Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady is poised to break two records when they take on the Atlanta Falcons in their regular-season finale. After completing 34 of 45 passes in their 30-24 playoff – and division-clinching win over the Carolina Panthers, the 45-year-old Brady, with 477 completions this season, is now only nine completions away from breaking his own record of 485 that he set last year, per Mike Florio of NBC Sports.
Brady is also expected to eclipse the previous mark for pass attempts in a season currently owned by Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, who had 727 in 2012 when he was still with the Detroit Lions.
Brady currently has 716 pass attempts this season, per The Football Database. Brady threw for 432 yards and three touchdowns with an interception and added a game-sealing quarterback sneak in the endzone to give the Buccaneers the victory and their second straight NFC South title.
The division title was the 8th in franchise history and the fifth since the NFC South was formed in 2002, according to Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com. The Buccaneers also improved to 8-8 and had a chance to set another winning season when they take on the Panthers in Week 18. This is also the third straight time that the Buccaneers have qualified for the postseason since Brady joined the team in 2020. The Buccaneers will host a Wild Card game, the schedule of which will be announced at the end of Week 18.
Evans clinches 9th straight season with 1,000 receiving yards
"It felt great," said Brady after the win, adding that he’s proud of his teammates and coaches who have overcome various challenges this season. “Happy to win the division; it's always tough to do it,” added Brady, who reconnected with his top wide receiver Mike Evans in their come-from-behind win that saw them trail by double digits twice.
Evans caught 10 passes for 207 yards and three touchdowns, becoming the first player in team history to record 200-plus receiving yards and three touchdowns in a single game. "He had some time to throw it, Mike had some time to get down the field and they connected," Tampa Bay head coach Todd Bowles said of the Brady-Evans connection following the win.
Tampa Bay’s No. 2 receiver Chris Godwin added nine catches for 120 yards while top rusher Leonard Fournette carried the ball 10 times for 28 yards and added 4 catches for 19 yards.
Arians inducted into Ring of Honor
Bruce Arians, the former Buccaneers coach who led the team to victory in Super Bowl LV, was inducted into the squad’s Ring of Honor before the game. Arians resigned as head coach before the start of the season, prompting the team to appoint Bowles as replacement. In his last season, Arians led the team to the playoffs but they lost to the Rams in the divisional round.
