It was a glorious scene for TB-12 fans as Brady earned his 31st career playoff victory. Brady has now beaten 17 different teams in the playoffs. He’s beaten more teams than any QB has total wins in playoff history, which is totally amazing. The Buccaneers now advance to the divisional round after beating the Washington Football Team in a hard fought game.
Game Flow
First Half
It started off well for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. An opening drive for the Bucs would result in a Field Goal, putting Tampa up 3-0 out of the gate. The Bucs would then hold Washington scoreless for a few drives, and come back late in the first with another good drive down field. Brady would connect with Godwin on a key third and ten play to keep the drive open. Then a few plays later on third and three, Brady threw a dime into Antonio Browns hands for a 36 yard TD. At the end of the first, Tampa was up 9-0. Then at the beginning of the 2nd quarter, Washington had a 10 play drive that went 75 yards. J.D McKissic had a 2 yard rushing TD. Tampa wasn’t done in the first half as they would rally to score yet another TD with a connection from TB12 to Godwin. Tampa would also score another Field Goal and take an 18-7 lead into the half.
Second Half
In the second half, Washington was not done. Taylor Heinicke had a terrific diving TD, in which he dove for the pylon. This made it a close 18-16 game after the missed 2 point conversion. Fast forwarding, an incomplete pass on 4th and 21 ended the game. Tyler Heinicke a journeyman QB who had only made two prior starts to this game, racked up 306 passing yards and 46 yards on the ground. Heinicke gets major credit, even after the loss.
Hear What Taylor Heinicke Had To Say After The Game
Regardless of the outcome what a great game by Heinicke!
— Patrick Mahomes II (@PatrickMahomes) January 10, 2021
Antonio Brown
At the beginning of the year, things did not look good for Antonio Brown. His off-field actions had gotten him kicked off the Patriots and he was looking for a new home. In the early part of the year, the Buccaneers were an early contender to sign Brown. However, Coach Arians shot down the idea and pretty much said we will not be signing him. Brown would remain unsigned for the first month of the season. He finally got signed on October 27th, by the Buccaneers. This came as a surprising move to many, as Arians clearly demonstrated that he did not want Brown on the team. However, people had to remember that Brady was in charge here too. Throughout the season Brady continued to jell with Brown and the Buccaneers would really start to look like the team they were on paper. In the NFC Wild Card game, Brown finished with two catches for 49 yards and a touchdown, as well as 22 yards rushing.