It’s hard to find a more miserable man in all of America right now than Tom Brady.
Not only is his marriage to supermodel Gisele Bündchen on the rocks, with Page Six exclusively reporting that the two sides have retained divorce lawyers, his Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been struggling in a big way in 2022 – with the lowest point of the season coming Sunday when they were blown out, 21-3, by a Panthers team which fired its head coach, traded its star running back and is on its third-string quarterback.
After the game, Brady expressed his frustrations bluntly in a press conference.
“No one feels good about where we’re at, no one feels good about how we’ve played or what we’re doing,” the 45-year-old quarterback told reporters, with the Bucs now sitting at 3-4 (yet still tied for first in the NFC South). “We’re all in it together. We’ve gotta go pull ourselves out of it.”
According to ESPN, the Bucs’ locker room after the loss to the Panthers was somber, with players sitting “at their lockers visibly stunned and staring at the floor in silence.” Tampa Bay was a double-digit favorite on the road against Carolina, which had just traded away All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey to the 49ers and receiver Robbie Anderson to the Cardinals. Both Panthers quarterbacks — Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold — were unavailable for the game due to injury, with journeyman backup P.J. Walker getting the start.
Yet the Bucs, who came into the game having lost three of four (including a Week 6 loss to the Steelers and backup QB Mitchell Trubisky), were unable to do anything against the Panthers’ 23rd-ranked defense (per DVOA). On the team’s first drive, Tampa receiver Mike Evans streaked wide open down the field, and Brady hit him right in the hands for what should have been a walk-in touchdown. However, the Pro Bowl receiver bobbled the pass and was unable to secure it, watching the ball fall to the grass in front of him.
The Bucs did not get another touchdown scoring opportunity the whole afternoon, managing only a 27-yard Ryan Succop field goal.
“We’re not playing well. We’re not playing well as individuals, we’re not playing well as a team,” head coach Todd Bowles told reporters after the game. “We’re not coaching well. All around. We’re not scoring enough on offense. We’re not stopping them enough on defense. So as a result – we have to wear this on our sleeve. We’ve got to be grown men. We’re going to see what we’re made of – how many people can handle adversity? This is as dark as it’s going to be right now.”
The Buccaneers have a short week to figure it out. They head home to host the Baltimore Ravens (4-3) on “Thursday Night Football.”
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