Tom Brady falls to 3-5 for first time as starter in his NFL career
BOSTON -- Tom Brady is not a happy camper this season. And now the Buccaneers quarterback finds himself in some uncharted waters.
Following a 27-22 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday night, Brady and the Buccaneers now sit at 3-5 on the season. It's the first time that Brady has been 3-5 as a team's starting quarterback in his 23-year NFL career. (He was the fourth-string quarterback when the Patriots were 3-8 in 2000.)
Brady is currently on a three-game losing streak for the first time since 2002 -- the only time that he missed the playoffs as the starting quarterback in his career. He had gone an NFL record 302 starts without a three-game skid, nearly doubling Joe Montana's previous record of 155 starts.
The Tampa Bay offense was dreadful Thursday night, with the 45-year-old Brady looking human throughout. His final line wasn't bad -- 26-for-44, 325 yards, a touchdown -- but Brady missed on several key throws.
He underthrew Mike Evans on a deep ball, and then sent a potential touchdown pass sailing by his top target. Brady missed Kyle Rudolph in the end zone, and got lucky when the Ravens dropped potential end zone picks on two difference occasions. Brady also had a handful of passes knocked down at the line of scrimmage.
Brady was also sacked three times, bringing his career total to 555, setting a new NFL record.
There was sulking on the sideline and a helmet toss or two. Luckily, no tablets were harmed on Thursday night. (At least that we know of.)
The red zone woes continued for Brady and the Tampa offense, as they were just 2-for-5 in their trips inside the 20. And it was only that good because the Bucs found pay dirt on their final possession of the game.
If only they could have done something on their previous trip into the red area, that final possession may have been a lot more interesting. But trailing 24-13 with just under seven minutes left, Brady and the Bucs left more points on the field.
The Bucs marched down the field with relative ease on their penultimate drive, aided by a 40-yard pass interference on the Baltimore defense. But when they got inside the Baltimore 10, things went sideways -- or rather, backwards.
A Brady touchdown to tight end Cade Otton was taken off the board because of a holding call. The Bucs were going for it on a fourth-and-goal from the Baltimore three-yard line, but running back Leonard Fournette was flagged for a false start, pushing the operation back five yards. The Bucs had to settle for a field goal, making it 24-16.
The Ravens added on a field goal on their next possession, and when the Buccaneers found the end zone thanks to an eight-yard touchdown pass from Brady to Julio Jones with 49 seconds left, they had to go for two. Running back Rachaad White failed to convert the conversion, the Ravens collected the onside kick, and the Bucs walked off their home field with a third straight loss.
Following the defeat, a dejected Brady said that the Buccaneers haven't earned anything this season.
"I don't think anyone feels good," he said. "We lost five of six, so not where we wanna be. We haven't earned it and we got to go earn it. You got to fight hard and you got to figure out how to win games."
Between the losses and all that other stuff going on in his life, 2022 has been a difficult year for Tom Brady. At this point, he's probably pretty miffed at himself that he didn't just stay retired back in March.
