Next season, Tom Brady will be looking to win his seventh Super Bowl title when he takes the field as the new quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Brady ended his historic 20-year run with the New England Patriots this offseason, opting instead to end his NFL career with another team. Brady led the Patriots to nine Super Bowl appearances, including six wins, during his time in New England, but, he could’ve easily had seven Super Bowl titles were it not for an ill-timed dropped pass by former Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XLVI against the New York Giants.
Leading 17-15 late in the fourth, New England was driving down the field, looking to put the game away. On second down at the Giants’ 44-yard line, with 4:06 remaining, Brady looked deep to Welker, who was wide open down field.
Welker inexplicably dropped the pass, which would’ve given the Patriots a first down in the Giants’ red zone with time winding down. New England could’ve gone for the touchdown score or run the clock down and kicked a field goal, but the drop eventually forced the Pats to punt. The Giants would score a game-winning touchdown on the ensuing drive, crushing Brady’s chance at ring number four.
While Brady made up for that loss by winning three more Super Bowls down the road, there’s no question that loss to the Giants stings. It was New England’s first trip back to the big game since their undefeated regular season in 2007. They lost Super Bowl XLII back then to the same Giants, crushing their chance at an 18-0 season.
Brady certainly has the talent around him on the Bucs to make a run at perfection again in 2020, but I’m sure Tampa Bay would happily settle for a playoff berth for the first time since 2007.
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