Last Drive is What We’re Capable Of

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers got the ball back at their own 11-yard line with 3:04 left in regulation and no timeouts in their quiver on Sunday afternoon, meaning they essentially had one shot to go 89 yards for the potential game-tying score. They trailed the visiting Green Bay Packers, 14-6, and had spent the afternoon in fits and starts on offense, with such notables as Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Julio Jones and Donovan Smith all unavailable.

One of the players who did suit up along with quarterback Tom Brady was wide receiver Russell Gage, one of the team’s most important offseason additions. But it wasn’t as if Gage was in the best of situations himself. He had been dealing with a hamstring injury since early in training camp and had not practiced freely in weeks. Still, with Brady looking to engineer yet another of his signature game-winning comebacks, it was Gage who became his go-to man.

“He did a great job,” said Brady. “He really battled through it. We had a lot of guys down, but those guys that were in there somehow or another did a great job, especially that last drive.

The drive started with three straight catches by Gage, for a total of 29 yards, getting the ball close to midfield. Brady found the former Falcon again to convert a second-and-six at the Falcons’ 18, then went to him again when it mattered most, completing the drive with a one-yard touchdown pass over the middle. Brady delivered the ball a little behind Gage, who had to make a dazzling spinning catch, but it might not have worked any other way.

“It was put the only place it could be,” said Gage. “I think he did a good job of putting it on me instead of leading me into the next guy, so I’m kind of happy he did put a little extra on it.”

The drive, and the game, ultimately did not have a storybook ending in Gage’s first big breakout as a Buccaneer. After taking a delay-of-game penalty that pushed the ball back to the seven-yard line, the Bucs tried to tie the game with a two-point conversion but Brady’s pass in Gage’s direction was tipped away by linebacker De’Vondre Campbell. The Buccaneers fully expected to be sending the game into overtime.

“We knew we were going to score,” said Gage. “At a certain point, we knew it. It was just a matter of execution and finishing the play. Even that two-point play – they made a great play tipping the ball. I think if they don’t tip it it might be PI or something, but they made a nice play. But we’ve got to start faster.”

Gage would finish the game…