Bucs TE Cade Otton making last-minute, go-ahead touchdowns his specialty

Greg Auman

NFC South Reporter

Cade Otton is an elite NFL procrastinator.

When it comes to touchdowns, Sunday was another example of him waiting until the very last minute.

Otton caught an 11-yard score from quarterback Baker Mayfield with 31 seconds left, giving the Bucs the lead on the way to a crucial 29-25 win over the Falcons that put them back in first place in the NFC South. 

And that’s early by Otton’s standards.

Last year, his first NFL touchdown came from Tom Brady with nine seconds left, giving the Bucs a 16-13 comeback win over the Rams. And earlier this year against Houston, Otton caught a touchdown from Mayfield with 41 seconds left to take the lead, only to see the Texans march down the field to beat the Bucs on a comeback of their own.

With three touchdown catches in the final minute of games, Otton has the most in the NFL since his arrival last season. Only four other players have even two, and only two of their eight scores actually gave their team the lead.

“Cade’s always going to be where you expect him to be,” coach Todd Bowles said. “He’s never going to be out of position. He’s always going to run the right route. He’s always got sure hands and he’s always going to do what he is supposed to do. You know where to find him if somebody is in trouble. You know where to find him, you know he’s pretty reliable, and he has a good catch radius. He’s become very reliable.”

And when opposing defenses try to take away Bucs receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, that often leaves Otton comparably unattended. On Sunday, he got ahead of Falcons safety Richie Grant, and Mayfield threw a perfect pass, dropping right in to Otton for an over-the-shoulder catch as he ran to the back-left corner of the end zone.

“I saw the press and I just knew they weren’t going to pay attention to Otton,” Mayfield said. “He did a great job with his release, winning at the line of scrimmage, so good they had to hold him on his way…

Source link : https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/bucs-te-cade-otton-making-last-minute-go-ahead-touchdowns-his-specialty

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Publish date : 2023-12-12 15:22:56

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