Summary
TAMPA, Fla .– Tom Brady scored his first victory in the uniform of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who defeated the Carolina Panthers 31-17 on Sunday.
Brady threw a touchdown pass and an interception and he amassed 217 yards through the air. He was helped by another recent Buccaneers acquisition, running back Leonard Fournette, who had 103 rushing yards and two majors.
“Our execution was slightly better. I think we still have a ways to go to get her where she needs to be, said Brady. We have to get back to work. “
Brady recovered from a rough start with his new roster last week and avoided a back-to-back loss to start a season for the first time in 21 years in the NFL.
“History is on his side,” said Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians of Brady’s record early in the season. It shouldn’t have been so close, but I found it extraordinary. His leadership on the sidelines is very good and he played really well. “
The veteran quarterback threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Mike Evans. Fournette scored after a one-yard, 46-yard run. The Tampa Bay troops were leading 21-0 at the half, but the Panthers came close at 24-17 thanks in part to a rushing touchdown from Christian McCaffrey.
Brady completed 23 of his 35 assists. Evans ended the game with seven receptions for 104 yards. Fournette only completed 12 races.
“I tried to put the icing on the sundae for the team,” said Fournette, who has already had two seasons of more than 1,000 yards rushing with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Teddy Bridgewater saw 33 of his 42 passes completed for gains of 367 yards. He was the victim of two interceptions for the Panthers (0-2), who committed four turnovers.
“We can’t fight and make negative plays,” Bridgewater said. We have to give the Buccaneers credit. It’s a good team. We talked about protecting the ball and the quarterback, but we made four turnovers. I have to be better and I take the blame. “
McCaffrey, who spent most of the fourth quarter on the sidelines with an ankle injury, jumped one yard and seven yards for a touchdown. He finished the game with 58 rushing yards and 29 passing yards.
DJ Moore caught eight balls for 120 yards while Robby Anderson had nine receptions for 109 yards for the Panthers.
The Buccaneers’ defense set the tone in Sunday’s win, prompting two turnovers within three defensive games in the first quarter. She had not caused any change in the first part of the season.
Jordan Whitehead’s interception preceded a 10-play, 78-yard attacking streak for the Buccaneers, who scored a touchdown thanks to a run from Ronald Jones.
After a quarterback sack from rookie safety half Antoine Winfield Jr., Jason Pierre-Paul recovered a fumble that set the table for Brady’s 23-yard touchdown pass to Evans.
