For perhaps the first time in his storied NFL career, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady often looked like a mere mortal this season.
His team finished just 8-9, a year after going 13-4 and two years after winning the Super Bowl, and it ended up losing badly in the wild-card round of the playoffs to the Dallas Cowboys, 31-14.
In Week 14, Brady’s boys took on the San Francisco 49ers in Santa Clara, and the 49ers destroyed them, 35-7, as he threw two interceptions and posted a season-low passer rating of 63.7.
Throughout the game, the future Hall of Famer was wired for sound, and he sounded dispirited as he made a futile attempt to inspire his team.
#Bucs recently released footage from their Week 14 game against the #49ers
Tom Brady was mic'd up for a big homecoming-type of game for him in front of his friends and family.
You can see him desperately trying to fire up a life-less team all game long. The end is just.. 😔 pic.twitter.com/ffzWR8kos2
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) January 23, 2023
It was an example of the 49ers boasting the league’s best defense, but it was also an example of the problems the Bucs had all season long.
They ranked just 25th in points scored and were dead-last in rushing yards, rushing touchdowns and yards per rush attempt.
When an NFL team has no ground game, its passing attack gets blunted as opposing teams can simply drop back in coverage knowing it won’t give up any big rushing yardage plays.
Brady is originally from Northern California and grew up a fan of the Joe Montana-era Niners, which must’ve made this loss all the more gut-wrenching for him.
With Brady’s season prematurely over, there is once again speculation that he will either retire or leave Tampa Bay.
Oddly enough, there was speculation he may want to join the Niners, but that speculation has disappeared with the emergence of Brock Purdy, their third-string rookie QB who was the last player taken in the 2022 draft.
NEXT: It's Time For Tom Brady To Call It Quits