What an exciting evening of Monday Night Football for Week 13 in the NFL! My initial headline for this article was going to be “The Saints March All Over the GOAT.” Boy, was I surprised (yet, not that surprised) that The GOAT, Tom Brady, pulled it out once again and proved why he is the greatest of all time.
NFL Monday Night Football Week 13 Game Recap
The Saints held the lead for the majority of the game. Andy Dalton looked stellar and moved the ball around efficiently. Tom Brady was sacked, threw interceptions and looked like the same old, tired man that he has looked since the beginning of the season.
All whispers of “Tom Brady has to retire at the end of this year” were silenced as the Saints gave the ball back to the Buccaneers with two minutes left on the clock. Anyone who has ever watched Tom Brady come back with two minutes left on the clock wrote the ending of this game with ease.
Alvin Kamara was basically absent from the game as he rushed 12 times for 26 yards and caught the ball twice for 11 yards. Andy Dalton tried to incorporate him into the game, but it was Mark Ingram who showed up in a big way. Ingram caught 100% of his five targets and was a consistent target for Dalton.
Rashid Shaheed had a big night, also catching all four balls that were thrown his way for 75 yards and returning the ball one time for 30 yards. Adam Trautman, Chris Olave, Taysom Hill and Jarvis Landry also had chunks of gameplay as Andy Dalton spread the ball around the field.
On the other side of the ball, Tom Brady tried his damndest to put up big plays. Chris Godwin, Rachaad White, Cade Otton, Leonard Fournette, Mike Evans, Julio Jones (I know, right?), Scotty Miller, Ko Kieft and Russell Gage were all on the receiving end of the football.
The Marching Saints
Tampa Bay was the first to put points on the board with a successful field goal by Ryan Succop more than halfway through the first quarter. An additional 15 minutes of gameplay would pass until the next score of the game when Andy Dalton launched the ball into the air with Taysom Hill as his target. Hill caught the 30-yard catch and ran the rock into the end zone for the first time since Week 7.
The first half ended quietly with the Saints up 10-3. The Bucs were frustrated and looked absolutely defeated.
The “ComeBuc” Kids
The third quarter was scoreless for only three minutes until the Saints were unable to score a touchdown and settled for a field goal, putting them up 13-3.
The fourth quarter held all the action. In a repeat performance, New Orleans was unable to get the TD and settled for yet another field goal. Points are points, right? Wrong. An anger-fueled Bucs team drove the ball down the field, and it was Cade Otton this time with his second touchdown of the season with three minutes left in the game.
The Saints scrambled and again were unable to answer the call to put points on the board. They gave the ball back to Tampa Bay with two minutes left on the clock.
Andy Dalton was visibly stressed on the sidelines as the Bucs drilled the ball downfield. There was a raucous cheer as Brady threw the ball into the end zone with eight seconds left, caught by Chris Godwin. Unfortunately, an offensive holding penalty set the Bucs back 10 yards. However, that didn’t matter.
In typical Tom Brady style, he found his guy near the end zone and threw the ball to rookie running back Rachaad White, who hauled in a six-yard reception with three seconds left in the game for the win.
Key Stats
- Tom Brady: 36-54 for 281 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception
- Leonard Fournette: 10 rushes for 49 yards
- Chris Godwin: 8 receptions for 63 yards
- Rachaad White: 6 receptions for 41 yards and 1 touchdown
- Cade Otton: 6 receptions for 28 yards and 1 touchdown
- Andy Dalton: 20-28 for 229 yards and 1 touchdown
- Mark Ingram: 7 rushes for 27 yards; 5 receptions for 22 yards
- Rashid Shaheed: 4 receptions for 75 yards
- Taysom Hill: 2 receptions for 35 yards and 1 touchdown
NFL Monday Night Football Week 13 Takeaways
Tom Brady leads the NFL record with his 44th career fourth-quarter comeback. Congratulations to him. He continues to break records, but it’s painful to watch. Coming out of a 42-day retirement, it seemed like Brady was going to have a great season ahead of him. That has not been the case, as the Buccaneers ended last night’s game with a 6-6 record. At this point, I think Brady is looking at true retirement after this season. He’s full of surprises, though, so we could see him again next season.
Andy Dalton looked fantastic last night. He continues to impress each week (with the exception of a couple of weeks) and keeps finding his man downfield. He’s calm under pressure and last night was no exception. But, unfortunately, he was unable to make two big connections that would have guaranteed a win.
Both teams played their hearts out, but it’s nearly impossible to beat the Brady Bucs when they get the ball back under pressure at the end of the game. Tampa Bay walked away with the win, 17-16.
That’s it for me for NFL Monday Night Football Week 13! I’ll be back next week to give you all the highlights when the New England Patriots fly to sunny Arizona to take on the Cardinals.
For more from me, you can find all of my work on Twitter @JenPolvogt.
