ATLANTA (AP) — Tom Brady never tired of breaking records — even his own.
He finished Sunday with a different record than he’s ever had: a loser.
Brady broke his own NFL mark for most single-season completions, quickly earning the necessary nine connections in Tampa Bay’s 30-17 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. He played in the second quarter and then was pulled to avoid injury in the playoffs next week.
The loss dropped the NFC South champions Buccaneers to 8-9, the first time a Brady-led team has finished a season below .500.
Brady had a record 485 completions with the Buccaneers in 2021, and the 45-year-old started the day just nine shy of a new mark. He also has NFL career records for completions, passes attempted, passes for yards, and passes for touchdowns. He is a three-time MVP and 15-time Pro Bowl selection among his other accolades.
“I love going out there and competing with my teammates, I love competing with those guys,” Brady said. “I have a great group of guys that I work with every day. We try to show up for everyone and be the best we can be. These are all team records in my opinion. I always said that.
Brady set his last mark on a 5-yard pass to Russell Gage, a former Falcons receiver, early in the second quarter. The sideline pass gave Brady his first 12 attempts nine times and 486 for the season.
This drive ended with a field goal. Brady played one more possession before substitute Blaine Gabbert took over at the end of the first half.
Now the Bucs need to regroup and prepare to host a playoff game against Dallas next Monday night.
“It’s a big challenge,” Brady said. “I think every team is going to be challenged. There are only 14 teams that qualify. There’s only one that’s happy with it at the end. It’s going to be tough, but we’re battle tested.
“We had some tough matches. Some of which we returned. Some we don’t have. But like I said, closeness won’t be enough to move forward for anyone.”
Brady completed 13 of 17 passes for 84 yards with a touchdown, giving him 490 completions for the season. He also suffered the loss on his career record and fell to 11-1 all-time against the Falcons.
Tampa Bay won the NFC South with last week’s 30-24 win over Carolina and couldn’t improve on its No. 4 seed in Sunday’s game.
Although Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles went through with his plan to start his regulars healthy, it was unclear how long he would stay with Brady.
The Buccaneers had three active quarterbacks, including Kyle Trask, for only the second time this season. Trask, a sophomore, hasn’t played in a regular season game this season.
“I was trying to play as long as I could, I really was, but we had so many injuries and we had so many people coming and going,” Brady said. “It’s tough. You want to give others opportunities to play a lot this year. It’s good to see Blaine out there and throw a touchdown and it’s good to see Kyle play a bit.”
It didn’t take Brady long to close in on the record. He completed four passes for 38 yards on Tampa Bay’s first drive, including an 8-yard touchdown lob off tight end Kyle Rudolph.
“He continues to defy time,” Bowles said. “Father Time is having a hell of a time with Brady. He works hard. He loves to play the game. He’s like a little kid there. He loves to compete and everything has been said before.”
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AP Sports Writer Charles Odum contributed.
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