Tom Brady’s arrival in Tampa Bay has the Buccaneers and their fans thinking playoffs for the first time in over a decade. Brady’s postseason experience and six Super Bowl titles have helped make him the greatest to ever play the game. And with Super Bowl LV set to be played at Raymond James Stadium next year, it could be another magical season for the future Hall of Famer.
But another bonus of Brady taking over the Bucs is that he can help exact some revenge on opponents this upcoming season — namely, the Chicago Bears.
Tampa Bay will take to the road in 2020 and visit Soldier Field, where they last played in Week 4 of 2018. That game seemed to mark the beginning of the end for Tampa Bay’s season. Heading into that matchup, the Bucs were 2-1 and had gotten off to a hot start to the season thanks to the dazzling play of Ryan Fitzpatrick, who started the year while Jameis Winston served his suspension stemming from his incident with an Uber driver.
Fitzpatrick began the season with three-straight games throwing for over 400 yards, and helped lead the Bucs to upset wins over the New Orleans Saints and the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles. But, Week 4’s game against the Bears brought everything to a crashing halt.
Fitzpatrick struggled mightily, throwing for just 126 yards and an interception before being replaced by Winston, who had just returned from suspension. Winston fared no better, finishing with 145 yards passing with one touchdown and two picks. But, perhaps worst of all, the Bucs defense allowed Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky to throw for 354 yards, six touchdowns with zero interceptions. They made Trubisky look like Brady that day. The Bucs lost 48-10 and would go just 3-9 the rest of the season, finishing with a record of 5-11 for the second-straight year.
Now, with the real Brady on their side, the Buccaneers can take the fight back to Soldier Field next season and look for a little redemption. The good news? Brady is 5-0 against the Bears in his career, throwing 14 touchdowns and four interceptions. Plus, he led the Patriots to a victory at Soldier Field back in that same 2018 season.
Hey, NFL, here’s a perfect prime-time game for you!
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