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A week after being embarrassed by the Saints on national television, Tom Brady and the Buccaneers responded by removing all their frustrations with the Carolina Panthers in a broken 46-23 win. The Buccaneers made a lot of changes after their 38-3 loss to New Orleans and they all seemed to pay off. One of the most notable changes this week has come on the offensive line, with Ryan Jensen being moved from center to guard. With Jensen no longer slamming the ball to Brady, the job was handed over to AQ Shipley.
The decision to make the switch paid off as Brady rarely faced pressure during the victory. The 43-year-old quarterback had plenty of time to pitch almost every time he stepped back, and Brady definitely took advantage by ending up completing 28 of 39 passes for 341 yards and three touchdowns.
One of Brady’s most impressive passes came with a 44-yard strike against Rob Gronkowski that the Buccaneers desperately needed. On the pass, the Buccaneers faced a second and a 13 with just under two minutes left in the first half while trailing 17-10.
Gronk’s catch took the Buccaneers from the Carolina 48-yard line to 4. Three games later, Brady hit Mike Evans for a three-yard scoreline that seemed to give Tampa Bay all the momentum. Including that touchdown, the Buccaneers would outweigh the Panthers 36-6 from this point on.
Speaking of Evans, he was a hot topic in Tampa this week and that’s because Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians was clearly frustrated that Brady didn’t turn to Evans more in the 38-3 loss. of Tampa Bay versus New Orleans.
“Mike was open a few times in this ball game,” Arians said after the Week 9 loss. “He wasn’t targeted, that was it. Mike was open.”
Brady clearly took criticism to heart, as he turned to Evans early on and often against the Panthers. Of the 39 passes Brady threw in the game, 11 of them went to Evans, who caught six passes for 77 yards and a three-yard touchdown that you can see below.
The scary thing about the Buccaneers attack is that it’s still a work in progress. Changes on the offensive line after week 9? Not enough targets for Evans? Those are two of the issues that were resolved this week, and unfortunately for the Panthers, they were the team that was right on the pitch on the day the Buccaneers’ offense seemed to understand everything. Even Antonio Brown stepped into the action, catching seven passes for 69 yards.
While the Buccaneers were impressive in the air, the game of the game for Tampa Bay fell to the ground in the third quarter when Ronald Jones recorded the third longest touchdown in NFL history.
The touchdown appeared to deflate the Panthers’ defense, which simply couldn’t do anything to stop the Buccaneers in the second half. Jones’ 98-yard run tied Ahman Green for the third longest in NFL history, behind only Tony Dorsett and Derrick Henry, both of whom scored on a 99-yard rush.
The win over the Panthers puts the Buccaneers one step closer to a playoff berth, and while they may not win the division, they should aim for the fifth seed in the NFC, as it would allow them to play the winner of the NFC East in the joker round. This is the coin toss that every NFC team is going to want.
Alright, let’s move on to the ratings for each Week 10 game. If you’re looking for a more in-depth dive on the Colts-Titans game that was played on Thursday, be sure to click here.
Tampa Bay 46-23 vs. Carolina
Buccaneers-Panthers Notes by Josh Edwards (Love Notes? Hate Notes? Let him know on Twitter.)
Cleveland 10-7 over Houston
Detroit 30-27 over Washington
Green Bay 24-20 on Jacksonville
NY Giants 27-17 over Philadelphia
Eagles-Giants Notes by Jeff Kerr (Love Notes? Hate Notes? Let him know on Twitter.)
Pittsburgh 36-10 on Cincinnati
Bengals-Steelers Ranks by Bryan DeArdo (Do you like ranks? Hate ranks? Let him know on Twitter.)
Miami 29-21 on LA Chargers
Notes Chargers-Dolphins by Jordan Dajani (Love notes? Hate notes? Let him know on Twitter.)
LA Rams 23-16 in Seattle
Seahawks-Rams Notes by Jared Dubin (Love Notes? Hate Notes? Let him know on Twitter.)
Arizona 32-30 over Buffalo
Notes Bills-Cardinals by Patrik Walker (Love notes? Hate notes? Let him know on Twitter.)
Las Vegas 37-12 over Denver
New Orleans 27-13 over San Francisco
New England 23-17 v Baltimore
Ravens-Patriots Notes by Tyler Sullivan (Love Notes? Hate Notes? Let him know on Twitter.)
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