Indianapolis — Tampa Bay Buccaneers trailblazer Leonard Fournette not only had four touchdowns to propel the team to a 38-31 road win over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday — including a 28-yard TD run with 29 seconds – He also gave a halftime speech that resonated with teammates when they were down 24-14 in the half.
The Bucs had already lost three games on the road this year – at the Los Angeles Rams in Week 3, at the New Orleans Saints in Week 8 & Washington in Week 10 – a major hurdle they had to attempt to clear as they went through the Super Bowl. Want to repeat as champion.
“I was like, ‘You have to have a will & a will,’” said Fournet, who ran for 100 yards on 17 carries and added seven catches for 31 yards. “’You have to be willing to risk everything. Play the game, you have to win, you have to fight every game.’ I think they understood that message & extinguished their light.”
The Bucs struggled to find their rhythm on offense in the first half, swinging the ball twice – first on a Chris Godwin fumble that was forced out by linebacker Darius Leonard, with safety Andrew Sandejo making a recovery, then a Tom Brady pass. But intended for wide receiver Scotty Miller who was picked by Isaiah Rodgers.
On defense, cornerback Shaun Murphy-Bunting was defeated by Ashton Dullin on a 62-yard touchdown. He also dropped a 16-yard melee to Carson Wentz in third & -15, & then a 22-yard welcome to Jack Doyle in third & -10, who set up a 4-yard touchdown from T.Y. Hilton just before halftime.
The Bucs expected NFL lead runner Jonathan Taylor to drive the ball more, but he had just eight runs in the first half.
“You can tell the mood – the people had low energy. And it wasn’t like we [were] kicking our asses out. It’s just the little things that separate us from them winning the game,” Fournet said . “So just trying to promote everyone who comes out. And thank goodness it worked out.”
Fournet’s peers agreed that his words inspired him.
“He told us a lot to keep fighting,” said safety Antoine Winfield Jr., who jumped on the ball to jump to Michael Pittman Jr. with 5:35 to go into the third quarter, said the interception. “We control our own destiny and [if] we want to be the team we want to be, we have to step up & win games like this.”
“He definitely said some stuff that got us going,” said outside linebacker Shaq Barrett, whose third-quarter sack from Wentz recovered him. “He said we were a special group — that’s one reason he came back. And we know we can play [like] a special group. We just have to show it. Show it and play.”
Added Brady of the speech: “[It was huge. He just made big play after big play. That’s what it takes to win. You have to play. There’s not a lot of margin of error. Really well are.” – Trained team that has a lot of good players, and everyone is working hard to win. So, you’re either going to play or you don’t. And we didn’t make them that much in the first half, but we Definitely made him in the second half.”
Fournette set a personal record and a Books franchise record with four TDs from Scrimmage.
“We were all watching him running and doing a great job with the ball. It gives us energy on the edge,” Winfield said. “We see him running, working hard, and it makes us want to play better.”
“He talked at halftime, let us go, then came out there & backed it up with everything he was talking about,” Barrett said. To seal it for us – throughout the game because he was playing the whole game well, making the game the whole game, and that was the difference in the game for us.”
Added Rob Gronkowski, who caught seven passes for 123 yards: “It was excellent. It got everyone excited. He went out there and he backed it up, & it shows how much we respect Lenny.
“I felt like we were flat in the first half. There was no energy. In the second half, we just went out there and played as a team – offensively, defensively – the defense was building turnovers, we were scoring, Lenny The ball was going wonderfully, & we stuck together too. And thus getting the win on the road – it was a playoff-caliber win.”
At 8-3, the Bucs have road games remaining at the Atlanta Falcons next week, the Carolina Panthers in Week 16, & the New York Jets in Week 18, but coach Bruce Arian said he believed Sunday won their game. Marked a turning point. As the season progresses they continue to top seed, which will guarantee home ground advantage during the playoffs.
“I don’t think there’s any doubt about it,” Arian said. “We’re going to play some tough road games, but I don’t think we’re going to play any tough games.”