The Tampa Bay Buccaneers bounced back with a bang from their disappointing loss to the New Orleans Saints, crushing the Carolina Panthers, 46-23, on Sunday behind quarterback Tom Brady and running back Ronald Jones II. The 43-year-old Brady completed 28 of 39 passes for 341 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions. The veteran quarterback also ran for another score as the Buccaneers improved to 7-3, half-a-game behind the New Orleans Saints for the NFC South lead. With his third rushing touchdown of the season, Brady tied the output of Baltimore Ravens dual-threat quarterback Lamar Jackson, per a tweet by Steven Cheah of Barstool Sports.

During the post-game press conference, Buccaneers' head coach Bruce Arians described Brady's play as "outstanding." "He played really, really well," said Arians, who drew flak for calling out Brady's miscues in their loss to the Saints. "Tom's as critical of himself, and he played fantastically," Arians added. Chris Godwin caught six passes for 92 yards; Mike Evans had six catches for 77 yards and a score while Antonio Brown recorded 69 yards on seven catches while tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Cameron Brate each caught a touchdown pass from Brady.

Buccaneers also lean on the running game

Jones, for his part, ran the ball 23 times for a career-best 192 yards, including a 98-yard run in the third period. Jones became the fourth player in NFL history to accomplish the feat behind Tony Dorsett (1983), Ahman Green (2003), and Derrick Henry in 2018. As a team, the Buccaneers ran a season-best 210 yards on 37 carries against the Panthers after they were limited to just eight yards on five carriers in their 38-3 loss to the Saints in Week 9.

The Buccaneers also performed well on third-downs, converting 10 of 16 third-down attempts against the Panthers, way better than their one conversion in nine tries against the Saints. The defense also played outstanding in the second half as they limited the Panthers to just six points after giving up 17 in the opening half.

Arians said he was delighted with the way his boys played in the second half after the first half ended in a 17-all deadlock.

Arians made a key change in the offensive line

Before the game, Arians made a key change as he moved AQ Shipley as the starting center and placed Ryan Jensen out of his center position to guard. It paid dividends as Brady was sacked just once for a loss of seven yards during the entire game. But Brady had to fend off a report by Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk that he had something to do with the change. "I love Ryan Jensen. He's been one of the guys that have been a rock for me," Brady told reporters after the game, calling Jensen a "great teammate and a great player."
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