Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers faced the Los Angeles Rams in a Monday night showdown. In order to make sense of it all, we must once again consult the Crud Meter.
The Buccaneers put together consecutive long touchdown drives in the first half, but found themselves down 17-14 at halftime after a clutch two-minute drill from the Rams led to a late field goal. Under head coach Sean McVay, the Rams came into the game a pristine 31-0 in games they led at halftime, but the Monday Night Football broadcast crew was quick to remind viewers that none of those wins came against one Tom Brady. The stage was set for Brady to spoil this impressive record and further author his own legend.
Things did not work out that way. Brady opened up the second half by completing one of his first seven pass attempts, which included this interception on a badly under-thrown deep ball:
Brady also took a bad sack and narrowly avoided a fumble in the end zone in a frustrating, unproductive third quarter for the Buccaneers. Tampa's first drive of the fourth quarter ended with this Brady lowlight:
The second of those two throws was an illegal forward pass, but because it did not result in a first down, the Rams declined the penalty and Brady was allowed to keep the completion.
The Bucs did tie the score at 24, but found themselves down three again with another Matt Gay field goal in the fourth quarter. They had possession of the ball and a couple of timeouts, which meant everything was set up for another signature Tom Brady game-winning drive. Here's how that went:
Brady finished the game 26-of-48 for 216 yards, along with a pair of TDs, two ugly interceptions, and one embarrassing double pass. It was not his worst game of the season, but it was a long, long way from his best. The Crud Meter reflects this.
