Tom Brady had not lost three straight starts in his last 302 games. This incredible streak, which began in 2002, however ended Thursday night in Tampa Bay.
Posted at 0:08
The Buccaneers (3-5) lost for the fifth time in their last six games, 27-22, to the Baltimore Ravens (5-3), who outscored them in the final 30 minutes.
After two poor performances against the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Carolina Panthers, the Bucs played with more intensity at the start of the game, but were unable to do so during the four quarters. As the game progressed, it became clearer that the Ravens were the better team.
Brady (26 for 44 for 325 yards) was the victim of 3 sacks, several of his passes lacked precision and three others were knocked down at the line of scrimmage. He and receiver Mike Evans also had miscommunications, obviously not being on the same page on some plays. Also note that Brady gained a good number of his yards when the victory was almost already in the pocket of the Ravens in the last minutes of play.
It was running back Leonard Fournette who scored the Bucs’ first touchdown in the first quarter with a one-yard run. The Buccaneers’ rushing game is the worst in the NFL statistically and, with the exception of the first series, continued to snatch Thursday (44 yards on 15 total carries).
On the other side of the ball, the Buccaneers had to defend without three important members of their secondary, cornerbacks Carlton Davis III and Sean Murphy-Bunting and safety Antoine Winfield Jr. It is surely for this reason that the Ravens bet on their aerial game in the first half, contrary to what they normally do.
We all know that the Ravens’ DNA is the ground game, but they went for 30 passes and only 7 carries before intermission. And the strategy did not pay off as they returned to the locker room trailing 10-3.
However, we saw the Ravens as we know them after the break. They ran with the ball in the first 5 games of their opening streak in the third quarter, which ended with a Kenyan Drake touchdown that tied the game 10-10.
Thanks in particular to a very good performance by Lamar Jackson (27 in 38 for 238 yards, 2 touchdowns and no interception), the Ravens scored majors after two other good series to give themselves a 24-13 lead in the middle of the fourth quarter. .
And for one of the few times in the past two decades, probably not many believed Brady would be able to come back and go for the win. He actually did not succeed.
Rob Gronkowski’s retirement and Cameron Brate’s injury obviously didn’t help Brady, who was always best when he had good tight ends. Another big factor is the impact of injury to center Ryan Jensen, who still hasn’t played this season.
On defense, the Bucs are inconsistent and particularly vulnerable against the run. Linebacker Devin White, who would normally be the cornerstone of the unit in his fourth year, is having a bit of a disappointing season.
So of course Brady isn’t the only one to blame for the Bucs’ failures. That said, his game is looking more and more like what you’d expect from a 45-year-old quarterback. On Thursday, he became the all-time “leader” in sacks with 556, overtaking Ben Roethlisberger (554). Behind a line that is struggling to get the job done and which seems a bit messy without its leader Jensen, there is likely to be many more in the coming weeks.
Which brings us back to Brady’s decision to return to play a 23e season. A choice which in all likelihood caused his separation from Gisele Bündchen, who has already said that she feared the health problems that football could cause for her husband, in the short and long term.
But Brady wants to keep playing. He even reportedly told commentator Al Michaels (Amazon) that he’d like to retire after winning another Super Bowl in the dream scenario, even if it wasn’t this year…
No, it won’t be this year. There are too many problems with the Bucs right now and they are playing with no sense of urgency, which is never forgiving in the NFL.
Brady will become a free agent in March. Could he really choose to continue his career in 2023? For example with the team of his childhood, the 49ers from San Francisco? Nothing is to be excluded in his case. It’s football first and foremost.