It wasn’t supposed to be like this. When Tom Brady sensationally reversed his retirement decision earlier this year, many football and sports fans rejoiced. The GOAT was going to continue playing in the NFL at the ridiculously high level spectators are accustomed to following an MVP-calibre performance throughout the 2021 season.
Could Brady do the impossible and reach Super Bowl LVII to win ring number eight? Could he even win MVP at the frankly ridiculous age of 45?
It hasn’t gone to plan. If you offered Brady and his Tampa Bay Buccaneers a mere spot in the playoffs right now, he would probably snap your hand off.
For the first time in 20 years, Brady has suffered a three-game losing streak following defeats to the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Carolina Panthers and now the Baltimore Ravens. Brady threw for 325 yards in the 27-22 loss to Lamar Jackson and co., but he only tossed one touchdown after not throwing any against the hapless Panthers.
On top of that, Brady competed just 59.1% of his passes on Thursday night as the Buccaneers slipped to 3-5 on the season. Remarkably, it is the first time in the iconic quarterback’s storied career that he is under .500 for two games in a row.
When Brady ended his retirement after just 40 days, he claimed he had ‘unfinished business’ to take care of. I’m sure the greatest quarterback in NFL history didn’t exactly mean he wanted to collect a number of presumably unwanted firsts, but here we are.
His banged up offensive line struggle to alleviate pressure, giving Brady less time to work his magic in the pocket. The Bucs protected Brady well across his first two seasons in Tampa as he was sacked 32 times behind a line anchored by centre Ryan Jensen and guards Ali Marpet and Alex Cappa.
However, Marpet retired at 28 in the wake of Brady’s original announcement while Cappa signed a lucrative deal to join the Cincinnati Bengals in free agency. Jensen suffered a season-ending knee injury two days into training camp to add injury to insult.
Against the Ravens, Brady became the most-sacked quarterback in NFL history following Justin Houston’s second quarter play. It means the 45-year-old has been taken down 555 times, a record he perhaps could have done without.
“We’ve struggled pretty much at everything. Red area. Third down. Run game. Two point plays. Backed up. Start of (the) third quarter,” Brady said after the defeat.
“Just didn't play well enough to win. Give them credit. They played good. Certainly better than we did.”
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Things have gone from bad to worse for the Buccaneers too, as influential linebacker Shaquil Barrett limped off in the third quarter. It is feared the 29-year-old has suffered a season-ending Achilles injury, which serves as a bitter blow to Tampa and their hopes of rescuing a playoff berth despite their disappointing campaign thus far.
Tampa Bay led 10-3 at half time but the Ravens outscored them 14-0 in the third quarter and never looked back, going on a 21-3 run at one point to secure the win. Jackson was excellent as he inspired the team to the victory despite losing Mark Andrews, Rashod Bateman and Gus Edwards to injury throughout the contest.
The Ravens sit atop the AFC North at 5-3, while the Buccaneers are now second in the NFC South with a 3-5 record. They host the defending Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams in a season-defining clash in Week 9.
