Brady Watch: A Vintage Tom Brady Performance Sends the Buccaneers to the Divisional Round

Bucs Nation

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Washington Football Team 31-23 last night. The game was entertaining as the Football Team put up a good fight and gave the Buccaneers a good test. The Buccaneers were up for the challenge as their offense made plays when it mattered most. Tom Brady put together a vintage performance as he was excellent against an elite defense. 

Brady was 22/40 for 381 yards, with 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. Brady also finished with a rating of 104.3. Brady was sharp in this game as he threw the ball well, and he had zero turnovers. I was impressed by this performance from Brady because I thought the Washington pass rush would bother him. 

Brady’s performance was impressive because he did it against the 3rd ranked pass defense and 4th ranked defense overall. His 381 passing yards are the most passing yards against Washington this season, with the previous high being 309. On the season, Washington was averaging 191 passing yards per game, which makes Brady’s performance even more impressive. Furthermore, this was the 4th most passing yards in a playoff game in Brady’s career, which is crazy because he is 43! Brady also set the Buccaneers franchise record for most passing yards in a playoff game, breaking Brad Johnson’s 259 yards in the 2002 NFC Championship game. 

I am encouraged by Brady’s performance, and I think this is a good sign moving forward. The Buccaneers offense just needs to improve the dropped passes as they had 7 last night, and they need to do a better job finishing drives. The good thing is that despite these problems, the Buccaneers were still able to score 31 points against the 4th ranked defense. The defense of the Buccaneers is what worries me moving forward because they had a tough time stopping Taylor Heinicke. The Buccaneers defense struggled to contain Heinicke, and he was able to move the ball for most of the game. The defense has to step its game up because they will most likely have to play Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers to get to the Super Bowl. 

The Buccaneers will await the outcome of the Bears/Saints game to determine their opponent for next weekend. If the Saints win, they will travel to New Orleans, and if the Bears win, they will host the Rams.