The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are coming off their first playoff win since 2002. They traveled to Maryland to face the 7-9 Washington Football Team and pulled off a 31-23 win that was closer than what the scoreboard may reflect.
Tom Brady was back to his usual postseason form, completing 22 of 40 passing attempts for 381 yards and 2 touchdowns without interceptions, pulling the strings of then offense to prove that he's still got it.
Washington's physical defense did a great job of rushing him to throw away the ball for most of the time and standout rookie Chase Young proved that he'll be a star in the NFL for a very long time, but that wasn't enough to beat one of the greatest of all time.
Bruce Arians Says Chase Young's Comments Inspired The Buccaneers To Beat Washington
And, according to head coach Bruce Arians, one of the things that truly fueled the Buccaneers' desire to beat Washington was the fact that Young tried to challenge Tom Brady by shouting out "I want Tom" after they clinched a playoff berth: "Our guys took it to heart -- they didn't scare us," Arians said.
Chase Young had already doubled-down on his take about wanting to face Tom Brady in the playoffs. Rather than being disrespectful, he simply added that he was going to be excited because he had a chance to play the GOAT:
"I’m excited for every game. Tom Brady? You think I won’t be excited to play against the GOAT? You trippin’. I’m not going to apologize for saying I want Tom," Young told the media when asked about his comments.
Coach Arians had already warned Young about his desire to face Tom Brady and how things could turn out for him: "We’ll have our hands full, but it’s one of those games where you better watch what you wish for," he said.
At the end of the day, we all know that Chase Young is going to have plenty of opportunities of winning a playoff game, while this might as well be Tom Brady's final shot at another ring. Still, we love the rook's confidence, as he was able to back it up on the field, even despite the loss.
