:
Brady
Fournette
Evans
Brate
LVD
January 10th, 2021 at 12:05 am
Did young plAy tonight?🤷🏻♂️
January 10th, 2021 at 12:10 am
Playoff wins are earned, a great job bye the entire organization!
January 10th, 2021 at 12:11 am
Spbf
If you hold your breath over ST’s , what do you do over the secondary? Self induced coma? Propyphol?
January 10th, 2021 at 12:12 am
That broadcaster jinx they point on Chris Godwin’s hands was….it was something, that’s for sure. Glad we won though, Godwin will be back to normal next week!
Now this defense….they need to wake the hell up
GO BUCS!
January 10th, 2021 at 12:16 am
HomerSimpsonRocks Says:
January 10th, 2021 at 12:00 am
Who balled out:
Brady
Fournette
Evans
Brate
LVD
Donovan Smith
January 10th, 2021 at 12:18 am
Awesome win, awesome game. I can’t wait for next week. 😛
January 10th, 2021 at 12:19 am
Fact is we won. Truth is the WFT has a top 5 O-line and top 3 D-line. Without Vita, without D. White, without Cappa (part time), without RoJo, and with the drops we won. Bucs are good and will need Cappa and White for next week. With them back and correcting the drops, we have a chance. Let’s enjoy another week of looking for Bucs articles, highlights, interviews, conversations and enjoy it for what it is. It’s been too long. Remember it and enjoy it.
Glad the backups and next men up came through. Solid coaching? You be the judge.
January 10th, 2021 at 12:21 am
BL IS WORKING MAGIC
D.SMITH LOOKED GREAT
GO BUCS
January 10th, 2021 at 12:42 am
We put up 31 points against a very good defense even with some bad drops. We shouldn’t have been surprised by the defense, it’s been like this even with White playing. Said it before this offense is going to have to carry this team because this defense and ST ain’t doing it any favors!
January 10th, 2021 at 12:42 am
We put up 31 points against a very good defense even with some bad drops. We shouldn’t have been surprised by the defense, it’s been like this even with White playing. Said it before this offense is going to have to carry this team because this defense and ST ain’t doing it any favors!
January 10th, 2021 at 12:58 am
I’m happy for David and Mike .
January 10th, 2021 at 1:00 am
2020 Season:
EXPECTATIONS MET. THE REST IS GRAVY.
BE HAPPY IT HAS BEEN 18 YEARS SINCE WE ENJOYED A WIN THIS LATE IN THE SEASON.
2021 WILL BE OUR TRUE SUPERBOWL RUN WHEN WE FIX THE REST OF THE HOLES AND IMPROVE.
January 10th, 2021 at 1:48 am
Wow. We won a playoff game and most of you still find things to complain about. This is why I’ve reduced my time here.
Time for some truth:
• Chris Godwin played fine. It’s not that he had the dropsies, it’s that playoff teams recognize him as a threat, so he’s getting double covered. That’s why Evan was open so much.
• Young played both sides. Smith needed Gronk help but Wirfs shut him down almost constantly.
• I forget Ted Larsen was still on the team!
• Defense really wasn’t as bad as you all make out. In fact they did well until Bowles went into prevent early in the 4th.
• Brady made the NFL record books again tonight.
• I wonder what Winston is thinking, seeing someone do what he could not?
January 10th, 2021 at 1:49 am
snookman, what are your perceived holes?
We better make it this year.
January 10th, 2021 at 7:18 am
We made that way more difficult than it should’ve been but throughout the game I never got the impression that Washington could win. No real fear we’d lose however the D needs a major upgrade in effort next week if we want to advance to the NFCCG. Other items of note:
– Brady is absolutely rolling. Averaging 340 YPG in his last five with 14 TD’s and ONE pick.
– By the same token the offense looks unstoppable. We’ve scored more than 30 points in four straight and show no signs of slowing down.
– Need RoJo back in a bad way next week. Vaughn isn’t ready for prime time yet and can’t rely on Fournette for 25+ touches.
– The hidden benefit to Gronk was on display in this one – as a blocker. He chipped Young multiple times and gave Brady the extra second or two which was all he needed.
– SMB is such a liability in the secondary. Constantly out of position and then trying to catch up. Really tired of watching receivers run past him.
– Please please please blitz next game Bowles. Please. I beg you. Our front four wasn’t generating much penetration but Bowles was content to let the secondary sit back in zone which gave Heinicke tons of time to hit receivers. When we finally brought the heat on the last drive, he did what an inexperienced third string QB who was playing hurt would do – made hurried throws and made mistakes. Don’t get me wrong the kid played tough, but all this “may be looking at a future franchise QB” talk is nonsense. We made him look good by our lack of pressure.
As much as I’d love to end New Orleans season in the Superdome, getting revenge on the Rams at home sounds even better. Go Bears! Go Bucs! Excited for next week.
January 10th, 2021 at 9:51 am
The win was fantastic!
But if this D cannot get it’s spit together, it’ll get whacked by N.O.
January 10th, 2021 at 10:44 am
I knew Bucs would win when I called it a night in the third. That offense is beginning to look as tough as the SB defense was back in 2002. Only complaint was over the stupid 2-point call. Who called it? Let Succop kick the PAT. What is going on with Bowles and the secondary? He is wasting Jordan Whitehead for one thing. Bowles gets another job offer, take it. Still, glad the Bucs did it. I am proud to call them MIGHTY again.