Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady was voted FedEx Air Player of the Week for Week 1, the NFL announced on Wednesday.
In Tampa’s 31-29 win over the Dallas Cowboys, the 44-year-old Brady completed 32-of-50 passes for 379 yards and four touchdowns, leading the Buccaneers on a game-winning drive to secure Tampa Bay’s first win of the 2021 season. Brady’s four touchdown passes tied for the second-most among all NFL quarterbacks in Week 1, while his 379 passing yards ranked third in the league.
With his start against Dallas, Brady became the first player in NFL history to make 300 career starts, while also tying Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre (302) for the ninth-most games played in NFL history. In addition, Brady threw three-or-more touchdowns in a game for the 94th time in his career, surpassing Peyton Manning (93) for the second-most such games in NFL history. Brady also became just the second quarterback in NFL history with 100 career 300-yard passing games, joining Drew Brees (123).
The win marked the ninth-straight win for Tampa Bay dating back to last season. In each of the last eight wins during that streak, the Buccaneers have scored 30-or-more points, matching the longest such win streak in NFL history along with the 2007 and 2010 New England Patriots. Against Dallas, Antonio Brown, Chris Godwin and Rob Gronkowski all had 90-plus receiving yards in the game, becoming the first Buccaneers trio to ever accomplish that feat in the same game. Gronkowski caught a pair of touchdown passes from Brady in Week 1, marking their 85th and 86th-career regular season touchdown connections, which surpassed Pro Football Hall of Famers Steve Young and Jerry Rice for the third-most in NFL history.
