At age 45, Tom Brady is the oldest starting player in the NFL this season.
However, that didn’t stop him from leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a victory on Sunday night over the Dallas Cowboys.
Despite his age, Brady was proving he can beat father time.
In a game dominated by defense, Brady shows he’s still got a little magic left in the bag.
So what did Brady do to defy his age?
He Can Still Take The Big Hits
No quarterback enjoys getting sacked during a game.
When you add in Brady’s age to this equation, taking a sack is tough.
However, he took two rough sacks from Micah Parsons that ended a possible touchdown scoring drive.
MICAH PARSONS GETS HIS SECOND SACK ON BRADY 😤
(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/WK23kPcQCX
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 12, 2022
But he came back with a vengeance, as he aired the ball out on a big play to Julio Jones late in the second quarter.
So despite taking hits throughout the game, he never let that stop him.
Taking hits at 45 years old is tough, but the seven-time Super Bowl champ is tougher.
However, taking shots from defenders wasn’t the only thing he did to defy father time.
Brady Had A Flash Of Arm Strength On Sunday Night
That second-quarter pass to Jones was one for the record books with Brady.
It was his longest air distance completion as a member of the Buccaneers.
Tom Brady & Julio Jones (48-yd reception)
🔹 Air Distance: 57.5 yards
🔹 Target Separation: 0.8 yards
🔹 Completion Probability: 23.6%The pass was Brady's longest completion by air distance since joining the @Buccaneers and 2nd-longest in the NGS era.#TBvsDAL | #GoBucs pic.twitter.com/XUeHhbJFiT
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) September 12, 2022
Next Gen Stats even shows how the pass was also the second-longest of his career since keeping track of this by NGS.
So at his age, he can still air out the ball nearly 60 yards.
With the veteran QB being overlooked for lack of arm strength when he was in college, he’s proving everyone wrong 23 years later.
While the long pass was a record setter, Brady extended his total touchdown record by one after the game ended.
However, not everything was perfect for the savvy veteran quarterback.
An Interception And Low Passing Yards Taint Brady’s Return
While getting a touchdown in the second half was great for Brady, there were some low points in his game.
Besides the two sacks on third down, he had an interception and only 212 passing yards.
Tom Brady PICKED OFF 😳
Brady intercepted on third-down by Donovan Wilson.pic.twitter.com/mDJ7BCxLOr
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) September 12, 2022
Luckily, the interception wasn’t costly for the Buccaneers.
However, the pick put a dent in the star quarterback’s return.
His 18-for-27 game also had some questioning if he still could play at his age.
But despite the low passing yards and low completions, he got the Bucs a win.
He was also happy with the play of his teammates around him during that win.
— Tom Brady (@TomBrady) September 12, 2022
So while the return wasn’t perfect, the seven-time Super Bowl champ was happy with the performance.
One Down, 16 To Go
With the Dallas game over, Brady has at least 16 more games ahead of him.
He needs to show those great flashes in the future.
If he continues to make long connections to Jones and Evans, Brady will have an exceptional year.
Even at his age, he could end up contending for the MVP title.
He’s got 16 more games to prove he’s worthy of another MVP title during his 2022 season.
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