Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Breshad Perriman suddenly realized he didn’t know where Tom Brady‘s 700th touchdown ball went only seconds after scoring a 58-yard game-winning touchdown.
Brady later told reporters that he didn’t know of the ball’s whereabouts after a 33-27 overtime win over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, Dec. 12.
Fortunately for Brady and Perriman, a Bucs staff member did as the team avoided a similar mishap with Brady’s 600th touchdown ball earlier this season. The Bucs staff member took the loose touchdown ball, which saved the ball from going to a fan and costing the Bucs thousands.
“I spinned it. I didn’t know where it went after that, I was looking for it for a little bit, but they (Bucs staff) found it,” Perriman told the media on Sunday.
While Brady said he didn’t know what happened, he made light of it.
“I haven’t seen it,” Brady told reporters with a smile. “I don’t know where it went. I’ve got to look for it.”
Perriman left no debate on who will keep the ball.
“He does,” Perriman said with a laugh. “He definitely gets that.”
Brady said that Perriman “will get something nice too” for catching it.
Brady: ‘I Don’t Think About Those Things’
Brady downplayed the achievement when asked if he would keep both the 600th and 700th touchdown balls. He hit 600 career regular season touchdowns earlier in October and 700 overall against the Bills.
“I don’t think about those things,” Brady told the media. “People tell me they happen and it’s pretty cool. I keep some jerseys and stuff like that but it’s pretty neat. It’s just amazing to have so many people share all those great accomplishments — obviously to me I feel like they are team awards anyway. Anyone who ever caught a touchdown pass they are a part of something pretty cool in NFL history and anyone who I had a completion to for that matter.”
“Obviously the guys that came before me, doing it — like Dan Marino, Peyton (Manning), and Drew (Brees), and some other incredible players that I always looked up to. It was a great moment.”
Brady: ‘Has That Ever Happened Before?’
Brady claims he doesn’t reminisce about his football career, but his walk-off touchdown had him go down memory lane.
“I was trying to think, ‘has that ever happened before?’ That’s right, that was in Miami too,” Brady said on Sunday. “It’s pretty rare, but it was very cool. I would much rather not have it come down to that, but in the end, they all count the same.”
Brady’s 58-yard touchdown to Breshad Perriman ended an 18-year overtime touchdown drought for the Bucs quarterback. Brady last threw an overtime winner on Oct. 19, 2003, as a member of the New England Patriots in a 19-13 comeback win over Miami according to Jeff Kerr of CBS Sports.
In the 2003 win, Brady hit wide receiver Troy Brown on an 82-yard touchdown to win. The Patriots rallied from a 13-6 deficit against the Dolphins in that game.
Tampa Bay on Sunday blew a 24-3 halftime lead. It didn’t sit well with Brady afterward despite the electrifying finish.
“We have to learn from it, and we have to move on,” Brady said. “We needed to find a way because we kind of let them back in there with a bunch of plays that were kind of routine plays for us.”
Good news for the Bucs, Brady routinely makes comebacks with 52 game-winning drives in his career. He ranks third all-time, which trails Peyton Manning at 54 and Drew Brees at 53.
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Tom Brady, Breshad Perriman ‘Lose’ 700th Touchdown Ball