Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Tom Brady still owns Foxborough
Tom Brady was the king of Foxborough for many years with the Patriots and proved he still reigns as he and his Buccaneers triumphed over the Patriots.
It was a warm reception with a cold dose of reality for the Patriots as Tom Brady was coming back to his old stomping grounds. Upon taking the field, the former Patriot and now-Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback was treated to a shower of cheers and applause. But the warm feelings on a cold night were short-lived (as evidenced by the boos when he took the field for his first drive with the Bucs).
By night’s end, the 19-17 win for the Buccaneers was both hard-fought and, in a sense, gratifying for No. 12, albeit a fortunate win to move to 3-1 on the year thanks to a doinked field goal from New England.
Brady went 22-of-43 for 269 yards in his homecoming with no touchdowns or turnovers against his former head coach, Bill Belichick. Not too shabby, but not spectacular.
On the bright side, he broke the NFL record for career passing yards with the former leader, Drew Brees, an NBC analyst in the house watching. Also, he became the fourth quarterback in history to beat all 32 NFL teams.
His counterpart, Mac Jones, surprisingly outplayed him in the box score by going 31-of-40 with 275 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Though Nick Folk’s doink on the field-goal attempt spoiled an upset, the rookie showed poise and promise.
After the game, Brady gave the rookie credit, citing just how composed he was and how the Patriots have looked as a team this season despite their 1-3 start. Also, he showed love to Boston, having been there for 20 years:
"“It’s been my home for 20 years. I had the best memories. My kids were born here. It’s a great town… I love it up here.”"
There is no clear winner between Tom Brady and Bill Belichick despite what the scoreboard showed tonight.
Since leaving his Boston roots, Brady has found success beyond expectations in Florida, highlighted before this game, by a win in Super Bowl LV on the home turf at Raymond James Stadium. In contrast, Belichick went 7-9 last season and now is 1-3 on the year.
Nonetheless, there is mutual respect and genuine care between the two, as evidenced in their end of the game exchange in an embrace, though brief, but still respectful nonetheless.
Belichick even went into the Buccaneers locker room after the game to see Brady. How’s that for a chapter in a book of supposed mutiny between the two?
Still, there will be discussions about this topic, including who was more responsible for the franchise’s success, and frankly, no matter how many books come out or speculations are made, there’s not going to be an accurate answer. It’s just two people who came together at the right time.
Tampa Bay is happy to have Brady by their side now, but given how this all went down in the rain, there will be so much to correct for the Buccaneers, and the players will have to heal, especially the secondary, as evidenced by the number of injuries they sustained.
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An emotional night, a video tribute, a booing during the game, and applause afterward. It was just the proper night for one Tom Brady. However, don’t expect him to be gone from Foxborough forever as he told NBC’s Michelle Tafoya; he’ll be around. He won’t be crying either; it’s all business as they move on to the next game.