Patriots-Buccaneers Thursday Night Football Live Blog
By Matthew Geagan, CBS Boston
Follow along for all the updates from Thursday night's Patriots-Buccaneers game!
Final -- Patriots 19, Buccaneers 14
Winston went looking for O.J. Howard, but Jonathan Jones knocked it away and the Patriots escape with a 19-14 victory.
Phew, that was a lot closer than it had to be. It was your typical Thursday Night Football game (extremely ugly), though it wasn't the offensive battle many thought it would be. The Patriots defense actually looked better for much of the game, aside from a few terrible penalties that Bill Belichick will be ripping them for over the next 10 days.
Tom Brady was under heavy pressure for much of the game, but completed 30 of his 40 passes for 303 yards and a touchdown. He also threw a terrible pick in the first half, and fumbled when taking his third sack of the night.
Rob Gronkowski missed the game with a thigh injury, but Danny Amendola and Chris Hogan came up big with eight catches apiece. Hogan hauled in his fifth touchdown grab of the season in the first half, a new career-high for the receiver.
4th Quarter, 00:03: Winston hit Brate for 19 yards over the middle, and was able to spike it. The Bucs are down to one final shot
4th Quarter, 00:19: The chains, and Bucs, move again as Winston hits Humphries for 20 yards to the New England 26. He went out of bounds too to stop the clock.
4th Quarter, 00:34: A false start by Tampa just cost them a 10 second runoff. This game definitely needed another penalty, just for good measure.
4th Quarter, 00:55: Winston hits Jackson over the middle of the field for a big gain, and Tampa has the ball near the 50.
Jackson was hurt on the play, hitting the ground hard.
4th Quarter, 1:10 -- Patriots 19, Buccaneers 14
A touchdown would have been much better, but instead the Patriots settle for a 48-yard field goal by Gostkowski -- his fourth of the evening. It wobbled a bit on it's way, and looked like it might sneak just a tick wide right, but instead it goes through the uprights to give New England a five point lead.
4th Quarter, 1:28: Brady hits Hogan for only five yards over the middle, so the Pats are facing a fourth-and-3.
After they attempt to draw the Bucs offsides, we'll see Gostkowski for another attempt.
4th Quarter, 1:58: We hit the two minutes warning with the Pats facing a third-and-8 when play resumes.
4th Quarter, 2:08: No dice on the onside attempt, and the Patriots will have to kill just over two minutes starting at the Tampa 37.
4th Quarter, 2:09 -- Patriots 16, Buccaneers 14
Things just got a whole lot more interesting.
That big third down conversion looks even bigger now, as Winston hits Brate for the 18-yard score. Folk actually hit the extra point and the Bucs are within two points.
Now Folk has to go out and deliver an onsides kick.
4th Quarter, 2:22: And there is that long third down conversion given up by the Pats D. Winston hit Jackson for 29 yards between Jonathan Jones and Stephon Gilmore, down to the New England 18.
4th Quarter, 2:35: Winston has to run back and recover a bad snap, and with a pair of New England defenders around him he threw it away. One problem though: His knee was down.
After Belichick angrily threw the challenge flag, the ruling on the field was changed and the Bucs now face a third-and-15.
4th Quarter, 4:38: Nothing doing for the Pats offense, as Tampa burns a pair of timeouts. Brady scrambled on third-and-7, and ended up awkwardly on the ground and had his helmet twisted off.
No. 12 might want to give the ball to someone else.
4th Quarter, 5:36: Nick Folk is probably going to find himself unemployed by tomorrow. The kicker just missed a 31-yarder wide left. He may be cut by the 2-minute warning.
I'm no math major, but if he had converted on those it would be a tie game. It's late though, so don't quote me on that.
Lost in Folk's inability to put a football through the uprights is the Pats' D just came up with another stop in the red zone.
4th Quarter, 5:39: Winston's third down pass sails out of the back of the end zone, looking for Mike Evans, who was on the ground.
4th Quarter, 5:47: What do ya know, another penalty! A hands to the face by Evan Smith takes a Winston rushing touchdown off the board for Tampa.
4th Quarter, 6:41: Brate just dropped a touchdown from Winston, who delivered a strike right into his breadbasket in the end zone.
4th Quarter, 9:17: Winston hit Jackson for a 41-yard catch-and-run on third-and-2 from the Tampa 11. As well as the D has played tonight, that was bad.
4th Quarter, 10:45: Elandon Roberts brought the thunder on the first play of the drive, forcing Winston to throw it away in his own end zone. Not sure how that wasn't intentional grounding, but chalk it up to Thursday night...
4th Quarter, 10:49: More pressure on Brady, and he had to throw a deep pass to Hogan down the sideline a little bit earlier than he wanted to on third-and-12.
Rather than go for a 52-yard field goal, Belichick opted to punt it away. That proved to be a good decision, as Matthew Slater (welcome back!) downed Ryan Allen's punt at the Tampa 3.
4th Quarter, 12:20: The Bucs blitzed Brady on third-and-8, and he calmly hit Amendola over the middle of the field for 13 yards down to the Tampa 31.
4th Quarter, 14:19: They chose... poorly.
Folk goes wide left on his 49-yard attempt. Really, really wide left. Safe to say that Tampa has a kicker issue.
Sweet fancy Moses this game is ugly.
4th Quarter, 14:46: Nothing for Martin on his third-and-2 run, and now it's decision time for the Bucs.
End 3rd Quarter -- Patriots 16, Buccaneers 7
The Bucs are at the New England 31 as we head into the final 15 minutes of this one. They'll face a third-and-2 when play resumes.
3rd Quarter, 00:45: Tampa has their first third-down conversion of the night, as Winston finally connects with Brate to move the chains. They're now 1-for-8 on third down.
3rd Quarter, 3:11: Another playfake by Brady, another turnover. Adarius Glanton hit Brady untouched from the QB's blindside and forced the football out, and Will Clarke picked it up at the Tampa 47.
The offensive line is looking putrid tonight -- allowing three sacks. They've given up 16 sacks on the season. Awful.
3rd Quarter, 5:59: Danny Amendola just came up with the catch of the night, hauling in a back shoulder pass from Brady with one hand, but he was flagged for OPI and none of it matter.
We're up to 16 accepted penalties between the two teams. Thursday Night Football is the pits.
3rd Quarter, 6:51: Make it 0-for-7 for the Bucs on third down. Chung comes through again, knocking another potential first down out of the hands of Cameron Brate over the middle.
3rd Quarter, 8:20: The Bucs are 0-for-6 on third downs, but have four first downs thanks to New England penalties.
Their latest gift came off of an offsides by Brandon Bolden. Bill Belichick is not pleased on the New England sideline. He'll have a few things to say to his players after this one.
3rd Quarter, 9:55, Patriots 16, Buccaneers 7
The Pats settle for another Gostkowski field goal, this one from 45 yards out to give them a nine-point advantage. He's a perfect 3-for-3 on the evening and 11-for-11 on the season.
Brady closed the drive with two straight incomplete passes.
3rd Quarter, 10:04: Brady's completion streak ends at 13, as he was nearly picked off by a diving Justin Evans on second-and-4.
3rd Quarter, 12:41: Brady and Cooks are feeling it to start the second half, connecting on back-to-back big plays.
First it was a 17 yard connection on a cross route on first-and-10, followed by a deep 34-yard hookup the next play down to the Tampa 43.
Brady has now completed 12 straight.
3rd Quarter, 13:20: The Bucs just missed on a big one, as Jackson had Butler beat downfield for a potential long touchdown.
Instead, Winston overthrew his target and the Bucs are now 0-for-5 on third down.
A hold by Nate Ebner on the ensuing kick has the Patriots set up at their own 6-yard line.
Halftime -- Patriots 13, Buccaneers 7
Ugly end of the half for the Patriots, but it didn't cost them anything in the end as they take a 13-7 lead into the locker room.
The Pats should have four more points on the board, but the offense stalled on their final drive (which started at the Tampa 27) and had to settle for a field goal. Brady has been under pressure all night, but as completed 18 of his 22 passes for 169 yards, a touchdown and a bad interception on New England's first drive. He finished strong though, going 10-for-10 in the second quarter.
Tampa entered this game with just one sack on the season, but have gotten to Brady twice so far. The QB has yet to throw toward a tight end in the game.
Danny Amendola and James White both have six catches, and Chris Hogan has four grabs and a touchdown -- his fifth of the young season.
The defense has played better, despite some extremely dumb penalties, holding Tampa to just 123 yards in the first half.
2nd Quarter, 00:00: Another gift courtesy of a bad Patriots penalty. This time it was Cassius Marsh who committed a roughing the passer on Winston's hail Mary bid. His pass was incomplete short of the end zone, but it will give the Bucs a shot at a long field goal.
Just incredibly dumb and undisciplined play by the Pats D to end the half. Luckily, Nick Folk missed the 56-yard attempt wide right. Really, really wide right.
2nd Quarter, 00:02: Another bad penalty by Wise, as he gets hit with a roughing the passer on a play that could have ended the half. Instead, the Bucs will have a shot at the end zone.
2nd Quarter, 00:20: We've got a scuffle on the field, with DeSean Jackson and Malcolm Butler getting into it. Unfortunately for Duron Harmon, Butler's attempt at throwing a punch hit his teammate and not Jackson.
Kind of sums up the New England D the first month of the season.
2nd Quarter, 00:40 -- Patriots 13, Buccaneers 7
The Patriots settle for a 23-yard field goal from Stephen Gostkowski, a disappointing end to a drive that started at the Tampa 27.
2nd Quarter, 1:19: Yuck. The Bucs took away Brady's options on third-and-goal, and the QB had to hit the turf before getting hit by a group of rather large defenders.
Not a great way to end the half for the offense. Brady was 10-for-10 for the second quarter.
2nd Quarter, 1:43: Facing a third-and-2, Brady hits Amendola on the right side for 10 yards to the Tampa Bay 9-yard line. That's Danny's sixth catch of the evening.
2nd Quarter, 2:00: We hit the 2-minute warning with the Patriots threatening. Dion Lewis picked up four yards on a run to the right, a play in which David Andrews lost his helmet.
2nd Quarter, 2:09: Danny Amendola ripped off a 40-yard punt return, and a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty on the Bucs has the Patriots set up at the Tampa Bay 27.
2nd Quarter, 2:28: Winston went deep to Jackson on third-and-9, and nearly found a leaping Duron Harmon instead. But Harmon dropped the ball as he hit the ground hard, and the Bucs will instead punt it away.
2nd Quarter, 3:42 -- Patriots 10, Buccaneers 7
Brady capped off a 7-for-7 drive by hitting Chris Hogan in the end zone for the receiver's fifth touchdown of the season. That's a new career high for Hogan, and we're only in Week 5.
The receiver caught the ball in the end zone, but was pushed out before he had his two feet down. It still goes in the books as a touchdown, even after a review.
Just another week of Thursday Night Football...
2nd Quarter, 6:02: The Patriots are in the red zone, as Brady dropped a beaut into James Whites' hands down the right side for 24 yards to the Tampa 18.
White is up to four grabs in this one for 48 yards.
2nd Quarter, 6:30: Brady erased that second-and-23 with a lovely 19-yard hookup with Brandin Cooks, followed by a big third-down conversion to Amendola for 10 yards.
2nd Quarter, 7:38: Tom Brady is getting crushed. He was just sandwiched between a pair of Bucs lineman as he completed a pass to Amendola over the middle.
The completion didn't count, as Solder was hit with a "peel back block." It's quite the nonsense call, and it's a shame that it also doesn't take away the crushing blow Brady just took.
2nd Quarter, 8:26 -- Buccaneers 7, Patriots 3
Doug Martin has his touchdown, as he leaps over the pig pile at the goal line for six points.
The Bucs covered 68 yards on the drive, with Martin accounting for 48 of them on five carries. They benefited from a HUGE penalty by the New England D, but the Tampa offense looks to be in a rhythm now.
Time for the offense to go to work, and hopefully do something this time.
2nd Quarter, 8:50: No touchdown, but the Bucs have a first-and-goal at the one-yard line.
2nd Quarter, 8:50: Martin burst up the middle for an 11-yard touchdown, but it appears his knee was down inside the one-yard line. It was ruled a touchdown on the field, but it is likely coming back.
2nd Quarter, 10:02: The Patriots commit a costly penalty of their own, as Deatrich Wise Jr. gets hit for illegal hands to the face that gives the Bucs a first down. That's huge, as Winston was nowhere near completing his third-and-20 attempt to Brate.
2nd Quarter, 10:22: The Pats can thank O.J. Howard for killing any momentum the Bucs had. The rookie tight end was flagged for another hold, erasing another big run by Martin and setting up a second-and-20 for Tampa.
2nd Quarter, 10:59: The Tampa offensive line gave Doug Martin a giant hole to run through, and he used it to pick up 17 yards down to the New England 23.
This came after the running back broke off an 11-yard run the play before. As good as the Patriots D looked to start the game, they're getting gashed on this drive.
2nd Quarter, 13:38: The Patriots came into the quarter facing a second-and-1, and had to punt it away.
Gillislee was stuffed for no gain on a second down run, and Brady was sacked by Gerald McCoy on third down. Brady is getting crushed by a team that entered the game with just one sack.
Rough start for the New England offensive line.
End 1st Quarter -- Patriots 3, Buccaneers 0
The Patriots have a slim lead in this low-scoring affair after the first 15 minutes.
Brady has felt a lot of pressure so far and has completed eight of his 12 passes for 69 yards and an interception. Lewis is the leading rusher with 34 yards, picking up 31 of them on a single run.
The New England D has played extremely well so far, giving up just 29 yards. It's just the second quarter this season the Patriots defense hasn't allowed any points.
1st Quarter, 00:21: The Bucs punt it away for the third time, as Patrick Chung makes a nice play to break up a third-and-9 bid by Winston to tight end Cameron Brate.
The Pats will take over at their own 23-yard line.
1st Quarter, 1:21 -- Patriots 3, Buccaneers 0
The Pats are on the board, as Stephen Gostkowski boots a 27-yard field goal.
Brady had to run for his life on third down, avoiding a sack by scrambling and throwing it away at the last second.
It was a good 13-play drive by the Pats that covered 89 yards in 7:10. Lewis' big run was the highlight.
1st Quarter, 2:49: Big play alert, and it's from Dion Lewis!
The shifty back just broke off a 31-yard run to get the Patriots to the Tampa Bay 14.
1st Quarter, 3:28: A Nate Solder hold wipes out a nice 9-yard run by Mike Gillislee, and sets up a first-and-20 for the Patriots.
New England also used their first timeout.
1st Quarter, 5:59: Tampa has just their second sack of the season, as Clinton McDonald gets to Brady for a seven-yard loss -- and a painful one at that. David Andrews couldn't block the defensive tackle as Brady made a play fake to Mike Gillislee.
Brady was stretching his neck a bit as he got up.
1st Quarter, 6:50: Facing a third-and-5 deep in their own zone, Brady hit Hogan over the middle for 12 yards.
1st Quarter, 8:31: Winston overthrew Martin on a short pass on third down and the Bucs were forced to punt it away again.
The Pats gave up a first down on the first play of the drive, a 10-yard connection by Winston to Evans, but otherwise the defense has looked solid to start this one.
Brady and Co. will have a lot of field to cover though, as Bryan Anger's punt was downed at the New England 2-yard line.
1st Quarter, 9:25: His second carry didn't go so well, as Adam Butler wrapped him up in the backfield for a yard loss. It sets up a third-and-3 for Tampa.
1st Quarter, 9:59: Bucs running back Doug Martin took his first carry of the season for eight yards up the middle.
1st Quarter, 10:44: The Patriots follow up Tampa's punt with one of their own. Brady had Cooks over the middle for a first down on third-and-5, but the receiver dropped the pass. Not a very good start for the New England offense.
Thursday Night Football, ladies and gentlemen!
1st Quarter, 11:28: The Bucs do nothing with the Brady pick as they go three-and-out. Jameis Winston overthrew Mike Evans on third-and-9, and Tampa was forced to punt it away.
**Correction: Tampa picked up a first down on the first play of the drive. Apologies all around**
Gilmore did a good job staying with Evans as Winston scrambled to buy some more time. This is a tough matchup against the 6-foot-5 playmaker, but Gilmore looked much better on New England's first defensive stand of the night.
The Pats will start their second drive at their own 20-yard line.
1st Quarter, 12:57: What looked like a promising opening drive came to an abrupt end when Brady threw behind Chris Hogan and right into the arms of rookie safety Justin Evans for the QB's first interception of the season.
Brady completed his first four passes of the game, but that was just a bad, bad pick. Tampa will take over on their own 38-yard line.
Pregame -- 8:22pm: The Patriots lost the coin toss and the Buccaneers defer to the second half. So the Patriots offense will get the ball first.
Pregame -- 8:10pm: Asked about those amazing color rush uniforms during his pregame interview on 98.5 The Sports Hub, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick sounds pumped.
"Really excited," the coach said in his usual monotone style.
Pregame -- 7:35pm: Feel the rush, everyone.
Here's a look at New Engalnd's color rush unis for tonight. They're... very white.
Good luck to those lining up outside the Patriots Pro Shop later tonight. Chances are you won't have much company.
Pregame -- 6:57pm: It's official: The Patriots will be without Rob Gronkowski tonight in Tampa.
No other surprises on the inactive list, as Gilmore will indeed be playing after being listed as questionable on Wednesday.
Here is New England's full list of inactive:
One name we don't see on that list for the first time this season is special teams captain Matthew Slater, who will make his season debut.
Here are Tampa Bay's inactives for tonight's game:
Pregame -- 6:45pm: Despite an early injury concern, it appears Stephon Gilmore will be out there tonight.
Pregame -- 6:30pm: New England didn't have too long to think about their Week 4 loss to the Carolina Panthers. The 2-2 Patriots look to bounce back as they pay the Tampa Bay Buccaneers a visit on Thursday Night Football, their third game in the last 13 days.
Playing on a short week is never easy for any NFL team, but things got a lot more difficult for the Patriots in the last hours. Rob Gronkowski isn't expected to play according to ESPN's Adam Schefter, with a thigh contusion forcing Tom Brady's biggest target to the sidelines. The Patriots offense hasn't been the issue so far this season, but now Brady will have to deal with life without his go-to target. Chances are they'll still be able to score against a Buccaneers defense that is allowing just a tick under 400 yards per game, but it won't be as easy as Brady and company have made it look so far.
The big issue for the Pats so far is their abysmal defense, and that may also be shorthanded come tonight's late kickoff. Stephon Gilmore (ankle) was seen working with trainers on the field and looks to be a game-time decision. Most would argue that not having Gilmore out there would be a benefit to the defense, but at the moment they're a little short on bodies in the secondary. Eric Rowe has already been ruled out with a groin injury, and if Gilmore can't go, the Pats will have Malcolm Butler, Jonathan Jones and Johnson Bademosi (who has never played an NFL snap) at corner.
We'll know more about Gilmore (and Gronk's official status) when inactives are released around 7pm.
