Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady has already set three all-time NFL marks this season, all of them previously held by Drew Brees. In their Week 4 win against his former team, the New England Patriots, the 44-year-old Brady set the all-time passing yardage mark. In their 36-27 loss to the New Orleans Saints in Week 8, Brady collected two more records after completing 28 of 40 passes for 375 yards and four touchdowns and two interceptions. With that, Brady now has 38 games with four or more touchdown passes under his belt, surpassing the previous record of 37.
Brady also now has 98 games with three or more touchdown passes, one more than Brees.
Before the season ends, Brady is also expected to break Brees’ all-time record for completions. Brees had 7,142 career completions before he retired after last season, while Brady has 7,009, per Stat Muse. Brady needs just 134 completions to become the new all-time leader in completions. Currently, Brady leads the league in completions with 231, touchdowns with 25 and passing yards with 2,650. The Buccaneers will have their bye week in Week 9 before the face the Washington Football Team in Week 10.
Buccaneers didn’t make any trade deadline move
Despite their need for a veteran cornerback, the Buccaneers never made any trade move before the deadline on Tuesday, per Luke Easterling of USA Today.
Easterling said the Buccaneers chose current depth over future value, so they decided not to make any move. Running back Ronald Jones II drew interest from teams that need a running back, but the Buccaneers decided not to part ways with him, understanding that he could be valuable at some point this season. When asked about the possibility of trading Jones before the deadline, Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians said the team must get “something really, really special.” But Arians knows that in case top rusher Leonard Fournette suffers an injury, Jones can step up in his place.
“To me, it's a great 1-2 punch. It would have to be something extraordinary,” said Arians. Jones was the Buccaneers’ top rusher last season but Fournette took over the role when the former went down with an injury.
Arians wants to develop team discipline
After committing 11 penalties that cost them 99 yards and gave the Saints six first downs in New Orleans on Sunday, Arians said he was disappointed with the way his team played against New Orleans.
“Players just have to take the responsibility to play smarter,” said Arians, who’s hoping to use the bye week to improve his team’s discipline. The Buccaneers still lead the NFC South with a 6-2 record but they are just half-a-game ahead of the Saints, who carry a 5-2 mark.
