Washington upsets Tampa Bay 29-19

November 14, 2021

By Noonefromtampa

First Quarter

Tampa Bay had the first possession of the game, but picked up a 5 yard penalty before the first snap and never recovered. On third down, Washington got good pressure on Tom Brady, forcing an incompletion.

Taylor Heinicke completed passes to Terry McLaurin for 8 yards and DeAndre Carter. for 14 yards.  Antonio Gibson and Jaret Patterson picked up 10 yards on 4 carries to move the ball into Tampa Bay territory. Ricky Seals-Jones dropped a potential first down catch on third down. Joey Slye kicked a clean, 46 yard field goal for the first score of the game.

On Tampa’s next series Brady threw an interception to William Jackson III, who caught a tipped ball from a pass breakup by Kamren Curl on Jaelon Darden. Washington was able to pickup a first down on a 13 yard completion to Seals-Jones. Gibson was tackled for an 8 yard loss on a pitch play. Heinicke scrambled for 10 yards but came up 2 yards short of the first down, so Slye kicked a 28 yard field goal.

On the next series, the Bucs picked up a first down on a Brady QB sneak on fourth down. Brady then threw an interception to Bobby McCain on an overthrow intended for Mike Evans. Daron Payne was called for taunting after the interception, which set the team back 15 yards. Washington was able to convert a third and 7 with an 8 yard completion to Gibson. Heinicke was sacked for a 6 yard loss just before the end of the first quarter.

Washington 6, Tampa Bay 0

Second Quarter

On third and 14, J.D. McKissic was only able pick up 11 yards but on fourth down McKissic was able to earn a first down on a short catch. After two short gains, Heinicke threw a beautiful 20 yard touchdown pass on corner route to DeAndre Carter.

The Bucs offense came to life at that point, with Brady hitting Darden on a 29 yard completion and Leonard Fournette gaining 10 yards rushing and 9 yards on a completion. Washington challenged an incomplete pass that Kendall Fuller thought he had intercepted on a tipped pass. The incompletion was upheld.  Two plays later Chase Young went down with a knee injury on a play where Fournette picked up the first down. After a short run, Brady threw two incompletions to Giovani Bernard. Ryan Succop kicked a 25 yard field goal.

Washington’s next series started with two big plays. Heinicke hit a 22 yard completion to Carter and Antonio Gibson had a 15 yard run. After a penalty and a sack left Washington with a second and twenty, they were able to fight back and pick up the first down on a Seals-Jones 9 yard completion. On third and two, Tampa committed a neutral zone infraction penalty to give Washington a first down. Washington then found itself in a another third and long after Gibson lost 5 yards on a rush attempt. Seals-Jones only picked up 8 yards on third and fifteen, and was hurt on the play. Slye was able to hit the 29 yard field goal.

Tampa got the ball back with 52 seconds left in the half. Brady was able to move the ball into filed goal range, but apparently ran out of time on a 22 yard completion to Evans. However, because this is Washington, Jackson committed a facemask penalty giving Tampa Bay one more play after time expired. Succop hit the 31 yard field goal.

Washington 16, Tampa Bay 6

Third Quarter

Washington opened the second half with two negative plays on a Gibson rush loss and a 10 yard sack on Heinicke. On third and 21, a screen pass to McKissic picked up only 14 yards to force a Tress Way punt, his first of the day.

The Bucs started at their own 38, which was their best field position of the game so far, but only managed to gain 8 yards. Washington got good pressure on third down to force a Brady incompletion to Cameron Brate. Bradley Pinion punted the ball deep into Washington territory forcing a fair catch at the eight-yard line.

John Bates caught a short pass and appeared to fumble the ball to Tampa, but the turnover was reversed on review, with Bates’ arm being down on the play. After another Heinicke sack, Washington was forced to punt from their own endzone.

Tampa got the ball back at Washington’s 43 yard after the exchange of punts. Brady then hit four straight passes: Chris Godwin for 14 yards, 15 yards to Fournette, another 8 yards to Godwin and a 6 yard touchdown pass to Brate.

After a good kickoff return by Carter, Heinicke hit Dax Milne for 15 yards on a rollout play. On third and 4, Heinicke hit Bates for 18 yards. After Patterson lost 3 yards on first down, Gibson picked up 12 yards on second down and 9 yards on third down. Cam Sims drew a defensive pass interference call on the next play in the endzone, and Washington got the ball on the 1 yard line. Gibson scored on the next play in a contested struggle between the offensive and defensive lines.

Tampa opened their next series with a holding penalty on first down on a pass to Fournette. Godwin caught a 15 yard pass to make it third and three. Bernard was able to pick up 4 yards on the third down play. After picking up 4 yards on first down, Kendall Fuller made an excellent stop on second down for no gain. On third down, Shaka Toney got pressure on Brady forcing an incompletion and the punt.

Washington 23, Tampa Bay 13

Fourth Quarter

On Washington’s next series, Heinicke hit Terry McLaurin for 21, but disaster struck on third down. Milne caught a pass and ran for the first down, but Lavonte David punched the ball out on the tackle, and the ball was recovered by Tampa Bay. After two short passes to Fournette, Brady hit Evans for a 40 yard touchdown where Evans beat Fuller in one-on-one coverage. Succop missed the extra point.

After the kickoff, Heinicke ran for a first down on third short after the offense picked up 8 yards on the prior plays. McLaurin then picked up 16 yards on a bubble screen. Gibson rushed for 7 yards getting another first down on a second down and six play.  Behind Gibson runs and catches by Bates and Adam Humphries, Washington was able to keep getting first downs and more importantly take time off the clock. On a key third and six, Heinicke hit McLaurin on a quick slant to pick up the first down at Tampa Bay’s 9 yard line. Gibson ran for 5 yards on first down, no gain on second down and 3 yards on third down. Coach Ron Rivera elected to go for it on fourth down and Gibson walked it into the end zone bouncing it to the outside on an off-tackle play. Washington decided not to attempt an extra point kick, and instead kneeled on the play.

Tampa got the ball back with 29 second left in the game. They ran the ball twice to run out the clock.

Washington 29, Tampa Bay 19

Heroes

The Washington defense who showed up big for the first time the season, getting two turnovers and making key third down stops.

The Washington offense for scoring points (10) off the turnovers and driving 80 yards to score the gaming winning touchdown.

Taylor Heinicke, who played well, completed 26/32 throws for 256 yards and a touchdown. One thing though: he still needs to learn to throw the checkdown and not look for the home run on every play.

Joey Slye, who did what kickers are supposed to do, three times in the game without getting blocked once.  Slye fulfilled the dream:  “I kicked the touchdowns.”

Zeros

In an upset of the defending World Champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers, I will let this slide.