Before Sunday, Tom Brady had almost every all-time NFL quarterback record to his name – and at the end of the day, he set another two milestone achievements.
In the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ dramatic 33-27 overtime win against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, Brady first passed Drew Brees’ record for the most completions in NFL history.
He came into the game needing 18 to set the new mark; by the end, he had 7,156 completions.
And when the 44-year-old found wide receiver Breshad Perriman for the game-winning touchdown in OT, it was Brady’s 700th career passing touchdown, regular season and playoffs combined.
After the game, when asked what he’s going to do with the ball with which he achieved the momentous mark, the Bucs QB told the media he doesn’t think “about those things.”
“People kind of tell me they happen, that’s pretty cool,” Brady said.
“I keep some jerseys and stuff like that, but yeah, it’s pretty neat. It’s just amazing to have so many people share in all those great accomplishments that, obviously to me, I feel like they’re all team awards anyway, so anyone who ever caught a touchdown pass, they’re part of something pretty cool in NFL history, anyone that had a completion for that matter.
“And, obviously, the guys that came before me doing it like Dan Marino and Peyton [Manning] and Drew and some other incredible players that I always looked up to. So this is a great moment.”
The walk-off throw from Brady to Perriman was the exciting finale of an enthralling encounter between the Bucs and the Bills.
The reigning champion Bucs had raced into a big first half lead, going into halftime with a 24-3 advantage.
However, the Bills – led by quarterback Josh Allen – provided a spirited comeback, at one point scoring 17 unanswered points, to send the game into OT tied at 27.
In overtime though, after the Bucs defense stymied Allen and the Bills, Brady connected with Perriman for the 58-yard bomb to clinch the important victory for Tampa Bay.
It was just the second time in Brady’s career that he’s thrown the deciding score in overtime, the other coming in 2003 when he was a member of the New England Patriots.
“It’s pretty rare. But it was very cool,” Brady told reporters after the game. “I’d much rather not have it come down to that, but in the end, they all count the same, you know?
“And we got to learn from it and we got to move on and, obviously, we’re playing for a division championship next week which is pretty exciting for all of us.”
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The victory is the fourth-straight for the Florida team and means their record goes to 10-3 on the season.
For the Bills, it was a crushing defeat. Their second consecutive loss means they drop to 7-6 and sit in the seventh and final playoff spot in the AFC.
