A Win is a Win

Box score, not so pretty.

The Box score reads Tom Brady 22 of 43 269 yards, 0 touchdowns, 0 interceptions.

I was never a prodigy at math. My main goal was to pull a C out of that class and never look back. That C, however, was enough for me or anyone to see that Brady barely broke the 50% completions mark in this game.

‘Not a great night for anyone who started Brady on their fantasy team.

No style points are awarded for setting NFL career passing records in fantasy football. In real-life football, though, it was a heck of a milestone—needing only 68 yards passing coming into the game to break Drew Brees’s all-time passing record, it didn’t take long to reach that mark. Brady broke it on a pass to Mike Evans for 28 yards in the first quarter.

Drew Brees was on hand as part of the NBC broadcast crew and got to witness the changing of the guard, so to speak, and followed the muted appreciation of the new milestone. There will be more days like today for the G.O.A.T. if he sticks around for another season or two, as is expected. It’s hard to imagine there will be many records left by the time he hangs them up.

It was a game of defense, field goals, and hard rain.

This game was a very hard-fought all-out assault through the air by both quarterbacks. A total of 83 footballs were launched in the steady and sometimes heavy rain at Gilette Stadium Sunday night.

So much was made about the Brady and Belichick— the center of the Foxboro reunion. The fact that the Patriots had finally found their man to move on from Brady in Mac Jones was almost an afterthought.

This wouldn’t last long as the Crimson Tide’s former record-setter at quarterback started connecting on 31 of his 40 passes for his new team. Thoughts of Cam Newton and last year’s Brady-less campaign gratefully left behind to wither and rot in the New England night. Jones has poise, isn’t easily rattled. He has that “IT” thing that all exceptional quarterbacks possess. While it was supposed to be a coming home party for Brady, it quickly because a coming-out party for Mac Jones, even in a loss.

The Bucs running game was spotted briefly, Sunday.

Leonard Fournette carried the ball 20 times for 91 yards for an average of 4.5 yards. The 20 rushing attempts were the most by any Buc’s running back this season—almost doubling the previous high of 11 by Fournette against the Falcons in week two.

While 20 rushing attempts in a game is no big deal for a lot of teams and for a Buccaneers’ running back to have 20 carries all to himself isn’t common. I’m glad to see the run game get a wee bit more attention, but to me, the wrong back is getting the bulk share of those carries. This is not a knock on Fournette in the least. I am aware that Ronald Jones II has had a couple of issues early this season that may have affected his workload. The bottom line for me, though, is that Jones is by far our best pure runner. He has the x-factor, the ability to bust off a very long run, lightning in a bottle. So to speak. He is also the type of runner that gets stronger the more he carries the ball. Let’s not forget Jones is tied for second in the longest runs from scrimmage in NFL History.

Aside from setting a Buccaneer’s all-time record for average yards from scrimmage in a season, 5.1 in 2020, I would like to see his carries increase some; so he can set himself apart from the former LSU Tiger. Back at the ranch: The ability to run the ball, even at a modest success rate during the rainy night, was a factor to some degree in the win. It’s also worth noting that Richard Sherman led the defense with seven tackles, not bad for a player who had less than a week of practice with his new team.

The doink heard round the world.

After all the hoopla and buildup, it came down to the Patriots kicker Nick Folk, doinking a possible 56 yard —would have equaled his longest game-winning field goal off of the left upright; by inches. Something he hadn’t done in 36 straight attempts. Well, all great things come to an end. It was the end of a hard-fought battle by both teams. Somebody had to win; sure glad it was us. Go Bucs!!