Buccaneers 19, Patriots 17
Obviously very, very happy with the win. Thought our guys gutted it out all night, and defensively we got the turnovers we were talking about. Offensively obviously would've liked to see more touchdowns instead of all them field goals, but it was a rough night for our kickers early, but they bounced back and did a heck of a job for us.
Good team win. We had some guys out there for the first time playing a lot of snaps. They did a hell of a job.
Q. Do you have any update on Charlton Davis' quad?
A. No, it'll be a while looks like.
Q. (Regarding two corners and Sherman playing every snap.)
A. We talked about it all week. Whether it was Dee, Pierre, even Rashard was ready. Then we lost Winfield for the last couple drives. Can't say enough about the secondary stepping up. Pass rush was really good.
Got picked a couple times that weren't called, but other than that it was all right.
Q. You talk about your own red zone. With your defense, settle for field goals late.
A. Yeah, it was going to be a tough red zone battle. We knew that. I would've liked to see us execute a little bit better. I thought early we should have run the ball a little bit more. When we did we had some success. We got a little greedy trying to go for touchdowns right away.
Q. Can you speak to Fournette's effort overall tonight?
A. Thought Lenny played his ass off and really solid in the run game and the passing game. Got that matchup we were looking for. People don't realize how fast he is, and that was a great good matchup and good ball.
Q. What did it mean for guys to be able to come out here and get to win for Tom and do it on a historic night?
A. It wasn't for Tom. It was for us. We ain't losing is two in a row. We knew it's going to be a tough game, but we're back in the victory column. The blessing is it was nice for Tom.
Q. Were you surprised they tried a 56-yard field goal in the rain?
A. No. I saw him making 60 before the game in that direction, so I was not worried about it.
Q. How do you think Brady played?
A. Very careful. He wasn't going to make any mistakes that cost us the game. Crunched in crunch time, the two minute drive before the half, when we had to have field goals, he got us down the field.
Q. There has been some discrepancy on the injury to Gronkowski. Reports of a punctured lung and multiple rib fractures. Are you able to clarify that a little bit.
A. Once he had the CT scans some things showed up. He did have I think three or four fractures and a pinch in the lung. It wasn't blown up, but we'll see how long it takes.
Q. Is it possible he could be back as soon as the Eagles game?
A. Could be next week. Who knows?
Q. To see Carlton go down on special teams, are things that tight right now?
A. It was a punt safe situation. We kept our defense out there looking for the fakes, and just unfortunate for him.
Q. (No microphone.)
A. Have no idea. No idea.
Q. This big victory is very special for all the team, but for you personally, today is your birthday.
A. Yeah, that was a hell of a good birthday present. Ball bounced off that upright, thank you Lord.
Q. You said this wasn't for Tom, but... (No microphone.)
A. I think it's very, very special for him obviously. You know, he kept it inside all week and he's probably letting it out right now.
But it was a big week for him but it was a bigger week for the team. I was very, very frustrated with everybody saying this was a quarterback and a coach. This is a team sport. The Bucs won this game. We beat the Patriots. We were losing sight that this is a team game.
Everybody wanted to make this all about Brady and Belichick. I don't think Bill played a snap. He had 22 guys out there playing their ass off, and I knew he would. We had 22 guys out there playing their asses off. One of them just happened to be named Brady.
Q. What can you say about the penalties?
A. Yeah, we talked a lot about it. That was a big, big one to start the second half. Took away a big chunk.
Q. Based on the way you guys finished last season and all the guys coming back on offense, expectations were sky high. Does it feel like the offense is underperforming the last couple weeks?
A. Not really. We had two really good defenses on the road. I'll take road wins, I don't care how they come. We're not looking for style points.
Yeah, we're still up in the 30s, averaging close to 30. That's plenty enough.
Q. (Regarding the weather.)
A. No. Is it was the way they were playing. We knew we could run it and running was the way we won the game. Just stay patient with it, and we have a tendency to let's go get chunks and I'm the worst one at that. Just stay patient and run the ball.
Q. You got the quarterback on the ground a lot. Looked like a concerted effort tonight.
A. Great job. I thought Joe played his tail off. The entire group. Somebody picked for Joe one time. Yeah, we had a good pass rush tonight and got the turnovers we were looking for.
Q. (No microphone.)
A. He's in the protocol. We don't know.
Q. (No microphone.)
A. Mac?
Q. Yeah.
A. Just like I thought he would be, calm and cool. Played his tail off. Yeah, he gave his team a chance to win.
Q. Happy birthday, Coach.
A. Thank you.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports