Getty Tom Brady wanted to play on Sunday though the Buccaneers wanted him to rest.
Tom Brady wouldn’t do as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers wished on Sunday, January 8, amid a 30-17 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
FOX Sports’ Jay Glazer reported that the Bucs wanted Brady to rest instead of play in the final regular season game because of no playoff implications, independent NFL reporter Dov Kleiman tweeted. The Bucs already had the NFC South division title and No. 4 seed in the NFC playoffs locked up.
“But he wasn’t really having it, so he’ll start,” Glazer said via Kleiman.
Brady did just that, and he threw for 84 yards and a touchdown before he headed to the sidelines in the second quarter. He led the Bucs to a touchdown on the opening drive, capped by an 8-yard pass to tight end Kyle Rudolph.
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“I was just trying to play as long as I could, but we just had so many injuries and we just had people going in and out,” Brady told the media after the game. “It’s tough. You want to give other people opportunities to play. I played a lot this year.”
From the second quarter on, Brady watched from the sidelines as backups Blaine Gabbert and Kyle Trask took snaps. Gabbert went 6-8 for 29 yards and a touchdown to wide receiver Russell Gage. Trask went 3-9 for 23 yards in the second half.
“Good to see Blaine go in there and play and throw a touchdown. Good to see Kyle play a little bit. Those are all positives,” Brady said.
Bucs head coach Todd Bowles previously said he planned to play Brady and other starters during a January 2 press conference.
Todd Bowles Not Happy With Backups
Not all backups made positive plays on the field in the Bucs loss. Tampa Bay had a 17-10 halftime lead after the starters played much of the first half, but things went south in the second half as the Falcons outscored the Bucs backups 20-0.
“We expect them to play the same way [as starters] with little drop-off,” Bowles told reporters on Sunday. “We had more drop-off than we wanted to. Given the opportunity, those guys have to play better.”
“We should have been able to preserve the lead,” Bowles added. “We got beat on the fundamental stuff. We’ll have to go back to the drawing board with some of those younger guys.”
Backup running backs Ke’Shawn Vaughn and Giovani Bernard gained 26 and 28 yards respectively. Second-string wide receiver Deven Thompkins caught four passes for 25 yards.
Otherwise, the Bucs offense flatlined in the second half with three punts and turnover on downs. Only one drive went over three plays.
Defensively, the Bucs couldn’t make stops as the Falcons scored two touchdowns and two field goals. The Bucs backups didn’t produce any sacks, and they mustered only four tackles for loss.
Bowles Says Brady ‘Continues to Defy Time’
Despite Brady’s short appearance on Sunday, he secured another record — the most completions in a season at 490.
“He continues to defy time. Father Time is having a heck of a time with Brady,” Bowles joked with the media. “He works hard. He loves to play the game. He’s like a little kid out there. He loves to compete. Everything else has already been said.”