TAMPA, Fla. — Will we be witnessing the final act of one of the most legendary sports figures of all time when the Buccaneers play the Cowboys in the NFC wild-card round Monday night at Raymond James Stadium?
Is this Tom Brady’s last dance?
As the Buccaneers’ quarterback?
As an NFL quarterback?
Or is this merely a prelude to another chapter in his remarkable career, with the 45-year-old Brady, a free agent after this season, poised to move on to another team (hello, Las Vegas and Josh McDaniels)?
After 23 years — and particularly after the struggle that this 2022 season has been with Brady enduring the first losing record (8-9) of his life on any level of football — no one would blame him if he opted to transition into the comfort of the TV booth beginning next season (he’s already signed a 10-year, $375 million deal with Fox Sports).
Television may have to wait, though, because Brady is as difficult to read as some of his former head coach Bill Belichick’s defenses. He “retired’’ last offseason for what amounted to 40 days before deciding to come back and play another season with the Buccaneers.
Little did he know how rocky the road would be, beginning with his wife, Gisele Bundchen, strongly pushing back on his continuing to play (they eventually split after 13 years of marriage, presumably at least in part because of that), and then with the Buccaneers surviving the pillow fight that the NFC South became to win the division for a second consecutive year and advance to Monday’s wild-card game.
If you go by mere records — Dallas is 12-5 and Tampa is 8-9 — and by the fact that the Buccaneers never won more than two consecutive games all season, the Cowboys should win this game.
But betting against Brady rarely is considered to be good business.
Brady has won an NFL-record 35 postseason games. The Cowboys have won 35 postseason games in franchise history.
Brady has never lost to Dallas, compiling a 7-0 career record against the Cowboys, including a 19-3 win in the season opener in September at AT&T Stadium.
No player in league history has accomplished more in the postseason than Brady, who is looking to add to numerous playoff records, including most games played (47), wins (35), Super Bowl titles (seven) and appearances (10), passing yards (13,049) and touchdowns passes (86).
There isn’t anything Brady hasn’t done in the NFL.
“He has seen every defense,” Buccaneers safety Logan Ryan, who also played with Brady in New England, told reporters. “He did this 20 years ago as a [young] quarterback winning the Super Bowl. His preparation is his life experience. It is his life. He’s good in those moments because he’s good every day. If it is best-out-of-one, in football, I’ll take Tom Brady to be the quarterback.”
So, too, will Byron Leftwich, the Buccaneers’ offensive coordinator.
“He understands how these games have to be played,’’ Leftwich said.
Perhaps we should all just sit back and enjoy this ride of Brady’s in case it is his last go-round.
“I haven’t thought about any of that,” Brady said last week when asked about his future. “I just want to be the best I can for my teammates every day and show up like a professional, come out and play good.”
For as much as the perception has been about his struggle this season, Brady has been slinging it like a 23-year-old, not a player playing his 23rd season. He broke his own NFL record for most completions in a season with 490 and threw for the third-most yards in the league with 4,694, with 25 TDs and nine INTs.
“Father Time is having a heck of a time with Brady,’’ Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles said. “He continues to defy time. He works hard. He loves to play the game. He’s like a little kid out there. He loves to compete.”
Bowles’ last sentence is exactly what leads you to believe this isn’t it yet for Brady. Because he still burns to compete.
“We don’t really talk about it,” Buccaneers receiver Scott Miller said recently when asked about Brady’s future. “It’s not really mentioned. We don’t know what he’s going to do at the end of this year. That’s his business. We know we’ve got him this year, and we’ve just got to put it all on the line and just go get it.”
Receiver Russell Gage said Brady’s future is “definitely a thought that crosses our head,” before adding, “Regardless of if this is his last game or not, we have to live in this moment.”
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