Buccaneers at Lions score: Tom Brady throws four touchdowns in first half as Tampa Bay clinches playoff berth

Brady leads the Buccaneers to the playoffs for the first time since 2007

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have clinched their first playoff berth in 13 years, never leaving the outcome of Saturday's matinee in doubt in a dominating 47-7 victory over the Detroit Lions. In a game that was decided by halftime, Brady had his best first half of football ever -- completing 22 of 27 passes for 348 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions. 

Brady finished with a perfect passer rating in the win, the first time he's accomplished that feat since 2010 and the third time he's done it in his Hall of Fame career. Brady tied Kurt Warner and Peyton Manning for the most games with a perfect passer rating (three). He did not play in the second half as the Buccaneers took a commanding 34-0 halftime lead. 

Brady set the Buccaneers franchise record for touchdown passes in a season with 35, surpassing Jameis Winston's mark (33) set last year. The 35 touchdown passes are Brady's most in a season since 2015 when he led the NFL in touchdown passes with 36. 

Mike Evans broke his own franchise record for receiving touchdowns in a season with 13, catching two touchdown passes in the win. Evans finished with 10 catches for 181 yards and two scores, the fourth-most yards he's ever had in a game and the fourth time Evans has eclipsed 180 yards since the start of the 2019 season. No other NFL player has more than two games of 180-plus yards in that stretch. 

Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford left the game in the first quarter with an ankle injury. The Lions scored their lone touchdown on a Jamal Agnew 74-yard punt return in the third quarter. Agnew has five return touchdowns since entering the league in 2017, the most in the league over that span. The Lions will lose 10-plus games for the third consecutive season, already being eliminated from the playoff race. 

Here are takeaways from this blowout and a quick recap with fun statistics in our live blog below. 

Why the Buccaneers won

Tampa Bay dominated Detroit from the opening play and never let up. The Buccaneers offense emphasizes the deep ball, which came into play in the first quarter as Tom Brady started the game going 3-for-3 for 107 yards and two touchdowns on deep ball passes (throws that travel 20-plus yards through the air). Tampa Bay's passing game was phenomenal in the first half as Brady threw four touchdown passes to four different receivers, which throwing for 348 yards -- just 11 behind Patrick Mahomes for the most passing yards in the first half over the last 30 years. The Buccaneers finished with 477 pass yards in the win. 

Why the Lions lost

The Lions were behind the eight ball all week, with wide receivers coach Robert Prince taking over the head coaching duties for Darrell Bevell (out due to COVID-19 protocols). Detroit had to shuffle around its coaching staff with five coaches out, creating the inevitable disaster waiting to happen. Any chances at a Lions' upset were dashed once Stafford left the game in the first quarter with an ankle injury, as Chase Daniel and David Blough led an offense to zero points and 153 yards of offense. Detroit never stood a chance. 

Turning point

On the third play of the game, Brady was sacked for a loss of six yards -- as the Lions forced a three-and-out on the opening series. Everson Griffen was offsides on the play, which gave the Buccaneers another opportunity on third down. Brady converted the third down with an eight-yard pass to Chris Godwin, then hit Mike Evans for a 33-yard completion on the next play. Brady found Gronkowski for a 33-yard touchdown two plays after the Evans reception to give Tampa Bay a 7-0 lead -- a first taste of the blowout that was to come. If the Buccaneers go three-and-out on the first series, who knows how the game plays out. 

Play of the game

Brady's 33-yard touchdown pass to Gronkowski to put the Buccaneers up 7-0 was a throw and catch that took NFL fans back to their days with the New England Patriots. Brady connected on the deep ball to Gronkowski, tossing a strong pass to the right side of the field -- with Gronkowski stretching out his hands to make a great catch to give Tampa Bay the lead. 

Brady and Gronkowski connected in the end zone for the 96th time (regular season and postseason) and the Buccaneers scored a touchdown on the opening drive for the first time since Week 4. This throw set the tone for the game. 

The quote

"That's just the beginning. You could feel this was a playoff practice week with this team, even with the holidays. They really practiced well." -- Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians on Tampa Bay's preparation leading up to this game. 

The Buccaneers had 410 yards by halftime, a franchise record for a half and the most by any NFL team since 2010. Brady threw four touchdown passes in the first half for the fourth time in his career. 

Up next

The Buccaneers (10-5) wrap up the regular season with a home game against the Falcons while the Lions (5-10) end their season against the Vikings. Detroit is eliminated from the playoffs while Tampa Bay will play in the wild card round. 

[Dec 26, 2020 at 4:02 pm ET · Jeff Kerr]

The Buccaneers have locked up their first playoff spot in 13 years.

Tom Brady finished with a perfect passer rating in the win, the first time he's accomplished that feat since 2010 and the third time he's done it in his Hall of Fame career. Brady tied Kurt Warner and Peyton Manning for the most games with a perfect passer rating (three).

Takeaways from this game are coming shorty, but thanks for following along!

[Dec 26, 2020 at 3:48 pm ET · Jeff Kerr]

More to his legend.

[Dec 26, 2020 at 3:37 pm ET · Jeff Kerr]

This game was over a long time ago. Lions back to putting in David Blough -- remember him from Thanksgiving 2019 -- and Blaine Gabbert has 2 TD passes in the second half. Just a blowout in every sense of the word.

[Dec 26, 2020 at 3:10 pm ET · Jeff Kerr]

Mike Evans has just broken his own franchise record for receiving TD in a season (13). It's 47-7.

[Dec 26, 2020 at 3:00 pm ET · Jeff Kerr]

Narrator: it's not. The Lions are on the board.

[Dec 26, 2020 at 3:00 pm ET · Jeff Kerr]

Jamal Agnew with the TD, but is this coming back? Agnew had 2 returns for TDs last year.