Leonard Fournette capped a four-touchdown game with a 28-yard scoring run with 20 seconds left to give Tampa Bay a 38-31 come-from-behind victory at Indianapolis.
Tom Brady led the Buccaneers on the eight-play, 75-yard tiebreaking scoring march after getting the ball back with 3:29 left.
Indy had a chance to force overtime after a long kickoff return. But Carson Wentz's first pass fell incomplete and his second was picked off.
The difference was turnovers. Tampa Bay converted its first three takeaways into 17 points — two taking away Colts scoring chances.
Indy controlled the first half when it took a 24-14 lead.
But the Bucs swung the momentum when Shaquil Barrett sacked Wentz early in the second half, ripped the ball out and recovered it at the Bucs 35. Six plays later, Fournette scored on a 4-yard TD run.
On the Colts’ next series, Antoine Winfield outfought Michael Pittman Jr. for the ball and Brady wasted no time converting that mistake another score — Ronald Jones’ 1-yard TD run for a 28-24 lead with 1:06 left in the third quarter.
Tampa Bay made it 31-24 with a short field goal following Nyheim Hines’ fumble on a punt return and Indy tied it on Jonathan Taylor’s 4-yard TD run with 3:29 remaining.
But that was too much time for Brady, who took the Bucs right down the field.
INJURY REPORT
Buccaneers: Linebacker Devin White started despite being listed as questionable with a quadriceps injury but left in the first half after hurting his hip. He returned in the second half. Defensive tackle Vita Vea left briefly after losing a tooth and starting cornerback Jamel Dean was knocked out of the game in the first quarter with an injured right shoulder.
Colts: Defensive tackle DeForest Buckner, a 2020 All-Pro, left late in the first half with a right knee injury but returned to the lineup at the start of the third quarter.
JOINING THE CLUB
Former Colts defensive end-linebacker Robert Mathis finally was inducted into the Colts Ring of Honor on Sunday. He was initially supposed to join the club last year, but the ceremony was delayed because team owner Jim Irsay wanted a full-size crowd to celebrate the honor. Mathis finished his career as the Colts all-time sacks leader (12), won the 2013 NFL sacks title and is a Pro Football Hall of Fame semifinalist for the class of 2022.
“I’m so humbled, so honored,” Mathis said, thanking the fans for making him feel at home in town. “I am not leaving. I am Indy, Indy is me.”
UP NEXT
Buccaneers: Visit Atlanta next Sunday.
Colts: Head to Houston next Sunday, seeking a season sweep of the Texans