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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers surviving the Atlanta Falcons‘ comeback didn’t hinge on a bad call, JoeBucsFan.com proposes.
Arguments abound that Falcons would have won if defensive tackle Grady Jarrett’s sack against Bucs quarterback Tom Brady stood as clean play instead of roughing the passer. The Bucs took advantage and held on to win 21-15, but the Falcons faced a longshot if the penalty didn’t get called and the Bucs punted.
“If the Jarrett sack wasn’t wiped out by a phantom roughing-the-passer call, Atlanta would have burned its final timeout before the Bucs punted with about 3 minutes remaining,” JoeBucsFan.com wrote. “So figure Atlanta would have gotten the ball back at their own 20 yard line with about 2:55 left in the game.”
“Marcus Mariota, one of the NFL’s worst passers, would then have needed an 80-yard touchdown drive with no timeouts to win,” JoeBucsFan.com added. “Late in the third quarter, despite trailing by three scores, the Falcons gave up on their own passing game. Why? Because they know how bad it is.”
The Bucs held Mariota to 14-25 passing for 147 yards and a touchdown. Tampa Bay also sacked him five times, and he only mustered 38 yards rushing on six carries without his 23-yard run. Both Falcons scoring drives took more than three minutes and were both shorter than 80 yards.
Almost all of Mariota’s 10 fourth-quarter comebacks and 12 game-winning drives came before 2019 or earlier. His only one this season occurred the week before against the Cleveland Browns, but Falcons only needed field goals in the 23-20 fourth-quarter comeback win that time.
Brady Gets Special Treatment?
A penalty going in Brady’s favor arguably became prisoner of the moment. Or, did it?
Tampa Bay Times columnist John Romano highlighted a time when a devastating hit to Brady led to NFL rule changes. Romano also noted that “opponents have complained for years that the NFL” handles Brady differently.
“When a knee injury forced him to miss most of the 2008 season in New England, the NFL promptly changed the rules about hitting quarterbacks below the waist,” Romano wrote. “It’s often derisively referred to as the Brady Rule.”
JoeBucsFan.com objected to the narrative and noted that Brady has seen calls not go his way. It happened in the playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams last season when linebacker Von Miller didn’t get called for a helmet-to-chin hit as JoeBucsFan.com described.
“Brady completed the pass to Mike Evans and ended up with a bloody mouth,” JoeBucsFan.com wrote. “Miller was not flagged, even though there is a referee assigned to watch the quarterback. Brady got an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for disputing the non-call.”
Tristan Wirfs Pokes Fun at Brady
Bucs tackle Tristan Wirfs couldn’t resist the opportunity to poke fun at quarterback Tom Brady regarding a controversial roughing the passer call.
Brady got sacked by Atlanta Falcons defensive end Grady Jarrett, but referees called a penalty against Jarrett, which helped the Bucs secure a 21-15 win on Sunday, October 9. Wirfs, a 2021 All-Pro, deferred to the referees’ call when asked about it afterward.
“It is what it is. I’m not the one making the call,” Wirfs said via ESPN’s Jenna Laine. “Tom’s an old man…We’ll give him crap on like a Saturday because he’s wearing his old skinny jeans to the walk-through. … He’s gonna get those calls more than not.”
The Bucs avoided punting after the call and closed out the game on offense. Media and fans alike weighed in on the legitimacy of the call, but NFL referee Jerome Boger stood by the call when interviewed by The Athletic’s Greg Auman. Boger also wouldn’t compare to the hit that seriously injured Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa in Week 4, per Auman.
Wirfs noted that he and the offensive line need to improve but said “we’ll take the win”. The Bucs offense mostly stalled in the second half with three punts on three-and-out drives. Only two Bucs drives lasted longer than three plays in the second half, and only one of those resulted in a score.
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