Monday, 4 a.m.
Of all the places the Tampa Bay Bucs had lost their mojo, whoever would have thought they would find it in Germany?
The Bucs, formerly a team lost in the wilderness, played their best game in weeks Sunday morning in Munich, beating a good Seattle Seahawks team, 21-16.
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The Bucs, now 5-5 and winners of two in a row, were able to overcome season-long deficiencies in the game.
In it, they:
-- Finally ran the ball, picking up 161 yards on the ground. They had gained 141 yards in their previous three games combined.Rookie Rachaad White had 105 of the yards.
-- Played a second straight solid game on defense. Yes, Seattle scored 13 points in the final quarter to make it closer, but the Bus tackled well and had three sacks.
-- Got solid blocking from the offensive line. The Bucs ran it 44 times, and get didn't give up a sack.
-- Forgetting his interception, Tom Brady was efficient and pushed the ball downfield. He hit 22 of 29 passes and hit five different receivers for receptions of at least 20 yards.
-- Once again, the Bucs controlled the line of scrimmage. For the second straight week, an opponent averaged 2.8 yards per rush.
-- The Bucs took over sole possession of first place, and for a change, looked as if they belonged there.
-- Survived their own cleverness. With the game in hand, the Bucs tried a Leonard Fournette pass to Tom Brady down the left sideline. Fournette threw an interception, which gave the Seahawks life.
In other words, much of the areas of the game that have vexed fans this year were dismissed. There were longer plays. Dominant plays. Efficient plays.
The Bucs built a 21-3 lead, but two interceptions and a missed field goal stopped drives. The Bucs ended the game at the Seattle 20, running the last 3:56 off the clock.
"It felt great to run the ball," said Bucs' coach Todd Bowles. "I thought they did a good job of mixing things up, keeping them off balance a little bit. Rachaad and Leonard ran the ball. He (White) is a slithery guy. It seems like he’s always falling forward and the offensive line blocks for him."
Said Brady: "The big guys played well up front. That was as good an effort as we’ve had by that entire group."
Bucs' linebacker Devin White, who had two sacks and led the Bucs in tackles, played three days after the death of his father.
“For him to even get on the plane...." Bowles said. "(He found out) right before we were leaving, and he still got on the plane to play the ballgame. … to come out and still play says a lot about the guy.”
Maybe it says something about the Bucs, too. There are several games left, but the team has a fresh outlook.
The Bucs are off Sunday, but play in Cleveland in two weeks.