Buccaneers Take Care of Business Against the Vikings

Bruce Arians is 4-2 coming off a bye in his head coaching career. This is a promising stat for a team in need of a win with the Minnesota Vikings hot on their tail. Here is the full recap of Sunday’s Buccaneers game.

Quarter One

The Vikings start with the football and after a promising drive, are forced to punt after a sack by Shaquil Barrett.

After one first down, the Buccaneers are forced to punt, another slow start on offense…

On the Vikings’ next possession, Ndamukong Suh jumps offsides to give Minnesota an easy first down. First down and goal coming as the visiting team is in full control.

Score: 0-0 Tie

Quarter Two

On first and goal, Dalvin Cook punches it in to make a 6-0 lead, Dan Bailey fails to convert the extra point…

After a poor throw by Tom Brady, the Buccaneers still can’t get anything going on offense. Fortunately, Dan Bailey extracted the curse of the South end zone and missed a 36-yard field goal. The score remains 6-0 Vikings.

On third and four, Tom Brady throws a bomb to Scotty Miller for a touchdown, giving the Buccaneers a 7-6 lead.

Dan Bailey is struggling today, after two previous misses, Bailey shanks a 54-yard field goal to keep the score within one.

After a few penalties that go against the Vikings, Ronald Jones dives over the line for a one-yard touchdown. Tampa Bay now leads 14-6 with 44 seconds remaining.

The defense gets a great defensive stand, which allows Brady to drive down the field for three points.

Score: 17-6 Bucs

Quarter Three

Tom Brady and the Buccaneers get the ball to start the half and have no trouble moving down the field. Rob Gronkowski scores in the back of the end zone and the offense is fully clicking.

After a nearly nine-minute drive, Kirk Cousins answers with a touchdown pass to Irv Smith Jr. Zimmer makes the smart decision to go for two, which is converted by Justin Jefferson, bringing the score to 23-14.

On the next drive, Brady forced a ball into double, going three and out. Momentum is slowly shifting back towards the Vikings.

Score: 23-14 Bucs

Quarter Four

It seemed as though Kirk Cousins was in full control of the offense until the ball went inside the 10-yard line. Back to back sacks pushes Minnesota out to a 46-yard field goal, and is once again shanked by Dan Bailey.

The Buccaneers managed to convert a few first downs to set up a Ryan Succop field goal, which is converted from 48 yards out. With 5:16 remaining, the Buccaneers lead 26-14.

Pat O’Connor and Jason Pierre-Paul should be drinking for free this week after back to back sacks to ice the game for good. Tom Brady and the Buccaneers take over and can easily run out the clock to extend to 8-5.

What’s next? A trip to Atlanta to take on the Falcons.