Getty Even after a win, Tom Brady believes there is a lot for the Tampa Bay Bucs to work on.
If you watched Tom Brady’s post-game press conference without context, it would be assumed that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost to the Los Angeles Chargers. Brady threw for 369 yards and five touchdowns but looked solemn after the Bucs’ comeback win.
The reason is simple as the Buccaneers had a 10-point deficit at halftime, a number that would have been larger if the Tampa defense had not forced a fumble that put the offense at first-and-goal which led to a late touchdown. Brady’s assessment was simple but blunt noting, “we’ve just got to figure out how to play 60 minutes well.”
“We put ourselves in a pretty good hole and we were just going to have to dig our way out of it,” Brady noted, per Buccaneers.com. “That’s just the way football works sometimes. We’ve just got to tighten things up. I’m glad we came back. The defense made a big play for us just before the end of the half and that got us and that got us ignited a little bit. We made some plays in the third quarter, made some good plays in the fourth quarter. We started the game well, finished the game well, that middle part we’ve just got to figure out how to play 60 minutes well.”
Arians on Brady: ‘Just Played Outstanding’
Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians was not quite as critical of the team’s performance. Arians praised Brady’s ability to lead a comeback noting the quarterback “just played outstanding.”
“I thought he just played outstanding,” Arians explained, via Buccaneers.com. “I’ve just got to coach him up better on that one play [that was intercepted] and just get it coached better. But he played fantastic and was lights-out in the second half.”
Brady did not appear quite as subdued in his weekly video recap he posted on Instagram, but the quarterback clearly believes the Buccaneers have not played their best football.
The Bucs Continue to Deal With Injuries, Particularly on Offense
Tampa continues to deal with numerous injuries on offense with O.J. Howard being the latest to go down. Howard is expected to miss the rest of the season, and Chris Godwin is likely out once again in Week 5.
Mike Evans sustained an ankle injury early in the Bucs-Chargers contest but was able to return to the game. Brady gave what appeared to be a closing statement that was an answer to a reporter’s question but also served as a message to his teammates.
“It’s a long season and we’re 25 percent of the way through,” Brady added. “So, it’s not early anymore. We have a decent sample size and we got to figure out what we’re good at, what we’re not good at and keep working to get better. The guys that haven’t had much of a role got to find a way to find a role for themselves, and the guys that have got to keep improving it, increasing it. I know we have a lot of playmakers out there, but we got to continue to gain trust in one another. Become more dependable and consistent and ultimately play well for 60 minutes and see what it looks like if we can do that.”
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Tom Brady Not Happy After Buccaneers’ Win Over Chargers