TAMPA, Fla. — Joe Burrow tossed four touchdowns — all coming in the second half — to help the Cincinnati Bengals erase a 17-point deficit and defeat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 34-23 on Sunday.
The win was the sixth-straight for the Bengals, who now hold sole possession of first place in the AFC North thanks to Cleveland's win over Baltimore on Saturday night.
Trailing by 17 points in the waning moments of the first half, the young quarterback engineered a final drive that resulted in a 41-yard field goal by Evan McPherson to make the score 17-3 at the break.
Burrow would catch fire in the second half, with scoring passes of 5-yards to Tee Higgins, 3-yards to Tyler Boyd, 8-yards to Ja’Marr Chase and 12-yards to Mitchell Wilcox to give Cincinnati a 34-17 lead and dash any hopes of any late game heroics from Brady.
It was an uncharacteristic performance from Tom Brady, who threw two interceptions and fumbled twice in the second half. The seven-time Super Bowl winner has now been intercepted four times in the past two weeks. Before then, he had only thrown three picks in the first 12 games of the season.
The loss also marked the first time Brady had ever lost in his 23-year career when leading by at least 17 points. He was an incredible 89-0 before Sunday's game.
Cincinnati's defense had a large part in the demise of Brady and the Buccaneers (6-8).
Tre Flowers' intercepted Brady to set up one touchdown and Logan Wilson's sack, that forced the 45-year-old quarterback to fumble, led to another touchdown score.
Brady finished the game 30 of 44 for 312 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions.
Burrow completed 27 of 39 passes for 200 yards and an interception to go along with his four scores.
Cincinnati (10-4) remains on the road as they face the New England Patriots on Christmas Eve.
Cincinnati 0 3 17 14 = 34
Tampa Bay 3 14 0 6 = 23
First Quarter TB—Ryan Succop 21 field goal, 6:06.
Second Quarter TB—Russell Gage 1 pass from Tom Brady (Ryan Succop kick), 14:11. TB—Chris Godwin 5 pass from Tom Brady (Ryan Succop kick), 1:39. CIN—Evan McPherson 41 field goal, 0:00. Third Quarter CIN—Evan McPherson 21 field goal, 12:04.
CIN—Tee Higgins 5 pass from Joe Burrow (pass failed), 5:42. CIN—Tyler Boyd 3 pass from Joe Burrow (Joe Burrow Pass to Tee Higgins), 2:40.
Fourth Quarter CIN—Ja'Marr Chase 8 pass from Joe Burrow (Evan McPherson kick), 12:45. CIN—Mitchell Wilcox 12 pass from Joe Burrow (Evan McPherson kick), 2:21. TB—Russell Gage 5 pass from Tom Brady (pass failed), 0:49.
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