Washington pulls off remarkable upset over Tom Brady Tampa Bay Buccaneers

LANDOVER â€" Chase Young encouraged the Washington Football Team to keep fighting. 

Lost to a likely torn ACL that he suffered in the second quarter, the Washington defensive end gave a motivational speech at halftime, according to reports, reiterating that the Burgundy and Gold, leading by 10 over Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccanneers, could actually pull off an upset of the defending Super Bowl champs.

Young’s teammates took the message to heart. 

Washington went out in the second half Sunday and finished off a remarkable 29-19 win over Tampa Bay at FedEx Field, winning despite the loss of its top pass rusher.

The team clinched the victory with its longest drive of the season: A 19-play, 80-yard series that ended with a one-yard touchdown from running back Antonio Gibson. 

Coach Ron Rivera even made the decision for Washington to go for it on fourth and 1 from the goal line.

The win was the team’s first win over a Tom Brady-led team since 2003. And on Sunday, Washington held Brady to 220 yards on 23 of 34 passing for two touchdowns and two interceptions. 

Taylor Heinicke, Washington’s quarterback, actually outgained the 44-year-old â€" throwing for 256 yards on 26 of 32 passing. Washington improved to 3-6 on the season.

Sunday’s contest was a rematch of last season’s playoff game in which Washington fell 31-23 at home to the eventual NFL champions. That game essentially served as a coming-out party for Heinicke â€" the unheralded quarterback who delivered a gutsy performance in primetime. Back then, the future looked bright for Washington â€" with a talented young nucleus that seemed poised to build on their success.

The reality has been much different for the Burgundy and Gold. Hardly anything has gone right this season, with a defense that has regressed and an offense slammed with injuries. 

But an unusual thing happened once Sunday’s game actually started: Washington’s defense resembled more of the disciplined unit that got them to the postseason last year.

Brady got off to an uncharacteristically erratic start â€" and Washington played a big role in that.

In the first quarter, Brady threw two interceptions and completed just two of his first six passes for five yards across Tampa Bay’s first three drives. On Brady’s first turnover, cornerback William Jackson III snatched the ball in midair after safety Kam Curl delivered a hard hit on the receiver. On the second pick, Brady overthrew his intended target and went right to safety Bobby McCain.

The interceptions marked the first time since 2012 when Brady was picked off multiple times in the first quarter.

On both, Washington’s offense was able to capitalize. The first resulted in a 28-yard field goal that gave the Burgundy and Gold a 6-0 lead and then later, Heinicke found wide receiver DeAndre Carter for a 20-yard touchdown.

Carter’s score gave Washington its first double-digit lead of the season â€" up 13-0.  The completion was also much needed for Washington given the offense had stalled in recent weeks near the red zone. In fact, Washington had not scored in the area since Week 5 against the New Orleans Saints. 

A suddenly optimistic FedEx Field crowd fell quiet with 7:43 left in the second quarter when Young went down with his knee injury. The second-year pass rusher appeared to suffer a non-contact knee injury and rolled on the ground in serious pain. Young was not carted off, but he was quickly ruled out not long after he was helped to the locker room by two trainers.

The NFL Network reported at halftime that the team fears Young tore his ACL.

Still, Washington’s defense was able to limit the damage on the field without Young. The team went into halftime with a 16-6 lead and when it returned, the offense was able to answer back whenever Tampa Bay made a push. 

For instance, running back Antonio Gibson punched in a 1-yard touchdown minutes after the Buccaneers cut Washington’s lead to three. Then later on, when Mike Evans torched cornerback Kendall Fuller for a 40-yard touchdown, Washington responded with its lengthy drive that last more than 10 minutes. 

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