The Tampa Bay Buccaneers suffered a humiliating 38-3 loss at the hands of the New Orleans Saints and many critics again pounced on Tom Brady’s disappointing performance, including Shannon Sharpe, co-host of the “Skip and Shannon: UNDISPUTED” on Fox Sports 1. However, Sharpe’s co-host, Skip Bayless, warned Brady’s critics on betting against the veteran quarterback, especially if he’s down. “You better laugh now because this is the one guy in sports you do not bet against, especially when he’s down,” said Bayless, as transcribed by the author from the video of the show.

Bayless remembered that in 2014, Brady and the New England Patriots suffered an embarrassing 41-14 loss at the hands of the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 4.

Bayless points to Brady’s ability to bounce back

“I had to watch ESPN analysts at the game to completely write off Tom Brady. It’s over for Tom Brady,” Bayless said. However, Bayless said the Patriots went on to win the Super Bowl that year, and Brady won two more Lombardi Trophy for a total of six during his 20-year tenure in New England. Bayless also justified Brady’s bad night, saying it should happen once in a while since it rarely happened to the veteran quarterback in his career. “Last night was one of the two or three worst games Tom Brady has ever played.

Period. End of story,” said Bayless. In their loss to the Saints, Brady completed just 22 of 38 passes for 209 yards and no touchdown with three interceptions, good for a passer rating of 40.4, the third-lowest of his career when playing as starting quarterback, per a tweet by Stats Centre.

The offensive line also played poorly as it gave up three sacks and 12 quarterback hits that affected Brady’s performance.

According to ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky, the Buccaneers must protect Brady, who is considered their crown jewel. “If you do not protect your crown jewel, you don't have a chance,” Orlovsky said on ESPN’s “Get Up”, as transcribed by the author from the video. Orlovsky also called out Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians and offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich, saying their game plan has to get better or else they have no chance of winning the Super Bowl.

Bayless says Brady had to pick up defense

Per a report by Fox Sports, Bayless also put the Buccaneers’ poor defense in the spotlight. Bayless said that in four of their last six games, Brady had to pick up the defense as they fell behind early. Against the Los Angeles Chargers, the Buccaneers fell behind 24-7, while they trailed 10-0 to the Green Bay Packers early. The Buccaneers also trailed early to the Las Vegas Raiders, 7-0 and 14-3 to the New York Giants. However, Brady managed to spark the Buccaneers’ comeback and led them to win in those games. Against the Saints, Bayless said the Buccaneers defense had a worse night given its ranking as the No. 2 defense in the NFL, based on Pro Football Focus. The Buccaneers entered the week as a 5.5-point favorite over the Saints while many analysts picked Tampa Bay over New Orleans.
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