BUCCANEERS

Tua Tagovailoa and the unbeaten Miami Dolphins are underdogs in Week 4.

It’s really happening. Just when everyone thought legendary quarterback Tom Brady could play forever and outlast father time, that has proven not to be the case.

The NFL’s crackdown on unsportsmanlike penalties is working the way the league intended.

Tom Brady says his heavily wrapped throwing hand is sore but he expects to play when the Buccaneers visit the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday night.

Matthew Stafford passed for 343 yards and four touchdowns as he outdueled Tom Brady and led the Los Angeles Rams to a 34-24 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Dallas Cowboys are expected to open the season at Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay without right guard Zack Martin after the four-time All-Pro tested positive for COVID-19.

(AP Photo/Adam Hunger, File)Bill Belichick never was one to spent wildly in free agency. Whether by trade, free agency or re-signings, the group brings a good mix of offense, defense and special teams. In addition to keeping Von Miller, Justin Simmons and Shelby Harris, Paton filled his biggest defensive pothole by signing free agent cornerbacks Ronald Darby and Kyle Fuller. FUTURE CONSIDERATIONSThe Lions didn’t do much in free agency but nobody in Detroit should be bothered. The Lions are focused on rebuilding through the draft after sending QB Matthew Stafford to the Rams and then letting star wide receiver Kenny Golladay walk in free agency.

TAMPA, Fla. – Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs have touched down at the Super Bowl. The AFC champions arrived in Tampa on Saturday, flying into town a day before they defend their title against the hometown Buccaneers. After spending the week at home, they’ll stay Saturday night at the team hotel — as they usually do for home games. The team had no further comment Saturday after releasing a statement Friday night saying it was in the information-gathering process. Ad“We’re going to be ready to roll come Super Bowl day,” safety Tyrann Mathieu said.

Detroiter William Gholston honoring men who helped him get to the topDETROIT – The excitement for Super Bowl LV is unlike any other with masks, social distancing and other COVID precautions in place. It’s the first time the stadium won’t be full for the big game, and it’s the first time the Super Bowl will go ticketless and cashless. Bucs defensive end William Gholston believes playing when he was a student at Southeastern High School in Detroit made him who he is. AdAs a sophomore in high school, he was deemed “too tall,” needed to fill out and realize he wasn’t a wide receiver, but bust as a defender. “He donated to the high school.

DETROIT – Rob Foster worked tirelessly for months as a medical resident on the frontlines at Ascension Hospital. He’s getting rewarded for it in a big way -- Foster is headed to Super Bowl LV in Tampa as a special guest of the NFL. While he lives in Metro Detroit, Foster grew up in Tampa and rooted for the Buccaneers. “They did win the Super Bowl once in 2010,” Foster said. When his dad, a Buccaneers season-ticket holder since 1976, heard the Super Bowl was sending vaccinated health care workers to the big game, he called his ticket rep.

Aside from winning the final Super Bowl before the merger in 1970, the Kansas City Chiefs’ biggest claim to fame for over half a century was team founder Lamar Hunt coining the phrase Super Bowl. Three long-downtrodden teams — the Browns, Bills and Buccaneers — have made it to the divisional round this weekend and are certain they have as good a chance as the Chiefs, Packers, Saints, Ravens or Rams of winning Super Bowl 55. That’s heady stuff for a franchise that has never made it to the Super Bowl. I think Bills fans, including myself, didn’t think he was going to be this good this good this early. And he has proved a lot of people wrong.”No, there’s no comparing this Bills team to those of his playing days, Thomas said.

The Browns have raced to a 28-0 lead over the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Browns’ 28 points are the most by any team in the first quarter of a playoff game since the 1970 merger. So, this will be the first NFL playoff game ever pitting two quadragenarian quarterbacks. Drew Brees is trying to join Brett Favre and Tom Brady as quarterbacks to win a playoff game after turning 40. That was his third career playoff game with 150 or more rushing yards, one game shy of Hall of Famer Terrell Davis’ record.

(AP Photo/Mark Tenally)The Latest on Week 16 in the NFL (all times EST):___8 p.m.For the first time since 2014 there will be an NFL playoff team with a losing record. The winner will remain alive in the NFC East playoff race if Washington loses to Carolina. ___6:05 p.m.Washington is well on the way to blowing its first chance to clinch the NFC East. ___6 p.m.Eleven teams in the NFC are still harboring hopes of making a playoff run with Week 16 winding down. 1 seed in the NFC with a win Sunday night against the Titans and a Seattle loss or tie.

DETROIT – Detroit Lions interim coach Darrell Bevell and four assistants will be forced to sit out Saturday’s game against Tampa Bay after two individuals in the organization tested positive for COVID-19. After the Lions let go head of coach Matt Patricia, Bevell stepped in as interim coach for the team. Now the Lions will have an interim coach to replace their interim coach who has to sit out Saturday’s game against the Buccaneers due to the NFL’s COVID protocols. On game day, Bevell won’t be able to communicate with the interim coaches. NFL rules state that the coaches can’t have any contact, so the assistant coaches stepping in will be all on their own.

LAS VEGAS – The Las Vegas Raiders will be able to play four of their starting offensive linemen Sunday against Tampa Bay after they got one more day of negative tests for COVID-19. Kolton Miller, Denzelle Good, Rodney Hudson and Gabe Jackson all tested negative in results gotten back Sunday and were active for the game against the Buccaneers. The four players have tested negative every day since they had a “high risk” close contact Monday with teammate Trent Brown before he tested positive for the coronavirus. The four missed practice Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and a walkthrough on Saturday, but will be able to play against the Buccaneers. Safety Johnathan Abram, who last had contact with Brown on Tuesday, must wait one more day before he can be cleared to return and will miss the game.

The Raiders held practice on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2020 without their starting five as they prepare for Sundays home game against Tampa Bay. (AP Photo/Peter Joneleit, File)The Las Vegas Raiders placed four starting offensive linemen and safety Johnathan Abram on the reserve/COVID-19 list after they were determined to be close contacts with a teammate who had tested positive for the coronavirus. The person said video shows the starting offensive linemen were not following the protocols. If not, we have to have somebody step up in his place and play at a high level.”The Raiders have now had eight players placed on the COVID-19 list since the start of the season, including the seven currently on the list. Defensive tackle Maurice Hurst was put on the COVID-19 list two weeks ago before being activated on Monday.

DETROIT – Jameis Winston became the first player in NFL history to throw for 450 yards in consecutive games, leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a 38-17 win over the Detroit Lions on Sunday. Winston threw three touchdowns in the first half - four overall - and a career-high 458 yards passing one week after throwing for 456 yards. The Lions looked like they were still competing for their coach, and themselves, after falling behind 21-0 in the first half. Running back Wes Hills, who was signed Saturday, ran for a second TD early in the fourth quarter to cut Tampa Bay's lead to 24-17. The Lions did not have a first down on offense without the benefit of a penalty until midway through the second quarter.