Viktor
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- Mar 19, 2019
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Minnesota knew heading into Sunday's game that it would be tough to take down Brady who, at 43 years old, gets the ball out quickly.
The defensive line has been playing well as a unit as of late but didn't get good pressure on Brady, who stayed upright in the pocket all day. Out of just three quarterback hits credited to Minnesota, only one was by a lineman (Armon Watts). Gladney and linebacker Eric Wilson accounted for the other two instances of contact.
The Bucs, meanwhile, sacked Cousins six times and racked up 12 QB hits.
Brady finished the day 15-of-23 passing for 196 yards, two touchdowns and a passer rating of 120.9. In addition to the 48-yard score and 20-yard completion early in the game, he also found Chris Godwin and Antonio Brown for 16-yard plays from midfield in the second quarter. Brady connected with Evans for a 29-yard gain to set up a third-quarter touchdown.
Although the run game didn't see much success in the first half, Tampa Bay stuck with it and saw it pay off. The Bucs recorded 74 rushing yards in the second half, including a pair of 14-yard runs by Jones, who led the team with 80 yards on 18 carries. McCoy, who entered the game with six carries for a net loss of a yard, added four rushes for 32 yards.
The Vikings loss, coupled with a Cardinals win over the Giants, pushed Minnesota out of the No. 7 seed of the NFC playoffs and turned up the heat for the final three games of the regular season.
"There was still a lot of good from the game. We can play with anybody," Gladney said. "[But] it comes down to four or five plays a game that, if we make, we can change the game. We just have to keep attacking."