The Tampa Bay Buccaneers struggled in the first 30 minutes of the game against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, allowing their opponent to take a 17-0 lead at the break. In the first 30 minutes, quarterback Tom Brady was limited to 70 passing yards and from the look of it, the Falcons were on their way to an easy win. In the second half, the Buccaneers came out firing with Brady throwing for 320 yards and two touchdowns with no interception while running back Leonard Fournette adding two more rushing yards as they completed the improbable comeback with a 31-27 win.
Despite the win that improved the Buccaneers to 9-5, head coach Bruce Arians expressed his frustration about the team’s performance during his post-game press conference, per Zach Goodall of Sports Illustrated.
“If we can play 30 minutes like that, why can’t we play 60?” Arians said. Arians’ comments did not sit well with the analysts of ESPN’s “Get Up”, particularly Ryan Clark and former New York Jets and Buffalo Bills head coach Rex Ryan. “It’s very simple. For the first 30 minutes, this is Bruce Arians’ team. In the second 30 minutes, it’s Tom Brady’s team. There goes your answer Bruce wanted,” Clark stressed, per the transcription from the video of the show on YouTube.
The second half was all Brady
Clark said the Buccaneers’ comeback in the second half was all Brady when he started to direct the team and exploit the mismatches. “That’s about Tom Brady. That’s about Tom Brady understanding how to get teams over the hump, understanding how to use his individual matchups to the best of his ability,” said Clark, adding that the defense also did its job in the second half.
“When you have the greatest of all time playing quarterback, let him run the show,” added Clark, saying Arians should relinquish control to Brady. Ryan, for his part, echoed Clark’s position, stressing to Arians that “you have Tom Brady, act like it.” Ryan said that when Peyton Manning signed with the Denver Broncos, they let him run the show.
The former NFL coach said that Arians has to sit back and allow the greatest of all-time run the offense and not insist on his own style of play.
Better protection for Brady sought
During the show, former NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky stressed that in order for Brady to succeed, they need to keep him upright all the time. Brady, during his regular interview with Jim Gray on Westwood One Radio, admitted that the team wasn’t prepared for the Falcons defense early in the game, per Joey Knight of the Tampa Bay Times.
“They did a good job keeping us off-balance,” said Brady, who was sacked twice in the first half. But Brady said his offensive line performed stepped up to the challenge and played much better in the second half. “They still challenged us with different looks, but we handled it much better,” explained Brady, who was sacked just once in the second half. With the win, Brady remained undefeated in seven career games against the Falcons, whom he also defeated via a come-from-behind win from a 28-3 deficit en route to a 34-28 overtime win in Super Bowl LI. Brady also emphasized playing 60 minutes of good football as they have been outscored 59-7 in the first quarter. This season, the Buccaneers are known as a second-half team as they scored 213 points compared to the 114 by their opponents.
