For a long time it looked as if Tom Brady would face a bitter season finale in the NFL with his Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But the superstar saves his team, his season and his streak by catching up. Meanwhile, a German professional is celebrating his league debut in Washington. And makes you smile.
Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers made spectacular use of their first match point for the playoffs in the NFL professional football league. In the duel with pursuer Carolina Panthers, the team around the star quarterback prevailed thanks to a strong fourth quarter with 30:24, at the beginning of the final section the Bucs were still 10:21 behind. Thanks to the success, the 2021 Super Bowl winner made the victory in the NFC South perfect before the last matchday, despite a moderate record.
Brady, 45, who is now in the playoffs for the 14th year in a row, contributed three touchdown passes and no interceptions to his team’s eighth win in 16 games of the season. “We’ve struggled through a lot of tough things this year,” said Brady, who brought one of the toughest regular seasons of his long career to a happy conclusion. “I’m happy to win the division. It’s always hard to get there. NFL games are hard to win and we always find a way to keep them kind of exciting. I wish they weren’t as exciting as we made them.”
The Panthers quickly led 14-0, going 14-10 at halftime – and after Sam Darnold’s third TD pass of the day, the Bucs were 21-10 behind ten seconds into the final quarter. The Bucs took charge from there: Evans loaded cornerback C.J. Henderson twice for touchdowns, then Darnold lost the ball to a sack just outside his own end zone. Brady used this fumble to make the decision: with just under two minutes left, the superstar personally carried the ball a yard into the Panthers’ end zone.
“The playoffs are a fresh start for everyone,” said a relieved Bucs coach Todd Bowles. “You have a three-game elimination tournament. It doesn’t matter where you are. … At least we know we’re going to be in the games. We just have to reduce the mistakes to win them.”
The fact that the Bucs, who started the season with 3:4 victories and thus gave Brady their worst opening record since 2002, now made it into the playoffs comparatively comfortably, was also due to receiver Mike Evans. The veteran ended the game with 10 catches for 207 yards – and spectacular, long touchdowns of 63, 57 and 30 yards. Evans became the first player in NFL history to begin his career with nine straight seasons surpassing 1,000 receiving yards.
“We have a huge game ahead of us now, I know we say it again and again, but it’s the reality: we have to do better,” Brady said before Christmas after beating the Cincinnati Bengals 23:34. “We still have three games to save the season,” added Bowles. And the 2020 Super Bowl champion delivered, even if it’s a ride on the razor blade: After Christmas, the Arizona Cardinals saved themselves with a 19:16 after overtime, now the Bucs turned a deficit into a narrow victory.
Also in the playoffs – and for the first time since 2016 – are the New York Giants after 38:10 at the Indianapolis Colts. In the fraternal duel of the German-American pass recipients, Amon-Ra St. Brown with his Detroit Lions clearly prevailed 41:10 against the Chicago Bears with Equanimeous St. Brown. A touchdown was not granted to either. The Lions kept their playoff chances.
Defensive tackle David Bada made his NFL debut for the Washington Commanders, losing 10-24 to the Cleveland Browns with the Washington Commanders. It was still a day of celebration for the native of Munich: Bada, who was able to play his way into the roster via the NFL Pathway Program, appeared at the stadium in lederhosen.
