Buccaneers outlast Chargers, 38-31

[Bolt]

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Neither team was at full strength by the end of the game.

But at the end of the day, that old guy in Tampa Bay still has it.

Tom Brady outdueled a quarterback nearly half his age, leading the Bucs to a 38-31 win over the Chargers.

Brady came back from an early pick-six to finish with 369 yards and five touchdowns, as the Bucs improved to 3-1

He did it with an odd lot of players, as he started the game without Chris Godwin and Leonard Fournette, and lost O.J. Howard and LeSean McCoy over the course of the day.

Howard left late with an Achilles injury.

But Brady spread the ball among his targets, even finding Rob Gronkowski for a late contribution. He hit five different guys for touchdowns, and Mike Evans had 122 yards despite leaving the game briefly with an ankle injury.

That negated an otherwise strong day for Chargers rookie quarterback Justin Herbert.

He had a bombs-away day, while throwing to Keenan Allen and a bunch of unknowns. Herbert finished with 290 yards and three touchdowns (going to men named Tyron Johnson, Donald Parham, and Jalen Guyton). There was a late interception, and he’s still 0-3 as a starter, but he showed enough to make it worth considering riding with him rather than going back to Tyrod Taylor.