After his replacement in New England (Cam Newton) had a strong debut for the Patriots in a win, Tom Brady took the field for the first time as the quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
It did not go well.
Though he started off strong with a rushing touchdown on Tampa Bay’s opening drive, Brady struggled to find his receivers and was just 15-of-28 passing for 157 yards and one touchdown through the first 54 minutes of the 34-23 Week 1 loss to the New Orleans Saints.
While the game was still in the balance, Brady had two costly interceptions (one was returned 36 yards for a touchdown by Janoris Jenkins) that led to points for New Orleans and did not always look to be on the same page with his receivers.
Brady was able to pad his numbers in garbage time and finished with 239 yards and two TDs plus the rushing score, but finished with a mediocre 78.4 passer rating and also took three sacks.
“I made some just bad, terrible turnovers,” 43-year-old Brady said following the loss. “I obviously have got to do a lot better job. Poor execution. That’s what it comes down to. It’s a game of execution.”
Brady’s counterpart on the Saints, 41-year-old Drew Brees, passed for 160 yards and two touchdowns. Not outstanding numbers, but Brees did not turn the ball over and took just one sack. The Sunday afternoon showdown between the divisional rivals was the first-ever NFL game featuring two starting quarterbacks in their 40s.
“We played against each other in college, for goodness sake, in 1999,” Brees said. “At the end of the day, I think we would both pinch ourselves if you told us back then we’d have the opportunity to play this long and be a part of so many great teams and so many great moments, historic moments.”
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