“The Sage” delivers in his thrice-weekly column.
BY IRA KAUFMAN
JoeBucsFan.com columnist
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The chant began at Buffalo Wild Wings in Oldsmar seconds after Ndamukong Suh’s 37-yard fumble return sealed Tampa Bay’s improbable victory.
“Lock him up, lock him up,” Buc fans shouted in unison. They weren’t talking about Suh, Joe Biden or Donald Trump.
They were talking ’bout Shaq Barrett, who had just concluded another monster game to cap off a monster September. Yes, it was Barrett who caused Jared Goff’s fumble for Suh’s scoop and score. Buc fans are already lobbying the front office to extend Barrett’s contract to prevent him from hitting free agency next March.
There were plenty of other gladiators at the cavernous Coliseum, which looked surprisingly empty considering the home team was 3-0 and the Rams represented the NFC in the Super Bowl last season.
The Bucs were too busy scoring a franchise-record 55 points to check out the action in the stands. They arrived in the City of Angels as 10-point underdogs and promptly beat the devil out of a Los Angeles team that clearly wasn’t ready to compete when the game began.
Here’s how the Bucs evened their record at 2-2 heading into the Big Easy. They didn’t make it easy on Sunday, but they made plays in crunch time and erased the sting of last week’s setback: (more…)