Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady described the Week 9 win as “much needed” amid the most uncertain time of his 23-year career.
Brady expressed that during the “Let’s Go!” podcast on Monday, November 7, and he revealed facing some doubt amid the longest losing streak of his career as a starter. The Bucs showed little signs of life during the three-game losing streak, especially on offense, and things looked the same for all but the final 44 seconds against the Los Angeles Rams. Brady led a game-winning drive, capped by a 1-yard touchdown pass to tight end Cade Otton for the 16-13 victory.
Podcast host Jim Gray used late friend and NBA Hall of Fame head coach Chuck Daly as an example about the challenges of facing a long losing streak. Gray illustrated that someone such as Daly recognized the uncertainty that experience brought.
“Yeah, definitely, doubt does start to creep in,” Brady acknowledged. “Because you’re trying something, and you’re putting in all of your time and effort and all of your energy, and all of your prep, and it’s not going well. And then, the next week is the same thing, and then there’s more prep, and more time, and more energy, and it doesn’t go well.”
Tampa Bay looked like a sinking ship after barely holding off the Atlanta Falcons 21-15 in Week 5. The Bucs couldn’t score a touchdown until the late fourth quarter during the next week in a 20-18 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Then, the Bucs struggled to just get a field goal in a 21-3 loss to the Carolina Panthers in Week 7. It didn’t look much better when the Bucs stumbled to a 27-22 loss against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 8 where the team blew a 10-3 lead.
Brady: ‘It’s There for the Taking’
Brady could only bury his hands in his head after the loss to the Ravens.
“And then you’re thinking ‘what do you got to do, it’s never been like this before,’ Brady added. “And then you do look at your schedule, and you’re like, where do we get one [win]? And the reality is, it’s there, and it’s there for the taking.”
“If he’s holding the trophy at the end, nobody will remember September and October.”
@RSherman_25 speaking some truth about Tom Brady 🔥
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The defending Super Bowl champion Rams notably had the Bucs’ number during the Brady era thus far, winning twice at Raymond James Stadium in 2020 and the 2021 playoffs. For three quarters, the Bucs offense couldn’t run, couldn’t complete long passes, couldn’t sustain drives consistently, and couldn’t punch the ball in from inside the 5-yard line. Brady found openings in the Rams’ pass coverage nonetheless when needed most, and his own play call produced the team’s lone touchdown of the day with nine seconds left.
“You’ve just got to go play well, and you’ve got to eliminate the things that aren’t allowing you to play well,” Brady continued. “And you’ve gotta keep working. It all starts in practice for me.”
“And I think the process of improvement is absolutely the way to go in sports and business and in life,” Brady said. “And you’ve got to wake up every day about you need to go commit time and energy to the things that you need to fix.”
Brady Relieve in Victory Video
Brady went almost a month without posting his regular victory videos.
He took a more relieved tone than normal this time around. Brady started with “I mean” before the “it’s just nice to win one” video clip of Kevin Malone from “The Office”.
W! 🏴☠️
Brady and the Bucs get back to business in Germany for a Week 10 showdown with the Seattle Seahawks. on November 13.
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Tom Brady Makes Humble Admission After Bucs Losing Streak