Shaun McAvoy
Sports Editor 22’
We all knew that it was going to happen eventually, but we’re all probably still not ready for this upcoming Sunday. After leaving the New England Patriots after playing with them for twenty years, Tom Brady is going to be playing this weekend at Foxborough, but as a visiting opponent for the first time. Brady, with his defending Super Bowl champion Buccaneers, will be the biggest game that Mac Jones and the new look Patriots have played this season.
Three games into the season, the Buccaneers are looking like they might just find themselves back in the Super Bowl, or at least the NFC championship. The Bucs are 2-1 right now, with their only loss coming to the undefeated Los Angeles Rams. Through the first three games, Brady has been surgical, throwing for 1,087 passing yards as well as 10 touchdowns. He has also rushed for a touchdown and has had a passer rating of over 109.
The Patriots, on the other hand, have fallen to 1-2 after a slow start to the season. After dropping a game to Jameis Winston and the Saints, the Pats are definitely looking to bounce back against the Bucs. This game will also be a good test to see if the Patriots can play with some of the best teams in the league.
Outside of the obvious implications this game has for the season and the teams, there are other things involved with this game. For starters, Tom Brady is only 68 passing yards away from toppling Drew Brees for the most all-time, and the fact that he most likely will accomplish this feat against his former team stings for sure. At the same time, since Brady left, there have been debates and discussions about what piece was more important for the Patriots and who was the reason for the dynasty younger Boston sports fans have been able to grow up with; Brady or Belichek. Now, they have a chance to go head to head for the first time.
Although this is a single game, you can bet for sure that there are going to be a lot of people talking about which member of the dynamic duo was more valuable for New England. Hopefully Mac Jones and the Patriots will be able to spoil Brady’s homecoming, but, that may be a tall order to ask of a rookie quarterback going against the greatest of all time.
