It’s safe to say that Tom Brady is in midseason form. The reigning Super Bowl MVP continues to be an ageless wonder and the latest example came during Tampa Bay’s seventh offensive possession of the night in the NFL‘s regular-season opener between the Buccaneers and Dallas Cowboys.
At the 2:38 mark of the second quarter, the 44-year-old uncorked a 47-yard touchdown pass to Antonio Brown to give the Bucs a 21-16 lead. So far, Brady has completed 13 of his 18 throws for 213 yards, three touchdowns, and an interception. Meanwhile, Brown has caught four of his five targets for 118 yards and that touchdown.
This touchdown bomb came after back-to-back drives that resulted in a turnover by the Buccaneers. The first was a fumble at the hands of Ronald Jones and the second came on an interception, which was largely the fault of Leonard Fournette, who couldn’t haul in a screen pass that was bumped in the air and into the arms of Cowboys corner Trevon Diggs. Those turnovers allowed to get within one point of Tampa Bay, but the touchdown throw by Brady gave his club a bit more breathing room as they try to earn a win right out of the gate.
That touchdown also had a bit of history sprinkled onto it. With that catch, Brown surpassed Antonio Gates (11,841) for the 30th-most receiving yards in NFL history. Meanwhile, Brady now has thrown three-plus touchdowns in a game for the 94th time in his NFL career, which breaks his tie with Peyton Manning (93) for the second-most all time in league history.
