The NFC South still does not have a team above .500.
Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had a chance to move to 6-5 Sunday and give the NFC South a team with a winning record. However, the Cleveland Browns had other plans.
The Browns beat the Bucs 23-17 in overtime, dropping the Bucs to 5-6, yet they still top the NFC South after the Falcons’ loss to the Commanders. The loss also marks a defeat for Brady against former understudy Jacoby Brissett, who could be losing his starting job with Deshaun Watson’s suspension ending Monday.
Cleveland opened up the game with a 31-yard rushing touchdown by wide receiver Anthony Schwartz. A Chris Godwin 19-yard receiving touchdown tied the game on the Buccaneers’ ensuing drive.
Points from there on out were hard to come by.
Browns kicker Cade Yark drilled a 51-yard field goal with 2:22 remaining in the first quarter, giving Cleveland an early 10-7 lead. Ryan Succop responded for the Bucs, hitting a 42-yarder with 39 seconds to go until halftime, where the teams stood at 10 each.
Ko Kieft became the 96th different player Brady has thrown a touchdown to, hauling in a five-yard reception to put the Bucs up 17-10 in the third, and the game was scoreless from there on until David Njoku made a crazy catch in the end zone with 32 seconds left to tie the game.
The Buccaneers had a chance to win the game after Njoku’s heroics, but they mismanaged their timeouts.
On first-and-10 from their own 25 and all three timeouts remaining with 32 seconds left, Brady had a 1-yard completion to Rachaad White but the Bucs didn’t call timeout. They did not get their next play off until there were 15 seconds left, when Brady connected with Julio Jones to get to the Cleveland 48-yard line, finally calling a timeout with eight seconds left. A Brady Hail Mary attempt fell incomplete as the clock wound down, which led into overtime.
The teams traded punts on the first three possessions in the extra stanza, and it looked like we were heading for a tie. But Brissett hit Amari Cooper for 46 yards and set up a Nick Chubb touchdown two plays later to give Cleveland the win.
Even with the loss, the Bucs maintain their lead in the NFC South, with a “Monday Night Football game” against the New Orleans Saints awaiting them next week.