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Tom Brady breaks his own record for most completions in a season… but the Buccaneers FALL to the lowly Atlanta Falcons 30-17 with Tampa Bay focusing on the playoffs
Tom Brady broke his own NFL record for most completions in a season, quickly picking up all nine necessary connections in Tampa Bay’s game against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.
Brady had a record 485 completions with the Buccaneers in 2021. The 45-year-old Brady entered Sunday’s game against the Falcons with 477 completions, leaving him just nine shy of a new record.
Brady set the mark with a 5-yard completion to Russell Gage, the former Falcons wide receiver, early in the second quarter. The lateral pass gave Brady nine completions in his first 12 attempts and 486 on the season. That drive ended with three points and Brady was left with one more possession before starting on the bench.
But it was the effort of Falcons rookie Desmond Ridder where he completed the first two touchdown passes of his career to lead his team to a 30-17 victory over the Bucs. It was the first time Brady had lost to the Falcons in his career, having gone 11-0 before Sunday.
Tom Brady broke one of his own records, however his Bucs lost after he was rested.
Brady completed 13 of 17 passes for 84 yards with a touchdown, giving him 490 completions on the season.
Tampa Bay clinched the NFC South with last week’s 30-24 win over Carolina and couldn’t improve on its No. 4 seed in Sunday’s game.
Although Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles went ahead with his plan to start his healthy regulars, it was unknown how long he would stay with Brady.
The Buccaneers had three active quarterbacks, including Kyle Trask, against the Falcons for the second time this season. Trask, a sophomore, hasn’t appeared in a regular-season game this season.
Brady didn’t need much to close the record. He completed four passes for 38 yards on Tampa Bay’s opening drive, including an 8-yard TD lob to tight end Kyle Rudolph.
Brady and the other healthy Tampa Bay regulars started even though the Buccaneers (8-9) clinched the NFC South title by beating Carolina 30-24 last week and were clinched as the NFC’s No. 4 seed. in the playoffs.
Brady surpassed his own record for most completions in a season, resetting the mark to 490.
Brady had winning records in 21 consecutive regular seasons with New England and Tampa Bay prior to this season.
Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles used backup Blaine Gabbert behind Brady before second-year quarterback Kyle Trask made his NFL debut in the fourth quarter.
Rookie Tyler Allgeier rushed for 135 yards on 24 carries to end Atlanta’s fifth straight losing season (7-10). The Falcons finished with back-to-back wins under second-year coach Arthur Smith.
‘Touchdown Tom’ started the day needing nine completions to surpass his high of 485 in a 2021 season. He set the mark with a 5-yard pass to Russell Gage, the former Falcons wide receiver, early in the second quarter.
Brady was not around long and suffered his first loss to the Atlanta Falcons 30-17.
Brady completed 13 of 17 passes for 84 yards with a touchdown, giving him 490 completions on the season. Brady capped Tampa Bay’s opening drive with an 8-yard TD pass to tight end Kyle Rudolph.
Ridder completed 19 of 30 passes for 224 yards. He threw his first career TD pass to tight end McCole Pruitt in the first quarter and added a 3-yard TD pass to Olamide Zaccheaus late in the third quarter for a 20-17 lead. Cordarrelle Patterson added a 2-yard TD run.
The rookie showed some errors, losing a fumble late in the second quarter. The ball slipped out of his hand as he tried to pass, and Devin White returned the fumble recovery 9 yards to the Atlanta 22-yard line. The play set up Gabbert’s 3-yard scoring pass to Gage, giving the Bucs a 17–10 halftime lead. .
Rookie QB Desmond Ridder threw the first two complete touchdowns of his NFL career