Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady really knew how to bounce back strong from adversity. After a two-game losing streak that put their playoff hopes in jeopardy, the 43-year-old Brady stepped up his game after the Buccaneers’ bye week. Brady flashed the old deadly form that earned him six Super Bowl rings, leading the Buccaneers to three crucial victories. In their 26-14 win over the Minnesota Vikings, Brady completed 15 of 23 passes for 196 yards and two touchdowns to snap a two-game losing streak. The following week, Brady faced adversity when the Buccaneers fell behind by 17 twice, but history repeated itself again when the veteran quarterback engineered the come-from-behind 31-27 win.
No interception for Brady in the last three outings
They trailed 17-0 at the break after Brady was limited to just 70 passing yards and 24-7 early in the third period before Brady completed the comeback with two touchdown passes to Chris Godwin and Antonio Brown. The comeback win kept Brady’s record against the Falcons unblemished in seven career outings against them. Brady completed 31 of 45 passes for 390 yards – 320 in the second half -- and two touchdowns with no interception in the comeback win that brought back the memory of his Super Bowl LI win when he was still with the New England Patriots. In that game, the Patriots trailed 28-3, but Brady managed to carry the team on his back en route to a 34-28 overtime win.
Brady continued his fiery performance onto their next outing against the Detroit Lions, where he completed 22 of 27 passes for 348 yards and four touchdowns with no picks in the first half to give the Buccaneers an insurmountable 34-0 lead at the break. With the big lead, Brady managed to stay on the bench in the second half and allowed backup Blaine Gabbert to finish the Lions' 47-7 rout.
Despite sitting the second half, Brady tallied his second career perfect game against the Lions with a rating of 158.3, per Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com.
Brady had historic four quarters of play
According to ESPN Stats & Info, Brady threw for 668 yards and six touchdowns over four quarters -- 2nd half of their game against the Falcons and the first half against the Lions.
Per Elias Sports Bureau, Brady was the first player in the last 40 years who tallied 600-plus passing yards over four quarters, a fantastic feat for his age. Against the Lions, Brady also set a new franchise record for passing touchdowns in a season with 36 (and counting), surpassing the previous 33 set by Jameis Winston last season.
Tom Brady threw for 668 yards and 6 touchdowns over a 4 quarter period (2nd half last week at Falcons, 1st half today vs Lions).
According to @EliasSports Brady is the 1st player over the last 40 years with 600+ passing yards over a 4-quarter span pic.twitter.com/kldqB6ETzU
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) December 26, 2020Brady tries to stay unbeaten vs. Falcons
On Sunday, Brady will try to remain unbeaten when they take on the Falcons anew in their regular-season finale at Raymond James Stadium.
Even though the Buccaneers (10-5) have secured a playoff spot, they need a win over the Falcons (4-11) to claim the No. 5 seed and a date with the NFC East champion in the Wild Card Game. According to Cameron DaSilva of USA Today, the Buccaneers have entered the week as a 6.5-point favorite over the Falcons against the spread and +225 in terms of the money line.
