Tom Brady took the low, unbalanced snap to the left, recognized the man’s coverage and then fired.
It was all over from there.
28-23 after a touchdown in Washington, the Bucs faced an 8 second out of their own 25. With just over 4:00 to play, the Bucs needed a big move.
Then they dialed a chance for their best receiver. A guy named Mike Evans, who just set an NFL record with seven consecutive 1,000-yard seasons to start a career. A guy who was questionable to play all week after hyperextending his knee just six days ago.
A guy, who like most of the Bucs cast, had never made it to the playoffs until Brady arrived.
It was a perfect move and Evans beat his man. The ball fell straight into the bucket – Evans’ arms – and the end result was a 35-yard gain that took the Bucs to Washington 40.
This was not just a big move, it was the move that would allow Bucs to increase their advantage from five points to eight points. It was the move that gave Bucs the opportunity to attack Taylor Heinicke and Washington’s attack on three of Washington’s last six snaps and Washington’s three snaps as the team crossed the midfield.
It was the play that won the game.
You expect it from Brady. On a night full of mistakes, he was the calming presence and kept the ship afloat. You also expect that from Evans – if you’re a Bucs fan – to a certain extent. He made great moves and clutch footprints throughout his career.
But doing so after suffering the injury he suffered on Sunday puts Saturday’s performance in a different category. This was not his only catch of the game. Evans also led the team in both receptions and yards, with six receptions for 119 yards on 10 targets. At the time of publication, he was second in the NFL in playoff receiving yards, just eight behind leader Stefon Diggs.
“It’s a big night for him. We always say how tough he is – he was probably 85 [to] 90 percent, which for Mike, that’s great. He played most of the season at 70 [percent healthy], ”Bruce Arians said after the game. “We had the one who released his fingertips and thought he was going to make it, but I can’t say enough about his gut and playing very well.”
Brady shot for 381 yards and two touchdowns. He currently has the most yards and the third highest QBR rating of any defender who played on Saturday. He is tied for most pass touchdowns, too.
That’s what playoff football is all about and the Bucs are going to need these heroic performances if they want to continue playing in January. Bucs know this and expect nothing less.
“You can win 100-0 and it will give you the same result in the end. You would love to play well in every game – I think it is good to win and move forward. If we don’t play well next week, we won’t be happy, ”Brady told reporters after the game. “[I’m] glad we won [and] happy to have another week of work. We will go in there and try to do a much better job this week and prepare for whoever our opponent is – it will be a good job. We will have to play great football. “