The Bucs defense, which has picked up 48 bags during the regular season, did not put as much pressure on Heinicke as he had hoped, firing him just twice. Heinicke also escaped pressure and ran for 46 yards and scrambled six.
“He was very evasive,” Arians said. “We knew he was going to scurry around, there was going to be pounding and scurrying. We were really hoping for Alex because we knew part of the game would not be there. He made a lot of good plays and some of point of view.
The Bucs did take Heinicke away once, with Kevin Minter, ILB, transferring the first quarter leading up to Sean Murphy-Bunting’s diving investigation at the Buccaneers’ 42-year-old line. Brady completed the ensuing ride with a 36-yard shot to WR Antonio Brown. Brady beat WR Chris Godwin later in the second quarter on a 27-yard pass and the Buccaneers never lagged behind in the game.
‘I believe we gained possession after that [his interception], so we went up early in the game, “Murphy-Bunting said. It was just the spark we needed. We started slowly, both sides of the ball really got some points on the board, we got some points in the half and that was what we really needed. ‘
Additional game details (points in bold)
The Buccaneers got the ball first to start the game and moved quickly with a 15-yard return by Evans who had a face mask penalty at the end to take it out to the Bucs ’49. Two Leonard Fournette runs have 15 yards and a first down in the other half of the field. A skinny mail to Godwin came 17 feet down in the Washington red area. The Bucs faced a third and three on Washington 11 after an impressive seven-man run by Fournette, but Brady was forced to throw it away on the third point and Ryan Succop scored a 29-yard field goal for an early 3-0 lead for the Buccaneers.
Wshington’s first run began with a four-yard loss as Barrett penetrated the left and dropped Gibson for a four-yard loss. The football team could not recover and had to pull it away from its 25th. Tress Way’s 50-yard touchdown helped put the Bucs back to their own 31.
Godwin fought for a first-place finish on a second 12-yard catch to start the next ride, and two Fournette runs made it third and fourth on the Bucs ’47. ‘ A delay in the game moved it back to third and ninth, and CB Kendall Fuller was able to break the pass on another comebacker by Evans.
Washington’s second ride begins on its own 14. The football team quickly found itself in a third-and-six position, but WR Cam Sims worked in an open spot on the right for a 36-yard win. After S Antoine Winfield, Jr., RB Antonio Gibson dropped for a loss of one, ILB Kevin Minter passed a second pass, leading to a driver who dived Murphy-Bunting to catch for ‘ an impressive interception at Tampa Bay 42..
Brady converted an early third and ten with a laser to WR Scotty Miller for 15 yards to the Washington 39 and two Ke’Shawn Vaughn runs made the third and three on the 36. Brady forged a handover to Vaughn on the third background. and then found a wide open Brown along the right sideline for a 36-yard drop to make it 9-0 as Succop’s extra-point effort was blocked.
The football team started its next ride well when Heinicke was flushed out of the bag, but managed to get a pass of 24 meters to TE Logan Thomas. In the next play, Heinicke darted an arrow along the left seam to McLaurin for another 18 yards to get the ball over midfield. Two plays later, Heinicke dives out of an almost pocket and scurries for the first time on the Bucs ’21 to bring the first quarter to an end. After the teams took sides, the Bucs forced a third-and-eight, but Heinicke had a shot under pressure from Sims for 10 yards and a first-down finish on the nine. Three plays later, McKissic took a delivery on a draw and cut across the right guard for a two-pointer.
Washington apparently tried to catch the Buccaneers offside with a kicking attempt, but OLB Anthony Nelson fell on it at Tampa Bay 39. An end around Brown got 22 yards to Washington 39. ‘ A run and a catch by Fournette made it third-and-three and Brady went back to Fournette on his third setback to get another five and a first down on the 27th. With the next play, Godwin moved into the right slot and ran a flag route with Brady hitting him for the 27-yard. The Bucs passed for two, but failed when Fournette stumbled before crossing the line on a bottom hand.
Washington began its next ride at the age of 25 and converted a third-and-five with an oblique conversion to Sims, who got just enough with Jamel Dean in close coverage. After an 11-year run by Gibson, Washington came into the Bucs area on a catch from McLaurin at eight yards. The Bucs forced a third-and-nine on their own 41 and CB Carlton Davis made a dive ahead of Sims to force a point. It was justly caught on the 13th by Jaydon Mickens.
Two Fournette runs started the ensuing ride with 12 yards and a first down. A well-designed screen for Fournette in the next play was good for 22 yards to the Bucs’ 47 and Brady then found TE Cameron Brate for 19 yards on the right to the Washington 34. Two plays later, Brate ran open right to left and Brady found him for another 24 yards to the seven. Washington CB Ronald Darby made an impressive pass break after a second slanted turn to Godwin and TE Rob Gronkowski could not get his feet off in the back of the end zone in third place. The Bucs led for Succop’s 23 goal field goal and 18-7 with 1:50 left in the first half.
On the first play of Washington’s next ride, OLB dropped Anthony Nelson Heinicke for a six-yard bag. The ball released and was apparently recovered by the Bucs, but Heinicke was turned down and a repeat review did not change that. The Bucs’ defense still took third place and the resulting point gave it back to Tampa Bay’s attack on the 26 with 90 seconds left in the half.
A 13-yard Brown catch got the 39, but the ride stalled thereafter. Brady’s next two passes were incomplete and he was sacked by Montez Sweat after a long time in the pocket on the third down. Bradley Pinion’s subsequent point rolled to a standstill at Washington 10 with 30 seconds left. The football team presented three plays before the half came to an end.
Washington got the ball to start the second half, opening on their own 30 after a 31-yard kick by Danny Johnson. Heinicke found McLaurin for a win 12 yards left against a Bucs blitz, and two plays later dropped a 29-year-old into a hole on the left to Thomas. The Tampa Bay defense held on at that point, though S Jordan Whitehead missed a chance for an interception on the third time. The soccer team turned it into a 36-yard field goal by Dustin Hopkins.
Tampa Bay’s attack got nothing going with his first drive of the second half. After a three-and-out, Pinion’s point jumped off the bounds at Washington 42. The Bucs’ defense responded with a three-and-out own, led by a Jason Pierre-Paul- breakthrough was separated, and the resulting point led to a bizarre sequence. Washington S Troy Apke thought the bounce kick looked down on Ryan Smith of Tampa Bay and he let the loose ball run into the end zone. As the ball did not touch Smith, Apke’s play led to a setback.
Moments later, the Bucs faced a third and eight years, but Evans ran a sharp outing and slipped to the ground for a 13-yard catch. A deep shot from Evans, two plays, later went off his hand, but Brady converted a third with a 14-year-old attack on Brate. Unfortunately, Vaughn fumbled at the end of a six-yard run in the next play, and Washington recovered on his own 39.
The next football team started with a 19-yard after Sims and two plays later Heinicke scrambled 13-yards. Murphy-Bunting drew a horse-collar flag on the next play to place the ball on the Bucs’ 13-year-old line. Three plays later, on third and goal of the five, Heinicke escaped what looked like a sure sack, scurried to the left and dived with a full extension to hit the pillar for a touch.. Washington succeeded for two and a draw, but failed.
The Bucs’ next ride began with a surprising drop by Godwin, but Brady found Brate again in third place for a 23-yard win after Washington 45. The final game of the third quarter was a 17- yard completion to Evans until the 23. After an eight-yard drive by Fournette and a five-yard bag by Jonathan Allen, Brady threw incompletely on third down and the Bucs settled for Succop’s 38 goal field goal and a five-point lead with 13:32 left.
The Tampa Bay defense was followed by a three-and-out test led by pressure from Rakeem Nunez-Roches and Jason Pierre-Paul. The point of the football team was down on the Bucs ’31.
The Bucs attack shot on the next ride. Brady found a move from Evans for 17 yards to the right and Fournette found a seam in the middle for another 17 to Washington 32. An end from Miller has another eight and Fournette got the middle for the first time powered on the 22nd. In the next play, Brady slips into the bag to buy time and packs a 19-pass to Evans for a first goal at the three. The Bucs chose to throw down first and it looks like they are getting a quick throw to Brate, but the game has been reviewed and decided it is not complete. It was a slight delay as Fournette persuaded the left-back for a three-year onslaught on the next game for a 28-16 lead, with nine minutes in regulation.
Heinicke, who during the Bucs’ previous possession went to the locker room to check on an injured left shoulder, returned to hit Sims for 23 yards all the way to the Bucs ’40. Four plays later, McLaurin caught a jump for 16 yards and a first down at the Bucs ’11. Lavonte David’s leaping point from a second pass made it third and tenth, but Washington survived when Heinicke throws a perfect 11-yard to Sims for an attack.
Two plays in the ensuing ride, Brady correlated a low shot and slapped a perfect pass along the left sideline to Evans for 38 yards. A bag by Daron Payne put the Bucs in a third-and-18 by the Washington 35 and a 16-yard catch-and-run by Godwin brought the Bucs close enough for Succop’s fourth field goal, a 37-year-old who just slipped upright to the left to make it an eight-point game with three minutes left.
Washington quickly took the next ride to Bucs territory on catches of 16 yards by McLaurin and 10 by Sims. David put the football team in a do-or-die situation with a third bag Heinicke for 11 yards, making the fourth-and-21 from the Washington 20 on the two-minute warning. The Bucs’ defense put Heinicke under pressure in a desperate throw from the right sideline