Was it final? Tom Brady goes under
Will Tom Brady now live his life without a football helmet?
Quelle: dpa/Chris O’meara
The season of Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is over after the crushing defeat by Dallas. The 45-year-old superstar avoids making clear announcements as to whether and where he will continue his career. There is plenty of speculation.
FThe NFL playoffs are already over for Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after a resounding defeat. In possibly the last game with Brady as quarterback, the Florida football team lost 14:31 to the Dallas Cowboys at the end of the wild card round.
At halftime it was already 18-0 for the Texans around quarterback Dak Prescott, who were only annoyed by a record number of extra points awarded. Although they were able to win an away playoff game in the NFL for the first time since 1992, one Cowboys player will have a bad memory of the evening in Florida: kicker Brett Maher.
He missed all three extra points on his team’s touchdowns in the first half and set a record negative record in the playoffs, which he promptly extended to four missed extra points in the second half. He finally scored after the Cowboys’ fifth touchdown.
From his perspective, the first two kicks went to the right, the third to the left, and on the fourth attempt the football finally landed on the post. Each time, Maher looked a little more petrified and didn’t even seem to notice his colleagues’ attempts to encourage him. The uncertainty was also completely new – in the main round he had successfully kicked the ball between the posts in 50 of 53 extra point attempts.
But that didn’t matter in the end, Dallas will play the 49ers in the divisional round on Sunday in San Francisco because Cowboys quarterback Prescott had a strong evening in contrast to Brady. The 29-year-old threw four passes for touchdowns and also caught another.
Just eight wins in 17 games for Brady
For Brady and the Bucs, on the other hand, a disappointing season is over, and there has been speculation for a long time about a farewell to the seven-time Super Bowl winner. Even the end of the 45-year-old’s career is not entirely out of the question. In the 23rd NFL year, Brady had experienced more losses than wins in the main round for the first time with just eight wins in 17 games.
“It was typical of how we played all year. Not very effective in the passing game, not good in the running game. It’s hard to be a good team when you play like that,” Brady said. On the other hand, he avoided making a clear statement about his future as a professional footballer.
“I’m going home and trying to sleep as well as possible tonight,” said the 45-year-old, “a lot of focus was on this game. One day at a time, really.” Brady also said while saying goodbye at his press conference, “I love this organization and it’s a great place.”
US media have long speculated that the most successful professional in NFL history with seven victories in the Super Bowl could continue his career with another team. Las Vegas Raiders, Miami Dolphins, San Francisco 49ers, New Orleans Saints and New England Patriots are traded. Or he may end his career a second time. Brady announced his resignation a year ago, but changed his mind after 40 days and decided to return to the Bucs. This season, however, without too much penetration.
For a long time, the Bucs didn’t develop any danger at all against the Cowboys. For the first time since 2001, Brady went into the break with zero points in a playoff game, and his team was largely out of luck after the first touchdown late in the third quarter. “Sometimes you get lucky but more often than not the team that deserves it wins and they played well today,” Brady said.
Another downside: Bucs pro Russell Gage apparently injured his neck and neck in a collision three minutes before the end of the game and was only able to leave the field with the help of a vehicle. Head coach Todd Bowles announced after the game that Gage was taken to the hospital. He has a concussion and is being tested for possible neck injuries.
