During Super Bowl LI, quarterback Tom Brady and the New England Patriots faced insurmountable odds as they trailed by 28-3 to the Atlanta Falcons. However, Brady led the improbable comeback and carried the Patriots to a 34-28 overtime win for their fifth Super Bowl trophy. When Brady signed a two-year deal worth $50 million with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the offseason, the team had some fun and watched a tape of that win over the Falcons. When asked during his press conference ahead of their clash with the Buccaneers on Sunday if he watched the tape of that game, Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan said “I don’t pop that one in all that often.” Ryan said Brady could watch that tape all he wants because he has a different memory of that game.

“Different memory for him than it is for me,” said Ryan, as transcribed from the video of the press conference on the Falcons’ YouTube account.

Ryan lauds Brady’s consistency

Ryan was also asked about what stands out about the 43-year-old Brady’s career and his level of competition at his age. “It’s his consistency is the thing that’s been remarkable to me. For 20 plus years, week in and week out, he’s prepared, he’s ready to go, he’s competitive, relentless, all of those things,” said Ryan. “It’s something I respect. Thirteen years in, you know that’s not the easiest thing to do and he does it every week. So I’ve always appreciated that and respected that from him,” the Falcons quarterback added.

Ryan stressed that he has moved from their loss to the Los Angeles Chargers and ready to face the Buccaneers on Sunday, per the Falcons’ official website.

The Buccaneers have entered the week as a four-point favorite over the Falcons, owing to their 26-14 win over the Minnesota Vikings the previous week. Brady, for his part, has a career 6-0 record against the Falcons.

However, Brady is not relying on his success against Atlanta, saying it’s hard to sweep a division opponent, especially when they have to play them twice in three weeks. The Buccaneers (8-5) need to win their last three games to ensure a spot in the postseason.

Arians defends Brady

After suffering back-to-back losses to the Los Angeles Rams and the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians called out Brady for his mistakes during his post-game press conferences.

So many were surprised when Arians defended Brady from criticisms for his slow start against the Vikings. In a tweet by Joey Knight of the Tampa Bay Times, he claimed that Arians got a tad salty when the subject of national criticism of Brady was brought up.

"I don't know why anybody's criticizing Tom,” said Arians, adding that he doesn’t care how the Buccaneers start if they finish the half with 17 points.

“He don't (sic) get enough credit for what he's doing,” said Arians. Against the Vikings, the Buccaneers had another slow start as they trailed by six points until midway through the second period. Brady then led the Buccaneers to three scoring drives to clinch a 17-6 lead at the break.
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