TAMPA, Fla. — Twice in Sunday’s 31-15 wild-card win against the Eagles, the Bucs rolled out a jumbo goal-line package with four tight ends on the field, each time resulting in a Tampa Bay touchdown.
The big look is called “jacks.” That may seem like a four-of-a-kind cards allusion, but tight end Rob Gronkowski kindly explained that “it’s called jacks because us tight ends, we’re all jacked. That’s how it came along.”
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The rare “14 personnel” package (so named for having one back and four tight ends) was more impressive because Josh Wells, who has worked as the sixth lineman or jumbo tight end all season, had been pressed into duty at right tackle after Tristan Wirfs sprained his ankle. So 312-pound guard Aaron Stinnie stepped into Wells’ jumbo role for seven plays Sunday, including the two touchdowns.
No all-22 yet, but screengrabs from Fox broadcast show the cool four-TE "jacks" look from Bucs, which was used twice on goal line, both for touchdowns. Gronk, Howard, Brate and Stinnie in there in rare "14 personnel" look (more 23 in second shot). pic.twitter.com/ZGskuHCZPA
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) January 17, 2022
Late in the first quarter, the Bucs had Stinnie as a sixth lineman on first-and-goal at the 3, with Ke’Shawn Vaughn running 2 yards to the 1. In came “jacks,” with Stinnie initially lining up as a fullback, then shifting before the snap to the left side of the line, next to Gronkowski. The Bucs’ other two tight ends, O.J. Howard and Cam Brate, were on the right side, with Brate shifting in motion left after Stinnie was set. Vaughn ran in behind Stinnie for an easy score and a 14-0 lead.
In the third quarter, the Bucs were at the 2-yard line and called on “jacks” again. Using the first touchdown as bait, they again lined up Stinnie at fullback, with Gronkowski on the left side again, Howard and Brate on the right. This time, the Eagles defense bit strong at the same run, and Gronkowski — arguably the most obvious goal-line option for Tom Brady — was completely uncovered in the back of the end zone for an easy play-action touchdown and a 24-0 lead.
TOMMY + GRONKY = 6️⃣
📺: #PHIvsTB on FOX pic.twitter.com/zpTmxWDJnB
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) January 16, 2022
“I don’t think we’ve run a goal-line play with that personnel since Week 1 in the regular season,” Gronkowski said. “It was cool to whip out that goal-line package today. We had two touchdowns on it. That great run on the left side and also that wide-open touchdown by me, which they made it pretty easy for me.”
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Such a package is exceedingly rare in the NFL. Sharp Football Stats charts personnel packages for all 32 teams, and across the NFL, in more than 32,000 offensive plays in the 2021 regular season, the entire league had 10 snaps in “14” personnel, which works out to 0.03 percent of total plays. The Bucs had run 41 plays this season in “13” personnel with three tight ends and one receiver but had scored a touchdown on just one of the 41 plays, making Sunday’s 2-for-2 in “jacks” even more incredible.
“We very seldom get in goal-line offense anymore,” coach Bruce Arians said. “We practice it every Friday, but probably the last one I remember was the Super Bowl, and we didn’t make it, so we don’t get in it that much. But both plays were executed extremely well.”
Another defensive wrinkle: Whitehead at ILB
With inside linebacker Lavonte David back after missing three games with a foot injury, he played all but seven snaps. But the Bucs took the unusual step of taking him off the field on three third-and-long plays in the third quarter.
David was replaced by safety Jordan Whitehead, who had a strong game with six tackles, including two for losses on the Eagles’ first two drives. Safety Andrew Adams stepped into Whitehead’s role, with Whitehead essentially working as a dime linebacker with one more quick body on the field in pass coverage.
The package worked on all three plays. Adams nearly had an interception on a third-and-10 incompletion on the first drive of the second half, the Eagles were stopped well short of a first down on a dump-off pass to running back Jordan Howard, then threw incomplete to receiver DeVonta Smith with linebacker Devin White in coverage.
Here's two more third-and-long in second half with Bucs defense using Whitehead as 2nd ILB (for David) with nickel around him. This was a third-and-14, 7-yard gain resulting in a punt, and third-and-13, incomplete, leading to punt. (FOX screengrabs) pic.twitter.com/FQBJRWhx1f
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) January 17, 2022
David is usually an every-down linebacker, but the sub package gave him a small amount of rest to ease the workload in his return.
“Lavonte’s a great cover guy, but we needed to get him off the field,” Arians said. “We didn’t need 66 snaps out of him, and it was a way to get him off the field some and help us out.”
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Wirfs watch
The biggest injury question for the Bucs this week will be Wirfs’ ankle and whether their All-Pro and Pro Bowl right tackle will be available for Sunday’s game. Arians said Monday that Wirfs is in a boot right now, and he and center Ryan Jensen (ankle) will both likely be held out of practice until Friday as a precaution. Wirfs had never missed a snap in two years in the NFL before Sunday, and Arians said because of his toughness, there’s still a chance he could play Sunday.
Wells, who stepped in for all but eight snaps at right tackle, is himself dealing with a quad injury. Arians said if he and Wirfs couldn’t go Sunday, they would slide right guard Alex Cappa to tackle and plug Stinnie in at right guard. That would make for a significant challenge whether they’re facing a pass rush from the Rams or Cardinals on Sunday.
Arians has no regrets on in-game helmet slap
During Sunday’s game, FOX’s TV cameras caught Arians coming onto the field and slapping Adams in the helmet near the sideline, drawing criticism from some for physical contact with a player.
The moment came immediately after the Bucs recovered a muffed punt return by the Eagles. Asked Monday if the action was regrettable for him, he said it wasn’t, as he was trying to avoid his team getting a penalty.
“No, and I’d seen enough dumb. You can’t pull guys out of a pile,” he said. “We just got a big play, great field position, and he’s trying to pull a guy out of a pile and I was trying to knock him off that guy so he didn’t get a penalty.”
Brady’s history as No. 2 seed
Being the No. 2 seed in a conference is different now without the first-round bye that came with it until last season with the extra wild card, but Brady’s history is good on teams that have a No. 2 seed.
With the Patriots, Brady went to the playoffs as the AFC’s No. 2 seed six times, and New England won in the divisional round every year, facing teams seeded between third (three times) and fifth (twice). In three of those seasons — 2001, 2004 and 2018 — Brady and his team went on to the Super Bowl and won.
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The Bucs will find out Monday night whether they host the Rams or the Cardinals in the divisional round. In two of his No. 2-seed years (2001, 2018), Brady and the Patriots played the Rams in the Super Bowl, winning both times. The Bucs have a different playoff history with the Rams, however. They lost the 1979 NFC Championship Game on their home field, 9-0, and lost at St. Louis in the 1999 NFC Championship Game by an 11-6 score.
(Photo of Ke’Shawn Vaughn’s first-quarter touchdown: Kim Klement / USA Today)