Jamel Dean didn’t want to go down without a fight.
The third-year defensive back came up with a big-time play in the third quarter of Sunday’s divisional round game between the Bucs and Rams. With Tampa Bay trailing 27-6, Dean stripped the ball from Cooper Kupp’s grasp. Sean Murphy-Bunting scooped the ball up and set up the Bucs in good field position.
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The forced fumble was the first of Dean’s NFL career. For Kupp, it was his first lost fumble of the season.
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Tampa Bay made the most of Dean’s play. Tom Brady and Co. mounted a seven-play drive that included a fourth-and-9 conversion and was capped off by a Leonard Fournette rushing touchdown.
Still, the Bucs trail 27-13. But if the defending Super Bowl champions complete the comeback, Dean’s forced fumble will be looked back on as the turning point.
