On Sunday, the Buccaneers defeated the Bears at home 38-3, moving to 6-1 on the season – the team’s best start through seven games in franchise history. Tampa Bay led 21-0 at halftime and 38-3 at the end of the third quarter.
Also, Buccaneers QB Tom Brady achieved another milestone on Sunday. Brady became the first player in NFL history to throw 600 touchdown passes when he connected with Mike Evans on a nine-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter.
After the game, Brady reflected on touchdown pass number 600.
“I just think about all the guys that are sharing it with me – that’s the reality,” Brady said. “There’s nothing about this sport that you do by yourself – it’s the ultimate team sport. It challenges you physically, mentally, emotionally every week, every day of practice. This I not a sport; you can just go out there and mail it in. It takes 100 percent of what you have every single day to go out there and be successful. I’m just grateful to have amazing teammates, coaches. To be able to do it for as long as I have is really an incredible blessing in my life. I have great family. I’ve got my little baby girl; she’s the biggest cheerleader in the world, and her two brothers, who are great cheerleaders, and mom who was out there today rooting. Great to have the family here and win a football game feels really good.”
Brady is playing at a very high level at age 44, and according to his head coach Bruce Arians, he’s not surprised by what Brady is doing.
“No, because every day he comes to practice looking like he’s 12,” Arians said about Brady. “I’ve played against him for so long. Yeah, the numbers, they’re staggering, and they’ll probably never be broken. I say that but who knows when the next Tom Brady is going to come. They are staggering, but when you watch him practice every single day, you don’t see the age.”
After Evans caught touchdown number 600, he unknowingly gave the ball to a fan. Ultimately, Evans got it back for Brady, which the seven-time Super Bowl winner appreciated.
“That was really cool,” Brady said. “I’ve got it in the bag over there – Mike Evans gave it away and said, ‘I’m sorry man, I’ll get it.’ I said it’s alright. I’m sure they’ll figure out a way to get it back. I don’t actually keep too many things, though, in that circumstance, I just felt like that might be a good one to keep.”
After seven games, Brady leads the league in passing yards(2,275) and touchdown passes(21), so what he’s doing is impressive, but are we really surprised?
On Wednesday, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week for Week 5.
He has now won 32 Player of the Week awards, extending his record for the most-such awards in NFL history
In a 45-17 win over the Miami Dolphins in Week 5, Brady completed 30-of-41 passes (73.2 percent) for 411 yards and five touchdowns, earning a 144.4 passer rating. He did not throw an interception for the fourth consecutive game, breaking his own team record by throwing 203 consecutive passes without an interception. Brady led all quarterbacks in Week 5 with his five passing touchdowns and 144.4 passer rating, while finishing second in passing yards.
Brady threw five-or-more touchdown passes in a game for the ninth time in his career, tying Peyton Manning for the second-most such games in NFL history. In addition, his 36 regular season games with at least four passing touchdowns surpassed Manning (35) for the second-most such games in league history. The game also marked the 12th regular season game in which Brady has thrown for 400-or-more yards, tying Ben Roethlisberger for the fourth-most such games in NFL history. It was the first game in Brady’s 22-year career that he threw for 400-or-more yards and had five-or-more touchdown passes.
Through Week 5, Brady leads the NFL in passing yards (1,767), ranks second in passing touchdowns (15) and fifth in passer rating (108.5). Since joining Tampa Bay in 2020, Brady ranks first in the NFL in passing yards (6,400) and ranks second in passing touchdowns (55).
Tampa Bay leads the league with its 349.4 passing yards per game and 98 passing first down this season, while ranking third in points scored (33.4). The Buccaneers have recorded 1,747 passing yards as a team so far this season, the eighth-most passing yards through five games in NFL history.
When the Tampa Bay Buccaneers re-signed wide receiver Antonio Brown in the offseason, they knew that he had the potential to make big plays as he’s done throughout his whole career.
On Sunday, that big-play ability was on full display. Brown, who became the fastest player to 900 receptions, caught seven passes for 124 yards and two touchdowns, including a 62-year touchdown reception as the Buccaneers defeated the Dolphins 45-17 at Raymond James Stadium.
“That is something I am very grateful for, but you know, I couldn’t do it by myself,” Brown said about being the fastest player to 900 receptions. “I’ve been able to play with some great quarterbacks – Ben Roethlisberger, Tom Brady. It’s a blessing to play with guys like that and be able to get the ball and be on that trajectory.”
The 33-year-old Brown(20 receptions, 325 yards, three touchdowns this season) has had his share of issues off the field, and according to Brown, those issues have made him a better person today.
“In life, we all need conflict,” Brown said. “We all need to go through things to shape our purpose and make us better. If we always sat here and didn’t go through anything, we would not appreciate life, or we wouldn’t be able to grow. I think the things I went through were able to prepare me to grow and make me a better person. I’m glad to be here today.”
Tom Brady, who threw five touchdowns passes on Sunday and developed a close bond with Brown when the two were in New England, gave Brown a lot of credit for keeping his focus on football during the tough times.
“So much, I think since the day we met – obviously I’ve admired him and watched him for a long time and obviously played with him briefly in New England, and [we] just struck up a great relationship, and [I] really wanted to see him get things,” Brady said. “Sometimes things take us away from what we really love to do in football – I think he’s done an incredible job personally of putting a lot of those things aside and just focusing on football and just showing everyone how great he is.”
The Buccaneers have many weapons on the outside in Brown, Mike Evans, and Chris Godwin. According to Brady, Tampa Bay has the best wide receivers in football.
“Mike [Evans] is a great player, Chris [Godwin] is a great player, Tyler [Johnson] made some plays,” he said. ‘”So, everybody is really contributing, and it’s fun to see from my standpoint, all these different guys of different ages all kind of coming together as a group and being, I think, the best group of receivers in the league.”
Brown is playing at a fairly high level, which could be bad news for rest of the league.
On Sunday night in Foxboro, Tom Brady returns to New England as the Buccaneers battle his former team, the Patriots.
Brady won six Super Bowls during his 20 years with the Patriots before signing with the Buccaneers last season. In his first season with Tampa Bay, at age 43, Brady won his seventh Super Bowl title.
One man who has intimate knowledge of Brady is his former teammate Giants safety Logan Ryan, who played with New England and Brady for four seasons.
After New York battles the Saints on Sunday, Ryan expects to watch Brady’s return to New England.
“I’m excited to get a win and get home and watch that game,” Ryan said on Friday. “I’m going to be tuned in. If you’re a fan of football, that’s a fun game to watch just because of the significance of it. I’ve obviously played with him. I’ve played against him. I always said it’s the best matchup in the world. If you’re a football junkie like me and you want to play against the best, he’s the best. So, it’s going to be fun. I know for him and (Patriots Head Coach) Bill (Belichick),
“I’m sure they’re going to – I can’t say they’re going to treat it as business as usual, but they’re going to do everything they can to win, like a maniacal amount of film watching going down. I’m sure they’re spending more time watching film than sleeping. I’m excited to watch. It’s going to be a game against two geniuses. If you’re a fan of the game, it’s a good game to watch and learn to see the strategic part of the game.”
Ryan is also the guy with the Titans that intercepted Brady’s final pass as a Patriot in the playoffs in 2019. Ryan still has the ball and discussed what he might do with it in the future.
“Yeah, so it’s funny,” he said. “The ball was just laying around my house because I don’t really do a lot with my stuff like I’m not egotistical and have just portraits of me all over the place in my house, so my kids like kick the ball around. When I saw Tom starting to – some of his autographed cards going for like a million dollars, I was like, ‘Let’s put the ball up on the shelf at least.’ (laughs) So, the ball is up on the shelf, and I actually spoke with Tom this offseason, and when the time is right, I probably should have had it ready for this game, but I want to auction the ball off for some of the proceeds for my charity if we can get behind it and split our charities and try to do something.
“Now, I don’t know who is going to want that ball. I don’t know if a Patriots fan wants his last ball ever thrown is an interception. I don’t know if a Titans fan is really going to pay. Like, I don’t know what the Titans fanbase, the media market, you know? So, I don’t know where it’s going to go.”
Ryan added that he could be an answer to a “Jeopardy” question down the line.
“Yeah, Tom might want it back (laughs),” Ryan said about the ball. “Tom might pay to get rid of it to burn it. No, there’s been talks between me and Tom on doing something with that ball. Hey man, it might go down in his Hall of Fame thing. Maybe I’ll get a little asterisk by who his last pass – or maybe it’s a ‘Jeopardy!’ question when (Packers Quarterback) Aaron Rodgers is hosting it. It can be a ‘Jeopardy!’ question. It’s pretty fun, but yeah, I picked the ball up off the floor, and I’m going to try to do something to raise some money for charity with it.”
On Wednesday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers added veteran free agent corner, Richard Sherman.
According to PFF’s Doug Kyed, it’s a one-year contract worth up to $2.25 million with $500,000 guaranteed.
The 33-year-old Sherman comes to Tampa Bay after spending three seasons with the San Francisco 49ers. Last season, Sherman, who struggled with a calf injury, played five games for the 49ers.
Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians is happy with the addition of the five-time Pro Bowler.
“A veteran, experienced guy who’s been a Pro Bowl player,” Arians said. “One of the smartest players – having gone against ‘Sherm,’ it’s really odd to see him on our team. We’ve battled many, many times over the years. But yeah, we’re really glad to have him, and obviously, he’s got a lot to learn and get into football speed right now. It’s a really good addition.”
In July, Sherman was arrested and charged with five misdemeanors after a domestic dispute at his wife’s parents’ home in Redmond, Washington. Sherman, who pleaded not guilty to the charges, has a pre-trial hearing on Friday in Washington.
Sherman, who is currently receiving counseling, says the incident fueled his motivation to get help.
“It really forced me to step back and go ask for help and get the help I need and to not be afraid, to be proud to ask,” Sherman said. “In that, it’s been remarkable how many other people have said they had the same issue. Because you always feel like you’re alone. You always feel like you’re the only one dealing with this.”
The Buccaneers are banged up in the secondary after injuries to corners Sean Murphy-Bunting and Jamel Dean. Sherman believes he can bring a lot to Tampa Bay’s defense and the team.
“The same thing I usually bring – I think I bring a level of leadership and accountability,” he said. “I think I bring a high level of play. I think sometimes, from the outside looking in, people think he’s this old, and that changes the way you play, but it really doesn’t. My standard of play is just higher. The standards that people hold me to are just higher. I’m not allowed to have bad games. I’m not allowed to give up catches without getting killed. I think the accountability part, I’ll bring that, and hopefully, I’ll earn the respect of my teammates.”
Sherman and Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady has had their share of battles over the years. However, Brady was a big reason Sherman, who had other suitors, came to the Buccaneers as he recruited the three-time All-Pro.
“Me and Tom have had a great relationship over the years,” Sherman said. “I think people get confused [by] on the field stuff, but we’ve texted over the years and have had a really cool relationship. I always thought it would be really cool to play together if we had the opportunity.”
According to Sherman, him and Brady have a lot in common.
“Anything that it takes to win – [we are] obsessed about this game,” Sherman said and him and Brady. “A lot of what Kobe Bryant stood for – the late great. You can appreciate that about each other. That’s what kind of attracted me to come because I know that he’s the same kind of animal I am. For better or for worse – you’ll do whatever it takes to get these wins and to find a way to get your team where they need to be.”
Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians is unsure if Sherman will play this Sunday against the Patriots. However, Arians did not rule it out.
Tom Brady has done it again. Brady was voted FedEx Air Player of the Week for the second consecutive week, the NFL announced on Wednesday.
Brady has now won FedEx Air Player of the Week honors four times in Tampa Bay – the most in team history.
In Tampa Bay’s 48-25 win over the Atlanta Falcons, Brady completed 24-of-36 passes (66.7 percent) for 276 yards, five touchdowns, and zero interceptions, earning a 129.2 passer rating. His five passing touchdowns were the most by any player in Week 2, while his 129.2 passer rating ranked third. Brady also tied the Buccaneers franchise record for single-game passing touchdowns, making him the first player in team history with multiple five-touchdown performances.
He is just the fifth quarterback in league history with four-or-more touchdown passes in each of his team’s first two games of a season. Sunday’s game vs. Atlanta marked the 35th time Brady threw at least four touchdowns in a game, tying Peyton Manning (35) for the second-most such games in NFL history.
Through two games, Brady’s nine passing touchdowns lead the league, and his 655 passing yards rank fifth in the NFL, while his 113.3 passer rating ranks seventh.
With seven Super Bowl titles, when Tom Brady talks, all young quarterbacks should listen. At age 44, Brady is still going and playing at a high level.
Last week, with his start against Dallas, Brady, who won FedEx Air Player of the Week, 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.
Earlier this week, the 22-year veteran gave advice to young quarterbacks.
“Good luck,” he said. “It’s tough, but it’s up to them. Yeah, if you do the right stuff, you have a shot. But I see a lot of people not do the right stuff. I try to influence the people I can. First of all, you have to love it. If you want to do it for a long period of time, you have to really excel at it, and that really comes from loving it. It’s a lot of different motivations over long periods of time. Lots of little things at different moments – some is more motivation, some is more inspiration, but there are a lot of different things that play into it.”
Football is a physical game that takes a toll on your body, but Brady’s love for football and his competitive spirit pulls him through.
“Well, I always love it. There are probably days I love more than others, but I definitely love it,” Brady said of football. “I love working out. I think the point is you push your body physically, your mind, and your spirit mentally and emotionally, and all of those things have to kind of stay in the right place over a long period of time. There are a lot of things that can take away from it. It’s a hard thing to do. There haven’t been many people who’ve done it, but I think I, in my part, have been very fortunate to have the right people in my life that have really allowed me to be successful – physically, mentally, and emotionally.”
To do what Brady has done in football, you have to love the sport, and Brady loves it, which is why he might be the G.O.A.T.
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.
Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott will be returning on Thursday night as the Cowboys travel to Tampa Bay to battle the world champion Buccaneers in the season opener.
Prescott, 28, will play his first game after he suffered a compound fracture and dislocation to his right ankle in Week 5 against the Giants last October.
In the offseason, the six-year veteran signed a four-year deal with the Cowboys worth $160 million, so the hope for Dallas is that he can be the quarterback he was before the injury.
The quarterback Prescott will be facing on Thursday night, Tom Brady, knows very well what it’s like to miss significant time due to an injury. For Brady, that was 2008 when he suffered a torn ACL in Week 1 against the Chiefs that caused him to miss the rest of that season.
On Tuesday, Brady discussed what it felt like for him coming back from a significant injury.
“I think we kind of feel invincible at times, especially playing a really physical sport,” Brady said. “I think the one thing about getting injured is that we’re not invincible. I think you have a different perspective when you come back. Sometimes, you’re really disappointed when you lose games. It’s more disappointing when you don’t get to play in games. I’d rather play and lose than not play at all, as crazy as that sounds. If you’re not playing, then it means you’re at home, and I remember that was a tough year just sitting and watching all my teammates. I mean a pretty conscious decision that I was going to do everything I could at that point to stay as healthy as I could my entire career.”
Before the injury, Prescott was playing well and led the league in passing yards, and Brady expects Prescott to be the same player he was before the injury.
“Last year, he played, I don’t know, four or five games and had a great four or five games,” Brady said. “He’s a really talented player. Really since the day he came into the league, he’s shown to be a great leader for the team. We’re just expecting him to play like Dak Prescott does – very talented, loose in the pocket, throws a good ball, they have a lot talented skills players.”
When asked what advice he has for young quarterbacks, Brady offered up his book, The TB12 Method: How to Achieve a Lifetime of Sustained Peak Performance.
“I mean, I wrote a book on it,” he said. “I really did. It’s a good book too.”
Prescott got paid. Now, he can focus on staying healthy and leading the Cowboys to the playoffs and beyond, and if he’s right, the Cowboys very well could win the NFC East.
In 2021, as world champions, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will have a lot of teams gunning for them. Every team will give the Buccaneers their best shot.
Tampa Bay begins defense of its title on Thursday night at home against the Cowboys in the first regular-season game of the 2021 season.
Last season, with the addition of Tom Brady, Tampa Bay had a bullseye on their backs, but after winning a title, the bullseye definitely got bigger.
“Getting the guys that we got, obviously, you’re going to have a target on your back,” Buccaneers corner Sean Murphy-Bunting said on Sunday. “The media is behind us. A lot of people are like, ‘Oh, they have Tom Brady, they’re this that and the other,’ but at the end of the day, we have to prove it. We have to show up every day. We have to put in the work. Nothing is going to be handed to us. Nothing is going to be given to us. Just having that mindset and going to get it each and every play no matter who you are.”
After winning a championship, players get paid, do a lot of appearances, and sometimes, they come back less motivated, or “bigheaded” with bloated egos, but according to Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians, that’s not the case with his team.
“I mean, our team knows it’s about winning,” Arians said. “It’s not about individual stats; it’s not about fantasy leagues. It’s just about winning ballgames and winning championships. So that part of it is really, really easy. For me, it’s more about managing their workloads than their egos.”
Tampa Bay brought back all of the key components from last year’s championship team. This is a very talented football team. In addition, the schedule seems manageable, as they play all the teams in the NFC and AFC East.
However, just like with any team, health will be important. Brady is 44 years old and starting his 22nd NFL season, so at some point, he will have to start acting his age, or maybe not. At this point, he still has not fallen off the cliff.
Brady was solid in the playoffs, but the defense was even better, which won this team a championship. Can the Buccaneers repeat? The talent is there, but it won’t be easy. However, the last team to repeat was Brady’s Patriots in 2004, so maybe the G.O.A.T. can do it again.
Notes:
On Monday, the Buccaneers announced that defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh has been activated from the Reserve/COVID-19 list. Suh was placed on that list last Saturday.
In addition, the Buccaneers waived kicker Jose Borregales.
