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Lombardi Lenny Puts the Four in Fournette

Data Crunch: Leonard Fournette's four-touchdown performance in Indianapolis made franchise history, while both Rob Gronkowski and Tom Brady moved to within one of the top spot on a pair of impressive NFL lists

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Leonard Fournette, who became known as 'Playoff Lenny' and then eventually 'Lombardi Lenny' during his brilliant postseason run last winter, earned a new nickname on Sunday. The modified Lenny line was coined by his teammate, Rob Gronkowski and it's…something. In fact, let's just let Gronkowski explain it himself:

Gronkowski felt like Fournette needed a new callout after the latter made franchise history with a four-touchdown outing in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 38-31 at Indianapolis in Week 12. Fournette became just the third Buccaneer ever to score that many touchdowns in a single game, and he was the first to have a four-score game that included TDs on rushes and receptions.

Most Touchdowns, Single Game, Buccaneers History

Table inside Article
Player Pos. Opp. Date Rush Rec. Total
Leonard Fournette RB at Indianapolis 11/28/21 3 1 4
Doug Martin RB at Oakland 11/4/12 4 0 4
Jimmie Giles TE at Miami 10/20/85 0 4 4

Fournette also tied Martin and Giles for the most points scored in a single game in franchise history, with 24. Surprisingly, he was the first Buccaneer to score even one touchdown each on the ground and through the air in more than six years. The last to accomplish that feat was Martin with two rushing and one receiving against Jacksonville on October 11, 2015.

Fournette's final touchdown was the game-winner, a 28-yard jaunt with 20 seconds left that showed off the best of his combination of size, speed and determination. Safety Isaiah Rodgers was the last defender in Fournette's path as he barreled towards the goal line, and all Rodgers could do was take a two-yard ride back into the end zone. That 28-yarder gave Fournette exactly 100 rushing yards on the day and was the first 100-yard rushing performance for the Buccaneers this season. It was also just the fourth time in team history that a player combined 100 rushing yards with a rushing touchdown and a receiving touchdown.

Games with 100+ Rushing Yards, Rushing TD, Receiving TD, Bucs History

Table inside Article
Player Opp. Date Yards Rush TD Rec. TD
Leonard Fournette at Indianapolis 11/28/21 100 3 1
Doug Martin Jacksonville 10/11/15 123 2 1
Bobby Rainey Atlanta 11/17/13 163 2 1
Doug Martin at Minnesota 10/25/12 135 1 1

Gronkowski did more than just make up catchy nicknames on Sunday. He was also a huge part of the offense, leading all players with seven catches for 123 yards. No other Buccaneer had more than 31 receiving yards in the game. This was Gronkowski's highest single-game yardage total since joining the Buccaneers last season and his second 100-yard game in a Tampa Bay uniform. It was, however, the 30th 100-yard game of his illustrious career, and only one tight end has done that more often.

Most 100-Yard Receiving Games, Tight End, NFL History

Table inside Article
Player Team(s) 100-Yd Games
Tony Gonzalez Chiefs/Falcons 31
Rob Gronkowski Patriots/Buccaneers 30
Travis Kelce Chiefs/Falcons 28
Kellen Winslow Chargers 24
Jackie Smith Cardinals/Cowboys 22

Wide receiver Chris Godwin had four catches for 24 yards in the game, and while that was his lowest yardage total of the season it was still enough to move him up yet another spot on the Bucs' all-time receiving yardage list. So far this season, Godwin has jumped from 12th to fourth on the team's all-time receptions list and, at 311, he needs only 11 more to pass Mark Carrier (321) for third. Before Sunday's game, he had already gone from eighth to fifth on the team's all-time receiving yardage list in 2021, and now he's taken over fourth place.

Most Receiving Yards, Buccaneers History

Table inside Article
Rk. Player Seasons Recs.
1. Mike Evans 2014-21 8,961
2.. Mark Carrier 1987-92 5,018
3. Kevin House 1980-86 4.928
4. Chris Godwin 2017-21 4,346
5. Vincent Jackson 2012-16 4,326
6. Jimmie Giles 1978-87 4,300
7. Joey Galloway 2004-08 3,912
8. Keyshawn Johnson 2000-03 3,828
9. James Wilder 1981-89 3,492
10. Gerald Carter 1980-87 3,443

Fournette's four-yard scoring grab in the second quarter was the only touchdown pass of the game for Tom Brady, which snapped a streak of six straight games with multiple TDs for him. However, it still gave him 30 touchdown passes on the season and he continues to lead the NFL in that category in 2021.

2021 NFL Leaders in Touchdown Passes

Table inside Article
Player Team TD Passes
Tom Brady Buccaneers 30
Matthew Stafford Rams 27
Josh Allen Bills 25
Patrick Mahomes Chiefs 25
Justin Herbert Chargers 24

This marks the ninth time in his career that Brady has hit the 30-touchdown mark in a season, and only Drew Brees has done that more often.

Most Seasons with 30-Plus Touchdown Passes, NFL History

Table inside Article
Player Team(s)* Seasons* No.
Drew Brees Saints 2008-18 10
Tom Brady Patriots/Buccaneers 2007-21 9
Brett Favre Packers/Vikings 1994-2009 9
Peyton Manning Colts/Broncos 2000-14 9
Aaron Rodgers Packers 2009-20 7

(* These indicate the teams with which the quarterback had his 30-touchdown seasons and the season span in which those occurred, not their entire NFL careers.)

Brady amassed 226 yards on 25-of-34 passing against the Colts, increasing his 2021 passing yardage total to 3,403. That ranks second in the NFL by a slim margin and is the most through 11 games of a season in Buccaneers history.

2021 NFL Leaders in Passing Yardage

Table inside Article
Player Team Passing Yards
Derek Carr Raiders 3,414
Tom Brady Buccaneers 3,403
Matthew Stafford Rams 3,316
Justin Herbert Chargers 3,230
Patrick Mahomes Chiefs 3,200

Most Touchdown Passes Through First 11 Games of a Season, Bucs History

Table inside Article
Player Season Yards
Tom Brady 2021 3,403
Jameis Winston 2019 3,391
Tom Brady 2020 2,955
Jameis Winston 2016 2,900
Brad Johnson 2003 2,763

Tampa Bay's 38 points on the afternoon in Week 12 increased their total 2021 point total to 347, or 31.5 points per game. The Buccaneers are currently the NFL's highest-scoring team.

Most Points Per Game, NFL Teams, 2021

1. Tampa Bay: 31.5

2. Buffalo: 29.6

3. Dallas: 29.6

4. Indianapolis: 28.3

5. Arizona: 28.2

Those 347 points also mark the most a Tampa Bay team has ever scored through the first 11 games of a season. This marks the third year in a row that the Bucs have set a new high in that category.

Most Points Through First 11 Games, Buccaneers History

1. 2021: 347

2. 2020: 320

3. 2019: 312

4. 2012: 310

5. 2018: 294

Brady's touchdown pass to Fournette finished a drive that was created by Lavonte David's recovery of a Zach Pascal fumble, which was forced by safety Mike Edwards. The Buccaneers had five takeaways in the game, and the only one that didn't lead to points was the victory-sealing interception by Pierre Desir on the final play of the game.

Overall, the Buccaneers scored 24 points off takeaways, continuing a trend that started with the arrival of Defensive Coordinator Todd Bowles in 2019. Over the past three seasons combined, the Buccaneers have scored more points off takeaways than any team in the NFL.

Most Points Scored Off Takeaways, 2019-21

1. Tampa Bay: 325

2. Indianapolis: 256

3. Baltimore: 243

4. Pittsburgh: 236

5. New England: 235

Speaking of Lavonte David, he had seven tackles and a pass defensed to go with that fumble recovery late in the first quarter in what was the 146th start of his career. He broke a tie with Tony Mayberry for the fourth spot on the Buccaneers' all-time starts list, which means there are now only three players in team history who have started more games than Davis.

Most Games Started, Buccaneers History

Table inside Article
Player Pos. Seasons Starts
Ronde Barber CB 1997-2012 232
Derrick Brooks LB 1995-2008 221
Paul Gruber T 1988-99 183
Lavonte David LB 2012-21 146
Tony Mayberry C 1990-99 145

David started his career in 2012 as a second-round draft pick out of Nebraska. Since then, he's been the NFL's most adept player in an unusual category: recoveries of opponent fumbles. He now has 17 of them, more than any other player in the NFL in that span.

Most Opponent Fumble Recoveries, NFL, 2012-14

Table inside Article
Player Team(s) FRs
Lavonte David Buccaneers 17
J.J. Watt Texans/Cardinals 14
Justin Houston Chiefs/Colts/Ravens 12
Julius Peppers Bears/Packers/Panthers 12
Fletcher Cox Eagles 12

Tampa Bay's second takeaway of the afternoon on Sunday was all the work of outside linebacker Shaquil Barrett, who swatted the ball out of Carson Wentz's hand on a third-quarter dropback and then circled back to grab the loose ball after several other players failed to secure it. That marks the 11th time since Barrett became a Buccaneer in 2019 that he has achieved the "strip-sack," forcing a fumble by the quarterback. No other player in the NFL can match Barrett's total in that category since 2019.

Most Strip-Sacks, NFL, 2019-21

Table inside Article
Player Team(s) Strip-Sacks
Shaquil Barrett Buccaneers 11
Chandler Jones Cardinals 10
T.J. Watt Steelers 9
Yannick Ngakoue Jaguars/Vikings/Ravens/Raiders 9

That sack was the first of two on the afternoon for Barrett, who now leads the Buccaneers with 7.5 sacks in 2021. He has recorded 35.0acks since coming to Tampa in 2019, which is the third-most in the NFL in that span.

Most Sacks, NFL, 2019-21

Table inside Article
Player Team(s) Sacks
T.J. Watt Steelers 42.0
Myles Garrett Browns 36.0
Shaquil Barrett Buccaneers 35.0
Aaron Donald Rams 32.0
Trey Hendrickson Saints/Bengals 28.5

Barrett also moved up two spots on the Buccaneers' all-time sacks list, breaking a tie with teammate Jason Pierre-Paul and leaping into sixth place.

Most Sacks, Buccaneers History

Table inside Article
Player Seasons Sacks
Lee Roy Selmon 1976-84 78.5
Warren Sapp 1995-2003 77.0
Simeon Rice 2001-06 69.5
Gerald McCoy 2010-18 54.5
David Logan 1979-86 39.0
Shaquil Barrett 2019-21 35.0
Chidi Ahanotu 1993-2000; 04 34.5
Jason Pierre-Paul 2018-21 33.0
Brad Culpepper 1994-99 33.0
Ronde Barber 1997-2012 28.0

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