Page 24 - Florida Sentinel 1-28-22

Sports
Bucs' Comeback, Repeat
Tom Brady Addresses
Run Fall Short In 30-27
Rumors About
Playoff Loss Vs. Rams
Potential Retirement
What a gritty comeback by the Tampa Bay Bucca- neers. The Buccaneers clawed all the way back from a 20-3 halftime deficit but couldn’t finish the job in a heartbreaking 30-27 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs.
It was a sluggish start for the defending Super Bowl champs, who struggled in every phase of the game for the better part of three quar- ters, allowing the Rams to build a comfortable cushion. But Tom Brady engineered one of his vintage fourth- quarter comebacks, with plenty of help from an oppor- tunistic defense, tying the game up with under a minute left in the fourth quarter.
Tampa Bay’s defense couldn’t hold when it mat- tered most, though, as Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford found Cooper Kupp for back-to-back com- pletions to set up a chip-shot field goal as time expired. Los Angeles will host the NFC
Tom Brady was pressured the whole game.
In recent days, reports have been swirling that Tampa Bay Buccaneers quar- terback Tom Brady might retire after this season.
After Sunday’s 30-27 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs, Brady was asked about whether or not this was his last game, and whether or not he’ll consider retirement this offseason.
Brady made it clear that he’ll get to that at some point in the future, but wouldn’t give any details on that deci- sion-making process (via The Athletic’s Greg Auman). He also said he hadn’t given it any thought during today’s game, nor in pregame or postgame.
Other Bucs players were
TOM BRADY
asked about it, and they all made it clear that they would love to have Brady back, but that the decision would ulti- mately be his.
In his 22nd NFL season, at 44 years old, Brady led the league in passing yards and touchdown passes, and set a new all-time record for com- pletions in a season.
title game against the San Francisco 49ers, who knocked off the top-seeded Packers in Green Bay on Sat- urday night.
Brady struggled against relentless pressure for most of the game as the Bucs did their best to hold back a dom- inant Rams defensive front without All-Pro right tackle Tristan Wirfs, who missed the game with an ankle in- jury.
Despite the ugly first half, Brady finished the game with 329 yards through the air, while Mike Evans had another stellar performance,
leading the Bucs with 119 yards and a touchdown on eight receptions. Leonard Fournette delivered a big day in his return from a lengthy injury absence, tally- ing 107 yards from scrim- mage and a pair of rushing touchdowns.
Bucs OT Tristan Wirfs To Have Ankle Surgery, Suffered Multiple Torn Ligaments
TRISTAN WIRFS
Tampa Bay Buccaneers All- Pro right tackle Tristan Wirfs will have surgery to re- pair the ankle injury he suf- fered in last week’s wild-card playoff win over the Philadel- phia Eagles.
Wirfs tore multiple liga- ments, including one that came off the bone, per Howe. He suffered the injury on the first drive of Tampa Bay’s 31- 15 win, and tried to come back for the first drive of the second half, but lasted just a few plays before being ruled out.
The No. 13 overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft out of Iowa, Wirfs has quickly estab- lished himself as the league’s best right tackle, earning first- team All-Pro honors in just his second season.
Bruce Arians Defends
Blitz On Cooper Kupp
Catch, Blames
Communication, Execution
Cooper Kupp broke through the Tampa Bay Buc- caneers secondary on Sunday to set up a game-winning field goal that sent the Los Angeles Rams to the NFC championship game.
The decisive final offen- sive play left many wondering what exactly the Bucs were thinking on defense.
Why did the Bucca- neers blitz?
With 27 seconds remain- ing and no timeouts, the Rams needed a big gain from their own 44-yard line to have any hope of ending the 27-27 game in regulation. Instead of dropping back in a zone to de- fend the deep ball, the Bucs gambled on a blitz, leaving defenders in one-on-one cov- erage with safety Antoine Winfield, Jr. responsible for defending football's most productive receiver.
Kupp did what he's done all season. He sprinted past a backpedaling Winfield on a
COOPER KUPP
post route and hauled in a perfectly placed Matthew Stafford deep ball over the top of the Bucs secondary. The 44-yard gain set up a chip-shot field goal from Matt Gay to win the game and end Tampa Bay's season.
Arians blames execu- tion, communication
After the game, head coach Bruce Arians de- fended the play call. But there appeared to be issues in com- munication and execution. Not everybody who was sup- posed to blitz did.
PAGE 12-B FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY FRIDAY, JANUARY 28, 2022