Bucs Win In Munich

Running the football to a victory was unexpected for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, yet they rushed for 161 yards and then held on in a crucial 21-16 victory over the Seattle Seahawks to take the NFL’s first regular-season game in Germany. Crossing the pond seemed to be just the trick to awaken Tampa Bay’s run game, as the Buccaneers averaged only 3.7 yards per carry but got explosive runs from Rachaad White to hold off the NFC West-leading Seahawks.

With Seattle making a late push at a comeback win, the Bucs didn’t allow it to get the ball back in the final minutes. White had runs of 12 and 18 yards on the final drive to essentially seal the victory for Tampa Bay. He finished with 22 carries for 105 yards in the win, marking the first 100-yard rushing performance for Tampa Bay this season. 

The Seahawks trailed 21-3 in the fourth quarter, but made a late rally with two touchdown passes from Geno Smith to cut the deficit to five points with 3:38 to play. Smith finished 23 of 33 for 275 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions, but didn’t have the opportunity to complete the comeback as Seattle’s defense couldn’t get off the field. 

While the Buccaneers’ run game was the best it has been all season, Tom Brady was efficient, finishing 22 of 29 for 258 yards with two touchdown passes — one to Julio Jones and another to Chris Godwin. Brady’s 31-yard touchdown pass to Jones was the Buccaneers’ longest touchdown of the season, giving Tampa Bay the lead for good in the second quarter. 

Brady did throw his first interception since Week 1, snapping a streak of 399 consecutive passes without a pick. That’s the second-longest streak in NFL history, just four behind Aaron Rodgers’ 403 consecutive attempts in 2018. Brady was also the intended recipient on a wild interception thrown by Leonard Fournette. Godwin also had his first touchdown grab since tearing his ACL last December. 

Tampa Bay’s run game was the driving force behind a victory. The Buccaneers ran for a season-high 161 yards in Sunday’s win, including an even more surprising 22 carries for 105 yards from rookie Rachaad White. Getting the start in place of Fournette to spice up the run game, White had the Buccaneers’ first 20-yard run of their season to end the third quarter along with two crucial runs on Tampa Bay’s final drive to preserve the victory. 

Tampa Bay came into this game averaging just 60.7 rush yards per game, and just 47 per game over the past three weeks. With the 161 rushing yards Sunday, that average went up to 70.7 — a surprising development over what we’ve seen the past few weeks.