Bucs Film Room: Big Plays Were Back In Week 10

The Bucs’ offensive struggles over the first half of the 2022 season have been well documented. It’s been startling to see Tampa Bay go from 28.6 points per game in 2019, 30.8 per game in 2020 and 30.1 in 2021 to just 18.3 this year.

There have been a lot of reasons for the offense’s issues. Byron Leftwich’s play calling has come under fire. Tampa Bay’s execution hasn’t consistently been there either, due in part to poor offensive line play — particularly on the left side. Injuries have played a part, too, especially at receiver. When you combine all of these problems together, you get what we’ve seen from the Bucs for most of their first 10 games this season: a frustrating offense that can’t hit on big plays, sustain drives or score points.

Outside of personnel, one of the biggest differences between the 2020-2021 offenses and this year’s unit has been the frequency of explosive plays. Bruce Arians’ offense is built on big plays down the field, and we saw plenty of that in Tom Brady’s first two seasons in town. But this year, with struggles up front and some issues at receiver, the Bucs simply haven’t been able to put up a lot of big plays.

That changed in last Sunday’s 21-16 win over the Seahawks, though. Tampa Bay’s offense hit on plays of 29, 31, 19, 22, 18, 29 and 25 yards. Tom Brady’s average depth of target (aDoT) for the game was 9.2, which was his third-highest mark of the season. On the year, his aDoT is 7.6, which is down from his 8.2 mark in 2021. Even that 8.2 was down from 2020, when his aDoT was 9.8.

So, what suddenly made the difference? Why did the team have more success getting those chunk plays? Why was Brady’s aDoT suddenly above 9.0 for the first time since Week 2? Well, each play has its own story and it’s safe to say that, generally, the return of the Bucs’ big plays came as a result of multiple factors. Let’s take a look.

1st & 10 — TB41 — Brady To Evans For 29 Yards

We open with the first play of Tampa Bay’s second drive of the game. Starting from their own 29, the Bucs go away from their tendency to run on first down. That’s the first plus. The second plus is that with a first-down pass, they get into Seattle territory. Tom Brady fires a big shot down the field to Mike Evans, who brings it in for a 29-yard pickup.

What goes right on this play? Well, a lot. Again, the fact that Byron Leftwich didn’t call a first-down run here is a win on its own. Going with a pass on first down — out of pony personnel with both Leonard Fournette and Rachaad White in the game, no less! — nets a big gain. But outside of the call itself, look at the protection Brady gets. He has time to drop back, set his feet, wait a second and then get the ball out. Nick Leverett wins with some impressive physicality, Robert Hainsey plays his matchup smart with good extension and both Shaq Mason and Tristan Wirfs team up to win on the right side. It’s just great protection.

Oh, and what about that throw? It’s an excellent one from Brady, who — thanks to his protection — can confidently hang in the pocket and drop one in to Evans, who makes a great catch in traffic. So much went right on this play, from the call to the protection to the throw and catch itself. And that was huge, especially considering how well Seattle had it covered.

3rd & 10 — SEA31 — Brady To Jones For A 31-Yard Touchdown

The Bucs’ second big play of the night (morning?) gave them the game’s first points. Tom Brady sees a wide-open Julio Jones coming over the middle of the field and makes the easy throw, letting the veteran show off his speed for a 31-yard touchdown.

This is an easy one. Recognize busted coverage, hit receiver in stride, let him do the rest. Watch as rookie cornerback Tariq Woolen is lined up on Jones at the top of the screen. Not long after the ball is snapped and Jones breaks into his route, Woolen drops deeper, as he is responsible for the zone that Mike Evans runs into. The only problem? Jordyn Brooks doesn’t pick up coverage on Jones. Instead, he trails Evans. That leaves Jones free to make the catch and take advantage of having all the space in the world. He beats out the pursuing defenders for six.

This play is more about the blown assignment and miscommunication in the Seahawks secondary, but it’s still a good call. Jones gets open because of the missed assignment, sure, but he has all that space because of the play design. Out of a 3×1 look, three receivers run vertical routes, taking their defenders downfield with them. That means a lot of green grass for Jones, who showed he still has some speed to work with at 33 years old.

The fact that this big scoring play came on 3rd & 10 in plus-territory makes it that much sweeter, though. For much of the season, the Bucs have seen drives stall once they get inside the 40. Ryan Succop has earned his paycheck week in and week out as a result. But here,

1st & 10 — SEA 46 — Brady To Godwin For 19 Yards

This next play is another one in plus-territory, and it helps spark a scoring opportunity for the Bucs. It’s yet another example of a successful first-down pass, too…

Tampa Bay has Julio Jones, Ko Kieft and Chris Godwin bunched up at the top of the screen. Godwin runs a bender over the middle of the field, first running by rookie Coby Bryant. Once he’s past Bryant, it’s an easy chunk play. Play-action sucks the linebackers up just enough to create space for Godwin, too, and from there, Brady just has to make the throw.

But so much of this play is about Brady’s quick read and his release time. He drops back, spots an open Godwin and releases. You can’t even begin to count to one between the time he sets his feet and the time he lets go of the ball. That’s just classic Brady.

1st & 10 — SEA 27 — Brady To Miller For 22 Yards

Play calling aside, a lot of Tampa Bay’s problems have come from its glaring lack of an established No. 3 wide receiver. Russell Gage was supposed to be that guy, but he’s been dealing with a troublesome hamstring all year. Julio Jones has been that guy when he’s been healthy, but that hasn’t been all that often either. Outside of those two guys, a lot of opportunities have fallen to depth receivers like Scotty Miller.

Miller has seen something of a resurgence over the last couple of games. He’s the one who plays a central role in this next explosive play, which comes right after the 19-yard pass from Tom Brady to Chris Godwin.

Miller runs a great post route here, slipping free just ahead of the 15-yard line. The play design forces the deep safety to commit to the post (Miller) or corner (Chris Godwin). Once Ryan Neal commits to Godwin on the corner route, that leaves Brady the easy choice of hitting Miller, who is wide open. He makes a good throw and while Miller makes a meal of it, he does come down with the catch. Now, if anyone can tell me why he jumped the way he did on a pass that looked to hit him right between the numbers, I’d appreciate it. But hey, it’s a catch.

Jump or no jump, bobble or no bobble — Brady shows a high level of trust in Miller here. It wasn’t the first time he trusted the speedy receiver on the drive, either, as he makes an extremely tough throw to him here on 3rd & 3 a few plays earlier:

The protection here is exceptionally good. But even with that time, Brady doesn’t see anyone open down the field, so he looks Miller’s way. Miller is right at the sticks and there’s not much of a window there for Brady to throw into. But No. 12 trusts No. 10 to make the play.

It’s an outstanding throw, maybe one of Brady’s best of the day. But it also was a display of trust in a receiver who has been low on the depth chart over the last couple of years. Miller rewarded him for it here and then again later in the drive. No one is saying Miller needs to be WR3, but if he can consistently make plays when called upon, it’ll help Tampa Bay’s offense in a big way.

2nd & 2 — SEA 40 — Brady To Godwin For 18 Yards

Here’s another one of Tom Brady’s best throws from Sunday’s game. He doesn’t need long here, but the protection is good while he does need it. He finds Chris Godwin one-on-one with Tariq Woolen and seeing that Woolen has no help, checks to that read. And the beauty of this is the throw. Brady puts it exactly where it needs to be, throwing to Godwin’s back shoulder to take Woolen out of the play.

Godwin makes a good back-shoulder catch here, getting just enough separation from Woolen. It’s not all that splashy of a play, but it’s the kind of Brady-to-Godwin play we’ve missed seeing for a lot of this season. What was splashy, though, was Godwin’s dismount after the catch. Credit where credit’s due on that.

1st & 10 — TB 28 — White Runs For 29 Angry Yards

No setup needed here.

Admittedly, any excuse to watch this run again, I’ll take it. But it was a 29-yard counter run for rookie Rachaad White, and that certainly qualifies as a big play. He won Good Morning Football’s Angry Run Scepter thanks to that nasty stiff arm on Quandre Diggs at the end of the play. But this big play is all about his vision and speed, as well as an excellent display of blocking from the offensive line.

Watch the middle of the screen as left guard Nick Leverett crashes down on Al Woods (No. 99) and left tackle Donovan Smith takes on Myles Adams (No. 95). They’re both effectively taken out of the play, while right guard Shaq Mason pulls to the play side to take out Bruce Irvin (No. 51). The final piece of the blocking effort comes from Ko Kieft, who gets out in space and gets just enough of Jordyn Brooks (No. 56).

There’s a hole open there for White. So, he bounces out and takes it. His vision allows for that to happen, and his speed does the rest. He breaks an ankle tackle and heads down the field, setting up that wicked stiff arm on Diggs. It was Tampa Bay’s first run of 20-plus yards this season, and what a run it was.

2nd & 8 — SEA 41 — Brady To Otton For 25 Yards

All right, we’ve reached the end here. This one is a combination of good protection, a great route, blown coverage and a budding trust between Tom Brady and rookie tight end Cade Otton.

What a sight for sore eyes. How often has Brady been able to comfortably step up in the pocket this season? He does so here, getting phenomenal protection. That allows him to keep his eyes downfield and he finds Otton, who runs right by the Seattle defense and gets open for a big pickup. The rookie tight end has been looking better and better running up the seam as the season has gone on. He has catches of 20-plus yards in three of the Bucs’ last four games. His stock continues to go up.

Bucs Need More Of These Big Plays Down The Stretch

Sunday was a nice day for the Buccaneer offense. But can this unit sustain what it did against the Seahawks? Can Tampa Bay stack these performances down the stretch? It’s clear that this offense is at its best when it’s hitting on big plays. The intermediate-to-deep passing game is obviously a big key. The Bucs are 3-0 in 2022 when Brady’s average depth of target is north of nine yards. They’ve beaten Dallas, New Orleans and Seattle in those games. Dating back to the start of 2020, Tampa Bay is 22-4 when his aDoT is above nine. There is something to that.

But it’s not just a matter of calling on Byron Leftwich to employ more downfield concepts. Brady’s aDoT is a product of good protection from his offensive line. When he trusts his protection, he can let plays develop down the field. That was a big part of his success against the Seahawks on Sunday. Tampa Bay’s offensive line has been much improved since Nick Leverett stepped in at left guard for Luke Goedeke. That much has been clear, which is why it’s paramount that the Bucs stick with Leverett even when Goedeke is healthy.

If the Bucs continue to get good pass protection from their offensive line, more big plays are in their future. If Julio Jones stays healthy, Scotty Miller keeps producing and Russell Gage gets back on the field, that will help too. And feeding Rachaad White will lead to more explosive runs. There’s something of a blueprint to take away from the Week 10 win over the Seahawks. More games like that down the stretch and Tampa Bay will find itself playing its best football of the year at the right time.