Getty Tom Brady shined with 154 yards and a touchdown in the Buccaneers' preseason finale.
After Tom Brady gave a young Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan a jersey on Saturday, the 44-year-old quarterback delivered a big performance on the field.
News of Brady’s kindness to the young fan came out during the game broadcast according to ESPN’s Jenna Laine. The boy “started crying tears of joy,” Laine wrote.
Per the Bucs’ broadcast, Tom Brady gave this young fan in the stands a jersey, and he started crying tears of joy.
“I think we can all make an impact on our communities in a positive way,” Brady said in the postgame press conference. “It’s great to see the support of the fans come back out (and) … I was a kid once, too.”
On the field, Brady torched the Houston Texans in two scoring drives during a 23-16 win to cap the preseason. He went 11-14 for 154 yards and a touchdown, and he didn’t take any sacks.
“Tom Brady went out and did Tom Brady things,” Texans safety Justin Reid said per Drew Dougherty of Texans TV.
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Brady Doing ‘Tom Brady Things’
Brady’s touchdown strike to star wide receiver Chris Godwin capped a perfect passing performance of 7-7 during a 91-yard drive in the first quarter. Godwin caught three passes for 84 yards and a touchdown.
Surgical.
@TomBrady went 7/7 and hit @CGtwelve_ to finish off a 91-yard drive.
Notably, the Bucs ran no-huddle on that drive. Bucs head coach Bruce Arians said he like how they ran it per Buccaneers.com’s Scott Smith.
Brady and company also bounced back from going three-and-out on their first drive on the night by producing two scoring drives. Arians, already thinking ahead to the regular season, didn’t forget about that first series.
“I was pleased with everything except that first series on offense,” Arians per Greg Auman of The Athletic. “We can’t start against Dallas with a penalty and a three-and-out and give them field position, but other than that, we had a nice rhythm. I loved the speed of the defense, speed of the offense once we got going.”
The starters consequently got off the field early — partway through the second quarter with a 13-0 lead. Arians originally planned to have the starters out for a full half in the preseason opener.
It concluded a shortened preseason for the Bucs starters, who played minimally in the opener against Cincinnati on Aug. 14 and not at all against Tennessee on Aug. 21. Bucs starters will get about two weeks to rest until kicking off the regular season at home against the Dallas Cowboys on Sept. 9.
Brady Values Preseason Snaps
Even at age 44 with 22 years of experience, Brady wanted to play in the preseason, which he has done consistently throughout his career.
“You have to get the real reps, you have to get the real crowd noise, (and) you have to get the real game clock,” Brady said per Auman. “You have to get the real situations. The more you do as a team, the better you’re going to be, obviously, as the pressure mounts.”
Video: Tom Brady talks about the need for “real reps” and playing in live conditions to prepare for the regular season.
Brady called regular season opener with Dallas “our first biggest game of the year” per Buccaneers.com. He also acknowledged the tough decisions coming up for the Bucs staff with the final roster cuts. NFL teams have to trim their rosters down from 80 to 53 by 4 p.m. on Aug. 31.
“It’s always a tough time for all the players and coaches. Nobody likes this time of year for those reasons, but as soon as that happens, the team’s got to come together quickly and get prepared to play,” Brady said.