TAMPA — Poor Tom Brady. That’s three straight the ugly way.
What a serious crisis for the iconic quarterback and his Tampa Bay Buccaneers, pounded 27-22 by the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday night in a contest that wasn’t as close as the final score indicated.
And it came with a special distinction: Brady has lost three consecutive games for the first time in two decades, looking like a shell of himself in a matchup featuring two former NFL MVP quarterbacks.
The Ravens (5-3) wore down a depleted Bucs defense by rushing for a whopping 231 yards, but also capped two drives with crisp TD passes from Lamar Jackson, who threw for 238 yards with no picks.
Brady (26-of-44, 325 yards) didn’t throw an interception either. But he also managed only one TD pass (on fourth down late in the fourth quarter) during a sluggish performance at Raymond James Stadium marked by near-misses, blown opportunities and wayward passes.
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It continued an unfortunate pattern for Brady’s unit, which converted just 4 of 13 third downs and managed to rush for only 44 yards (2.9 yards per carry). And on three occasions when the Bucs drove into striking range inside the 15-yard line, they settled for Ryan Succop field goals.
What’s wrong?
“Pretty much everything,” Brady said, assessing the litany of offensive woes. “Red area. Third downs. The running game. Short-yardage. Backed up (with field position). Start of the fourth quarter. Start of the third quarter.”
It’s an extensive list – and the defense has its own list – prompting first-year Bucs coach Todd Bowles to consider significant adjustments.
“We’re going to talk about everything this weekend,” Bowles said. “When you’re not winning, everything is on the table.”
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Tampa Bay (3-5) was upset in the previous two weeks by the one-win Pittsburgh Steelers and one-win Carolina Panthers. Being desperate or facing the prospect of being embarrassed in prime-time didn’t help the cause. The woes are legit. And they have continued with another layer.
The Bucs led 10-3 at halftime, but Baltimore – which lost tight end Mark Andrews and receiver Rashod Bateman to injuries – passed a gut-check and took over the game by rushing for 204 yards in the second half.
“We are able to finish again,” said Ravens coach John Harbaugh, whose squad has, at least for the moment, shaken off the pattern of blowing leads in the second half. “Fourth quarter, we talked a little bit about that; that was nice to see. So, I’m proud of our guys.”
Three other things we learned Thursday night:
Brady achieves a record he’d rather give back. The Bucs quarterback was on the wrong end of a dubious NFL record, enduring his 555th career sack when dropped by Justin Houston in the second quarter, breaking the mark he shared with the recently retired Ben Roethlisberger. Hey, this is what can happen when you’ve lasted to play a 23rd season. It was also indicative of the spotty protection Brady has been getting from his rebuilt O-line. As if to prove the new record is no fluke, Brady was sacked again on the next play by Houston.
Isaiah is Likely to go down as a draft gem. With Pro Bowl tight end Mark Andrews knocked out of the game with a shoulder injury, the next man up proved to be more than capable. Rookie Isaiah Likely led the Ravens with six catches for 77 yards and demonstrated his nimble feet with his “toe-tap swag” on a 10-yard, go-ahead TD late in the third quarter.
Likely looks like one of the steals of the most recent NFL draft, selected out of Coastal Carolina in the fourth round (139th overall). And fittingly, it was Likely who recovered the onside kick in the final seconds that sealed the win.
The Bucs can actually score a touchdown in the first quarter, but ... It hadn’t happened all season until Thursday night, when Leonard Fournette punched home a 1-yard TD to cap an eight-play, 75-yard drive. Tampa Bay’s struggling O has had notoriously slow starts, but the early scoring march against the Ravens was hardly an omen. The Bucs didn’t score another touchdown until a last-gasp score in garbage time – after three earlier drives stalled inside the 15-yard line.
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