On Monday night, Tom Brady’s team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, suffered a crushing 31-14 loss to the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC wild-card round.
The game, held at Raymond James Stadium, marked the end of the season for the 8-10 Buccaneers, and the beginning of an offseason of speculation about the future of the 45-year-old quarterback.
Brady, who had come out of retirement last March, will be a free agent and can either remain in Tampa for a fourth season, play for another team or retire again.
When asked about his plans for the future, Brady stated “I’m going to go home and get a good night’s sleep … as good as I can tonight.’’
The game itself was a rough one for Brady, who looked every bit his age and made a rare mistake that could be considered one of the worst passes of his career. On a second-and-goal play from the Dallas 5-yard line on the second play of the second quarter, Brady backpedaled in the pocket with two Cowboys pressuring him, he pump-faked and then floated a pass to no one in particular towards the back of the end zone, which was intercepted by Cowboys safety, Jayron Kearse.
Brady’s performance was in stark contrast to that of his counterpart, Dak Prescott, who, despite having a reputation for being a poor playoff performer, had a strong game, finishing 25 of 33 for 305 yards with four touchdowns, no interceptions, and a 143.3 rating.
Is Tom Brady Finished?
The defeat raises questions about whether this is the end of the road for the quarterback, who has had a storied career, owning almost every significant postseason record for quarterbacks, with 35 playoff wins, most games played (47), most Super Bowl titles (seven), most passing yards (13,049) and most touchdown passes (86).
As Buccaneers tight end, Cameron Brate, stated, “I know Tom and he wouldn’t want to go out like that. But we’ll see.’’ The sports world, and fans of the Buccaneers, await Brady’s decision on what is next with bated breath.
