BUCS PULL THE PLUG ON THE CHARGERS IN 2nd HALF SHUTOUT
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers delivered a decisive 40-17 win over the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 15, showcasing a dynamic offense and a shutdown defense that left little room for their opponents. The game, held in Los Angeles, was a tale of two halves, as Tampa Bay outscored the Chargers 27-0 in the final two quarters.
The game was reminiscent of the Week 6 matchup against that team in New Orleans. The rollercoaster ride on the way to a dominating victory was almost too thrilling for a brief period. But the end result was worth the wait.
First Half—
A Close Battle
The first half was a back-and-forth contest that had many thinking we'd be in for a long shoot-out. Baker Mayfield opened the scoring with a 26-yard touchdown pass to Jalen McMillan to cap off a 7-play, 70-yard drive on the BUCS' first possession of the game. But the Chargers answered with a touchdown from Justin Herbert to rookie Ladd McConkey on the ensuing drive which was aided by a critical Pass Interference penalty on DB Christian Izien on a 3rd & 10 that would've forced Los Angeles into a FG attempt.
On the Buccaneers' second possession, the offense chewed up over 7 minutes off the clock but ultimately had to settle for a FG. The drive saw a cool, collected, and in-command Mayfield make some of the best decisions and throws he's made in the past three weeks, including converting 3rd and 3 into a 12-yard gain to Mike Evans. The BUCS defense followed by holding the Chargers to a FG on their second drive of the game. Initially, it looked like the drive was destined to produce another touchdown as Herert found McConkey for a 20-yard gain on the 2nd play. Two plays later, it was Stone Smartt on the receiving end of a 31-yard dart from Herbert that got the Chargers to the BUCS 14. And then, it all fell apart as Mr. Reliable Lavonte David got to Herbert for a sack that pushed the Chargers back 11 yards. On the next play, it was a 5-yard penalty that pushed them back another 5 yards. Subsequently, they wound up with a 3rd and 26 which they conceded with a run attempt to make sure they could at least put 3 on the board with a FG.
With a sense of relief that the defense didn't give up a touchdown after such a shaky start and a bit of momentum, the BUCS offense took the field for the 3rd time. Unfortunately, it was "Bad Baker" who showed up once again in the 2nd Quarter.
On the very first play, off a play-action, he threw an INT. The pass was a late and telegraphed attempt targeted at Mike Evans, but ended up in the hands of Tarheed Stills.
With the ball already at the BUCS 27-yard line and momentum clearly on the home team's side, the Chargers got into the endzone in 3 plays. Herbert connected with Quentin Johnston, who caught the ball at the 9-yard line and broke through 3 defenders(Smith, McCollom, Izien) to score the touchdown.
On the ensuing drive, the Buccaneers offense continued to build on the story of 2nd Quarter Horrors it's been scripting throughout the season. This chapter included a 3-play drive that resulted in a Rachaad White fumble. It was White who started the drive with a 5-yard run. A 4-yard pass to Jalen McMillan followed. With 1 yard to go, White got the carry. He was hit right at the line of scrimmage by Joey Bosa, and in his attempt at a 2nd effort push, the ball came flying out about 6 yards ahead of him and ended up on the turf, where the Chargers jumped on it at their 49-yard line.
The BUCS defense held the Chargers to just 9 yards on the following drive, forcing a 3-and-out.
To close out the half, Mayfield and the offense took the ball 61 yards into Chargers territory and settled for a FG to stop the bleeding. The drive was impressive as they converted on three 3rd downs to make their way downfield. As bad as the previous two drives went, that was definitely a welcomed outcome, going into halftime down by only 4 with a score of 13-17.
Second Half—
Tampa TakeOver
Tampa Bay stormed out of the locker room and took control. Though generally not mentioned, quite often, it all started with the defense.
With the 1st possession of the 2nd Half, the Chargers had an opportunity to build on their lead, which could have forced the BUCS offense into a tough spot to overcome. A Los Angeles touchdown could have pushed the lead to double digits. The BUCS have yet to overcome a lead bigger than 6 points(CAR). Fortunately, once again, the defense forced a 3-and-out to get the ball back to the offense to close the gap and take the lead. This time, for good.
OC Liam Coen made the smart move to calm down his sporadic QB by taking the ball out of his hands to start the 2nd Half push. The offense rode the wave of Bucky Irving, kickstarting a touchdown drive with 29 yards on the ground. But it was Mayfield connecting with Mike Evans 24 yards down the field on a scramble out of the pocket. The big fella walked the tightrope down the sideline and took it 35 yards into the endzone.
Todd Bowles' defense followed by forcing the Chargers to punt after 5 plays. One more time, it was Bucky Irving setting up a Buccaneers score on the next drive. On the first play, Irving broke a 54-yard run to put the offense on the 16-yard line. Unfortunately, the drive devolved into a FG attempt after a 15-yard Unsportsmanlike Conduct penalty on WR McMillan.
Down 17-23, the Chargers were looking to score as quickly as possible with some big strikes down the field. This gave Bowles and his defense the opportunity to get after their hobbled QB, who had been playing on a heavily taped right ankle. On 2nd and 10 at his own 10-yard line, Herbert was bombarded by pressure led by Lavonte David. He launched a ball downfield in the direction of WR Quentin Johnston, but it landed in the arms of Jamel Dean. The oft-injured CB comes away with his first interception of the year. Herbert was on a historic streak of completing passes with no interceptions. He fell just one pass short of the record held by Tom Brady(358).
After the interception, the implementation of complementary football continued. The BUCS offense took advantage of the short field and eventually got the ball in the endzone again on the Mayfield-to-Evans connections. This time, it was a 42-yard strike to a streaking Evans, hitting him clean in the end zone. The official line of scrimmage was at the 35-yard line, but Mayfield gunned it from farther back. The drive had its rough spots, including holding penalties that negated two scrambles by Mayfield. But he kept his composure and ended the drive with a ridiculously beautiful pass that brought the BUCS one step closer to ending the chances of a Chargers comeback.
Jim Harbaugh's Chargers' last three possessions were utterly shut down by the BUCS defense, resulting in two turnovers on downs and a fumble. Lavonte David and Logan Hall got to Herbert again, leading him to be pulled from the game early.
On the other side, Liam Coen's offense finished with yet another touchdown and a FG, bringing the total to 40 points. It marks the 5th time the Team has scored 30+ in a winning effort this season.
