Getty It took career fourth-quarter comeback number 45 for Tom Brady to beat the Arizona Cardinals on December 25.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers may have managed to escape a crippling loss on Christmas night, but quarterback Tom Brady could not escape criticism for his performance in the game.
“First off, I got to say, I’ve seen Tom Brady, I’ve coached against him more than any coach in the history of this game. This is the worst I’ve ever seen Tom Brady play, ever. … And they won the game somehow,” Rex Ryan, a former coach of the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills, said on the December 26 episode of “Get Up” on ESPN. “Tom Brady was awful in this game. He couldn’t hit anything.”
Brady was 32-of-48 for 281 yards with a touchdown, but he also threw two interceptions in the Bucs’ 19-16 overtime win over the 4-11 Arizona Cardinals. For three quarters, Brady was mostly ineffective. It wasn’t until the fourth quarter that he led Tampa Bay to overcoming a 10-point deficit, and in overtime he was 6-of-6 for 69 yards.
“One thing we always count on, at least Tom Brady was going to play well,” said Ryan, who had a front-row seat to much of Brady’s greatness from 2009 to 2016, when the New England Patriots would regularly best Ryan’s Jets or Bills. “Well right now, he’s playing terrible too. Worst I’ve ever seen him play.”
According to ESPN Stats & Info, the Bucs rank 28th in the league in offensive scoring at 17.7 points per game, which is three fewer points per game than the Carolina Panthers, who have started three different quarterbacks and fired a head coach this season.
Ryan said: “He almost played like a quarterback that, No. 1, doesn’t want to get hit, has no faith in his offensive line and is not accurate.”
Another Analyst Suggests Tom Brady Doesn’t Want to Get Hit
Shannon Sharpe, a former Hall of Fame tight end, echoed Ryan’s opinion about Brady’s wanting to avoid getting hit.
“It is becoming more increasingly obvious to anybody that really studies the game and knows the game,” Sharpe said on the December 26 episode of FS1’s “Skip and Shannon: Undisputed.” “Tom Brady … is afraid to get hit.”
Both Ryan and Sharpe said Brady was getting rid of the ball more quickly than ever and making mostly short pass attempts this season.
According to advanced passing stats at FantasyPros.com, Brady ranks toward the bottom of the league in both passing yards per attempt (6.2) and air yards per attempt (3.6), while getting the ball out of his hands at an average of 2.2 seconds, which is tied with Trevor Lawrence and Kyler Murray for the fastest in the league among quarterbacks who have started 10 games or more this season. The numbers could suggest that Brady isn’t holding the ball long enough to push the ball down the field consistently.
“At some point in time, we’ve got to say a lot of the offense’s problems. … It’s Tom Brady’s fault,” Sharpe said, adding: “Tom Brady looks bad.”
Tom Brady Notches 45th Career 4th-Quarter Comeback
The Bucs managed to generate 13 points in the fourth quarter and overtime periods combined to win and improve their record to 7-8 and keep them in first place in the NFC South.
“Yeah, you know, we keep it close in the fourth quarter, we know we got a shot,” Brady said during a postgame press conference on December 25. “And, you know, we played better there in the fourth quarter. We executed pretty well.”
Brady’s 45th career fourth-quarter comeback was capped by a nine-play scoring drive in which Brady’s 6-of-6 passing helped set up Ryan Succop’s 40-yard game-winning field goal.
“I think we’re all comfortable, you know, in those situations,” Brady added.
The Bucs will have the opportunity to clinch the NFC South title against the Carolina Panthers on January 1.