Page 21 - Florida Sentinel 10-8-21

Sports
Tom Brady, Buccaneers
Bill Belichick Gives Tom Brady
Close Out Patriots With 19-17
Awkward Hug After Loss;
Win In Return To New England
Bucs Play Dolphins Sunday
Tom Brady trotted into Gillette Stadium wearing enemy colors Sunday night, his head down and competi- tive hate stirring in his heart.
The New England sky wept.
Light rain fell throughout Brady’s pregame warmups, his first ever as a visitor. He slung dozens of passes to teammates and coaches, and calmly prowled the familiar turf. Brady eventually re- treated into the locker room, gathered all of the Bucca- neers and led them back onto the field. There, surrounded by 68,000 broken New Eng- land hearts, some healed and others still bleeding, the liv- ing legend was greeted with a mix of longing and grief.
“Bra-dy! Bra-dy!” they chanted amid a smattering of boos.
Then, a funny thing hap- pened: Brady, a master of the moment, threw 10 passes with no chance of being caught in the first half alone. His high-powered offense short-circuited, a struggle that, much like his New Eng- land successes, was driven equally by his physical per- formance and a wily Bill Be- lichick game plan.
The rain continued to fall, but by the end, Brady redis- covered himself in the place his legend was born.
Taking over with less than five minutes left, Brady di- rected a go-ahead field goal drive that lifted the Bucca- neers to a 19-17 lead they would never relinquish. Tampa Bay kicker Ryan Succop drilled a 48-yarder with 1:57 remaining, the sixth
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady (12) throws while pressured by New England Patriots defensive tackle Christian Barmore (90).
Tom Brady made his return to New England on Sunday night and was quickly cheered, and then booed, by fans who rooted for him for 20 years that in- cluded six Super Bowl victo- ries and countless memories for all involved.
He then went out on his old field and led his new team to a 19-17 win that was- n’t sealed until Patriots kicker Nick Folk doinked a possible game-winning 56- yard field goal attempt off the left upright with under a minute to go in the fourth quarter.
Once the game was com- plete Brady shared some special moments with for- mer teammates and coaches at midfield. He and Bill Be-
TOM BRADY AND BILL BELICHICK
lichick shared a hug, which was a rather quick hug.
Moving on, the Bucca- neers will play the Miami Dolphins Sunday in Ray- mond James Stadium Sun- day at 1 p.m.
Early NFL predictions and picks are from ESPN's Football Power Index (FPI).
Dolphins: 26.8% to win Buccaneers: 73.0% to win
lead change in an epic show- down between the greatest coach and quarterback of all time. The Pats responded with their own final push, which fell short when Nick Folk’s 55-yard try hit the left upright and tumbled to the turf.
Patriots rookie quarter- back Mac Jones went 31-of- 40 for 275 yards, two touchdowns and an intercep- tion. His last three attempts were midfield incompletions for Jakobi Meyers fired at Tampa Bay’s 44-yard line.
Down by two with as many minutes remaining, the Patriots covered 20 yards on a defensive pass interference penalty by Bucs safety Jor- dan Whitehead, then nine yards on a short completion to Hunter Henry before Jones and the offense stalled out. The Pats fell to 1- 3 with their third home loss on the season.
Brady Sets N.F.L. Career Passing Record In Return To New England
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady be- came the N.F.L.’s career passing leader on Sunday in his first game back in New England to face his former team, the Patriots.
In the first quarter, Brady completed a 28-yard pass to receiver Mike Evans to reach 80,359 yards and surpass the record of 80,358 yards set last year by Drew Brees, the New Orleans Saints quarterback who re- tired at the end of the season.
The Patriots flashed the record on the stadium video screen and announced it to the crowd, which cheered, but they did not stop the game for a ceremony.
Gronkowski Has 4
Cracked Ribs; Ruled
Out For Dolphins Game
It took a lot to keep Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Rob Gronkowski from playing Sunday night against his old team, and that’s exactly what happened to him last Sunday when the Buccaneers defeated the New England Patriots, 19-17.
Gronkowski left Tampa Bay’s Week 3 loss to the Los Angeles Rams after taking a nasty shot to his midsection, but he later returned to the game, and preliminary X- rays came back negative.
Gronkowski told re- porters that he suffered four fractured ribs, one fully bro- ken rib, and a punctured
ROB GRONKOWSKI
juries of this severity.
lung.
It’s no
wonder Gronkowski was ruled out for the Patriots and Miami Dolphins games, and it re- mains to be seen how much more time he’ll miss with in-
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