Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady's return to Foxborough was successful. He led his team to a close 19-17 win over his old squad, the New England Patriots, on Sunday at Gillette Stadium. Aside from giving his squad a much-needed win, the 44-year-old Brady also clinched the all-time passing yardage record after throwing for 269 yards with no touchdown or interception as the Buccaneers improved to 3-1 on the season. Brady also became the fourth quarterback in NFL history to beat all 32 NFL squads, joining Peyton Manning, Brett Favre, and Drew Brees.
After the game, Brady posted a video message for his fans on his social media accounts.
"What's up, guys? A hard-fought win. Tough conditions, tough weather. Anytime you go up there, beat a good team; feels good. So great to be 3-1," said Brady, per transcription of the video he posted on his Instagram. However, the veteran quarterback stressed the need to keep the foot on the gas pedal with the Miami Dolphins waiting for the Buccaneers in Week 5 at Raymond James Stadium. Brady's post garnered thousands of likes and comments, including one from his wife, supermodel Gisele Bundchen, who expressed approval by commenting on three heart emojis. Gisele earlier expressed the same view as Brady when they returned to New England for his game against the Patriots.
On her Instagram, Gisele posted a photo of a park in Boston and captioned it with "so good to be back."
Brady-Belichick showdown draws historic ratings
According to Jay Busbee of Yahoo Sports, the showdown between Brady and his former head coach Bill Belichick on "Sunday Night Football" drew a total audience of delivery of 28.5 million across NBC, Peacock, and other digital platforms.
The mark was the second-highest in terms of "Sunday Night Football" viewership, next to the 30.3 million viewers who tuned in to the Dallas Cowboys-Washington game on December 30, 2012. Busbee also reported that the viewership reached 27.2 million on NBC alone, making the Patriots-Buccaneers showdown the most-watched game this year, aside from Super Bowl LV last February, where Brady led Tampa Bay to a 31-9 triumph over the Kansas City Chiefs.
Brady likes to beat Giants the most
In his 22-year career, Brady lost to the New York Giants in Super Bowl games twice, with quarterback Eli Manning denying him the chance to add two more rings to his collection. It's no wonder why Brady likes to beat the Giants among all other NFL teams. During the latest edition of the Let's Go! podcast with Jim Gray, Brady was asked which team does he like beating the best, and which team does he like beating the least? "The team I would love to beat the most is the Giants," said Brady, per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. Brady added that he doesn't like losing to Eli Manning and the Giants, so he tried to beat them all the time. "The team I like to beat the least is obviously the Patriots. Again, those are my guys, man," said Brady, who will play the Giants on November 22 on Monday Night Football.
