Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady and wide receiver Julian Edelman played together for 12 seasons for the New England Patriots, producing three Super Bowl titles. Last season, the two had contrasting fortunes as the 44-year-old Brady won his seventh Super Bowl ring after joining the Buccaneers on a two-year deal worth $50 million. Edelman, for his part, was beset by injuries and other health issues that limited him to just six games, with only one start, before he declared his retirement after 12 seasons in the NFL.
With Edelman retired, he has all the time to enjoy NFL games while sitting at home. That was exactly Edelman did on Thursday night as he watched his buddy Brady and the Buccaneers play the Dallas Cowboys in their season-opener at Raymond James Stadium. With the Buccaneers down, 29-28, with 1:24 left in the game and with one timeout remaining, Brady weaved his magic anew as he led an 11-play, 54-yard drive that was capped by a 36-yard field goal by Ryan Succop, allowing the defending Super Bowl champions to escape with a 31-29 victory.
Edelman knew what’s going to happen
According to CBS Sports, Edelman knew what was going to happen even before the drive started.
“Is there anyone else you would want with a minute and some change, [one timeout], other than the GOAT?” Edelman narrated on his Instagram story, obviously referring to some game-winning drives Brady engineered during his two-decade stint with the Patriots. Per Aryanna Prasad of Fansided.com, Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James was also amazed by the Buccaneers’ game-winning drive as he expressed his thought on his Twitter account. In a post, James said “That drive!! Brady sharp sharp!!”
Buccaneers still far from perfect
Despite the win, Brady, who completed 32 of 50 passes for 379 yards and 4 touchdowns with two interceptions, said that the Buccaneers are still far from perfect. “We have to get back to work and clean a lot of stuff up,” said Brady, who connected with tight end Rob Gronkowski for two touchdowns, bringing their total scoring strikes between them to 100, dating back to their time with the Patriots.
After the game, Gronkowski was all praises for Brady, especially during their second touchdown connection of the game, which was not a designed play, per Buccaneers.com. "Tom made a great call, I think I was actually on a route and then he checked me into blocking, then checked me into blocking and releasing," Gronkowski said of the play that resulted in a 11-yard touchdown pass. “"I was like oh man, he just sees it all on the field, it's impressive. He's been playing for like 80 years, so he's seen every defense and every player,” added Gronkowski, who caught 8 passes for 90 yards and two scores for the Buccaneers.