Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady finished the regular season as leader in passing yards, passing touchdowns and completions and led his team to a 13-4 record. So for Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians, his 44-year-old quarterback could be considered as a runaway winner for the Most Valuable Player award this season. “I think if he doesn't get it, it's a travesty,” said Arians when asked about Brady’s chances of winning the award over Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. “I mean most completions ever, 5 000 yards touchdowns, the whole nine yards.
To me, it's not even a close race,” added Arians, referring to Brady’s 5,316 yards and 43 touchdowns this season. Brady also set a new all-time regular-season completions mark with 485, eclipsing the previous mark of 471 set by Drew Brees. According to BetMGM, Rodgers is the favorite to win the MVP trophy after leading the Packers to the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs while Brady is second on the list. For most part of the season, Brady dominated the betting odds for the MVP trophy until a loss to the New Orleans Saints late in the season put his chances to win a fourth MVP trophy this season. But Brady put the Buccaneers on the winning track as he led them to three straight win to close out their regular-season campaign.
Brady expects tough clash vs Eagles
After finishing No. 2 in the NFC, the Buccaneers are set to play the No. 7 seed Philadelphia Eagles on Saturday in the Wild-Card Game at Raymond James Stadium. During an interview after their 41-17 win over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, Brady said he’s not focused on the possibility of facing the Packers or the Los Angeles Rams in the playoffs, but he’s focused on the Eagles.
“I don’t know, you’re worried about two games from now, I’m not worried about two games from now, I’m worried about one game from now, which is the Eagles,” Brady said. Brady said the Buccaneers still have to deal with the Eagles, which he called the “biggest game of our season.” Brady will make his third postseason start against the Eagles, who will try to join the New York Giants as only the second team to beat Brady in consecutive playoff games.
During his time with the New England Patriots, Brady lost to the Eagles in Super Bowl LII.
Bucs to get back Fournette, Barrett, JPP vs Eagles
Brady will be able to get some help when they take on the Eagles after Arians announced that running back Leonard Fournette (hamstring), linebacker Shaq Barrett (knee), and linebacker Jason Pierre-Paul (shoulder) will return to action on Saturday, per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. Fournette landed on injured reserve following their Week 15 loss to the Saints while Pierre-Paul has been dealing with his rotator cuff issue in the past week. Fournette’s return will be a welcome development for Brady as it would give him an additional target on offense.
