Tom Brady struggles in Buccaneers debut
By Ty Anderson, 985TheSportsHub.com
While Cam Newton made the best of a bad situation in his Patriots debut, his predecessor, Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady, struggled to get on the same page with his all-world weapons in a 34-23 loss to the Saints.
The 43-year-old Brady’s first drive of the season was something to behold, connecting with Chris Godwin on a strong look, and with No. 12 finishing the drive with a sneak up the middle for his first score as a Buc. (It also made Brady the oldest player in league history to score a touchdown.)
But from there, it was mostly a debut to forget for Brady, beginning with a second-quarter interception on a target intended for No. 1 wideout Mike Evans.
JUMP MAN! 🙌@MarcusWilliams with the huge INT off Tom Brady
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) September 13, 2020
📺: @NFLonFOX pic.twitter.com/0Q6Njysna5
“One was a miscommunication between he and Mike [Evans],” Bucs head coach Bruce Arians said of his star quarterback’s first interception of the afternoon. “He thought Mike was going down the middle. It was a different coverage [and] Mike read it right. He should have been across his face, but Tom overthrew it.”
Down by 10 in the third quarter and with a chance to make it a one-possession game, Brady once again threw it to the Saints, this time with Janoris Jenkins picking Brady off for a pick-six the other way.
Janoris Jenkins jumps in front for the pick-6! #Saints
— NFL (@NFL) September 13, 2020
📺: #TBvsNO on FOX
📱: NFL app // Yahoo Sports app: https://t.co/5o8cWoN1yf pic.twitter.com/59dxseKWNC
“A screen pass with an outlet called,” Arians remarked. “[Brady] threw the outlet and it was a pick-six. Bad decision.”
This was also the third straight game with a pick-six off Brady’s hand, too, making him the first quarterback to have three straight games with a pick-six since Matt Schaub and Blaine Gabbert accomplished the ‘feat’ in 2013.
Statistically speaking, Brady would rebound with touchdown passes to Evans and OJ Howard, and finished with 239 yards on 23-for-36 passing, but was open about his need for improvement moving forward.
“We had opportunities out there to make plays and just came up short,” said Brady. “There’s no excuses. We’re the only ones who can do something about it. The Saints kind of played how they always play; they did a good job on offense. We hung our defense out to dry on some short fields, with not moving the ball, not doing very well on third downs at times. The turnovers really hurt us. We’ve got to clean that up for next week and do a lot better job.”
Brady wasn’t the only Patriot-turned-Buc who struggled in this one, as Rob Gronkowski, who came out of retirement to force a move to Tampa Bay, caught just two passes (on three targets) for 11 yards in the losing effort.
Brady and the Bucs will have a great bounce-back opportunity against the Panthers next week.
