The Tampa Bay Buccaneers ’31-27 win over the Falcons on Sunday in Atlanta not only improved their record to 9-5, securing their first winning season since 2010, but brought them one step closer to the his first playoff spot since 2007.
And the play that finally got them came from the player that many of the league circles in question really deserved to be on the team.
With 6:25 left in the fourth quarter, quarterback Tom Brady threw a 46-yard touchdown pass to Antonio Brown, his first TD catch as a Buccaneer, to make it 31-27 and close out the Bucs’ comeback. . once they fell 17-0.
Now, Brady has seven rebounds in the race when he earned 17 or more points, which tied him with Peyton Manning and Philip Rivers for most of NFL history, according to Elias Sports Bureau.
The Bucs had been on the wrong side of history when it came to deficits in the middle of the last few seasons. From 2015 to 19, they were 7 to 36 years old when they stayed at rest. But this season, Brady has led them to three comebacks in the second half.
After gathering just 60 offensive yards in the first half, Brady quietly led four touchdowns and a field goal in the second half. The first was a 1-yard touchdown by Leonard Fournette that was created by a 32-yard pass in the middle to Mike Evans, followed by a 4-yard touchdown catch by Chris Godwin.
At the end of the third quarter, after a penalty for defensive passing interference on Edmond Robinson, Fournette advanced over the stack to get a second marker, before Brady connected with Brown.
Brady is now 7-0 in his career against the Falcons, including Super Bowl LI, where he led the Patriots with a 28-3 deficit to win 34-28 in overtime.