The 4th preseason game has never been mistaken for a playoff game. The draw of the contest is the young players near the bottom of the depth chart fighting for a roster spot, not the competitiveness of the contest. Thursday night at Raymond James Stadium was no different. The Bucs offense struggled mightily and only managed 6 yards passing in the 1st half. The Redskins weren’t too much better. A Dustin Hopkins field goal accounted for the only 3 points on the board heading to the final frame. Both teams added field goals, but a Josh Harvey-Clemons pick 6 would be the 1st touchdown of the game to make it a 10-point lead for Washington. The Bucs got the 1st offensive touchdown of the game when Bernard Reedy hauled in a Sefo Liufau pass in the back of the endzone. Tampa Bay got the ball back with just over a minute left in the game, but couldn't complete the comeback as they dropped the preseason finale, 13-10.
As is usual in the final preseason game, not many starters took the field at the beginning of the game. Nate Sudfeld started the game at quarterback for Washington and Ryan Fitzpatrick started for Tampa Bay. The teams traded punts on each of their 1st possessions. Washington moved the ball more and was able to flip the field position. They started their 2nd drive with good field position. They were only able to move the ball 19 yards before the drive stalled, but it was enough to be in field goal range for a Dustin Hopkins 53-yard field goal.
Tampa Bay had the ball to start the 2nd quarter, but once again couldn’t move the ball and were forced to punt. The Redskins behind the combonation of Sudfeld and Matt Hazel. They drove the ball close to the redzone, but were stopped on a 4th down attempt at the Tampa Bay 24-yard line. The Bucs offense continued to struggle after the turnover on downs and went 3 and out once again. Washington missed their chance to extend the lead when they missed a field goal in the final 2 minutes. The 1st half mercifully ended for the Bucs with just over 8 minutes of possession and 6 passing yards.
The Bucs finally got the ball rolling with the 1st drive of the 3rd quarter. Bobo Wilson set them up in nice field position with a solid kick return. Sefo Liufau led the team into Redskins’ territory for the 1st time, but could only get them in field goal range. Zach Hocker missed badly on a 56-yard attempt that would’ve tied the game. The Bucs caught another break when Cameron Lynch forced a fumble near midfield to get the team the ball back, but the offense once again couldn’t take advantage and stalled out quickly.
We entered the 4th quarter with the Redskins still holding the field goal advantage. Dustin Hopkins continued to be the only scorer of the night when he connected from 50 yards out early in the quarter to double the lead to 6. Bobo Wilson made one last ditch effort by hauling in a deep pass from Liufau. He jumped up off the turf after it seemed he hadn’t been touched and waltzed into the endzone. The play was reviewed and the replay showed that Wilson had been touched to take the points off the board. The Bucs weren’t able to get into the endzone, but Zach Hocker did get Tampa Bay within a field goal again when he was good from 47 yards out. The defense got Liufau and the offense the ball back, but Josh Harvey-Clemons intercepted Liufau and took it to the house. That extended the lead to 10 and looked like it might ice the game, but the offense went right down the field and got the 1st passing touchdown of the preseason when Liufau hit Reedy in the back of the endzone. Lifuau had one more chance to be the hero, but his hail mary attempt was incomplete on the last play.
The Bucs will now have 10 days off to prepare for the regular season opener. The season kicks off in Miami against the Dolphins at Sun Life Stadium. Kickoff on September 10th is scheduled for 1 pm and you can hear all the action on our sister station 98 Rock.