The 31st pass that Tom Brady completed against Buffalo in Week 14 was the biggest one of them all, but it was his 18th successful throw that gave him another indelible place in the NFL's record books.
That pass, a five-yarder to Rob Gronkowski late in the second quarter and fittingly to his favorite target of all time, was the 7,143 regular-season of his illustrious career. He would be at 7,156 by the end of the game and, as he has done over the last two seasons in terms of both yards and touchdowns, he took the NFL's all-time record for completions away from Drew Brees.
Most Regular-Season Completions, NFL History
| Quarterback | Team(s) | Completions |
|---|---|---|
| Tom Brady | Patriots/Buccaneers | 7,156 |
| Drew Brees | Chargers/Saints | 7,142 |
| Brett Favre | Packers/Jets/Vikings | 6,300 |
| Peyton Manning | Colts/Broncos | 6,125 |
| Ben Roethlisberger | Steelers | 5,347 |
Brady assumed the top spot all-time in regular-season touchdown passes last year and grabbed the yardage record this season in a Week Four game at New England. With the postseason factored in, Brady already had all of those all-time records, but on Sunday he hit a nice round number for touchdowns, and in the most dramatic of fashions. His 58-yard touchdown pass to Breshad Perriman to end the game in overtime made him the first player in NFL history to reach the 700-touchdown pass mark.
Most Passing Touchdowns, Postseason Included, NFL History
| Quarterback | Team(s) | TDs |
|---|---|---|
| Tom Brady | Patriots/Buccaneers | 700 |
| Drew Brees | Chargers/Saints | 608 |
| Peyton Manning | Colts/Broncos | 579 |
| Brett Favre | Packers/Jets/Vikings | 552 |
| Aaron Rodgers | Packers | 484 |
Brady's 31 completions on Sunday resulted in 363 yards and two touchdowns. Those yards pushed his 2021 season total to 4,134, as he joined Jameis Winston as the only quarterbacks in franchise history to record multiple 4,000-yard seasons. His total is already the third-highest in team annals, with four games to play.
Most Passing Yards, Single Season, Buccaneers History
| Quarterback | Season | Yards |
|---|---|---|
| Jameis Winston | 2019 | 5,109 |
| Tom Brady | 2020 | 4,633 |
| Tom Brady | 2021 | 4,134 |
| Jameis Winston | 2016 | 4,090 |
| Josh Freeman | 2012 | 4,065 |
This marks the 13th time in his 22 NFL seasons that Brady has topped 4,000 passing yards. Only Peyton Manning has done that more often.
Most 4,000-Yard Passing Seasons, NFL History
| Quarterback | Team(s) | Seasons |
|---|---|---|
| Peyton Manning | Colts/Broncos | 14 |
| Tom Brady | Patriots/Buccaneers | 13 |
| Drew Brees | Chargers/Saints | 12 |
| Philip Rivers | Chargers/Colts | 12 |
| Matt Ryan | Falcons | 10 |
Brady's two touchdown passes -the game-winner to Perriman and a 13-yarder to Mike Evans in the second quarter, gave him 36 on the season, which is the most in the NFL through 14 weeks and the second-most in a single season in franchise history.
Most Touchdown Passes, Single Season, Buccaneers History
| Quarterback | Season | TD passes |
|---|---|---|
| Tom Brady | 2020 | 40 |
| Tom Brady | 2021 | 36 |
| Jameis Winston | 2019 | 33 |
| Jameis Winston | 2016 | 28 |
| Josh Freeman | 2012 | 27 |
2021 NFL Leaders in Touchdown Passes
| Player | Team | TD passes |
|---|---|---|
| Tom Brady | Buccaneers | 36 |
| Matthew Stafford* | Rams | 30 |
| Justin Herbert | Chargers | 30 |
| Josh Allen | Bills | 28 |
| Aaron Rodgers | Packers | 27 |
| Kirk Cousins | Vikings | 27 |
| Patrick Mahomes | Chiefs | 27 |
(* Stafford and the Rams play on Monday night.)
Brady is also currently the NFL's leader in passing yards and could finish the season on top of that list for the fourth time in his career. He also led the league in passing yards in 2005 (4,110), 2007 (4,806) and 2017 (4,577).
2021 NFL Leaders in Passing Yardage
| Player | Team | Passing Yards |
|---|---|---|
| Tom Brady | Buccaneers | 4,134 |
| Derek Carr | Raiders | 3,926 |
| Justin Herbert | Chargers | 3,822 |
| Patrick Mahomes | Chiefs | 3,642 |
| Matthew Stafford* | Rams | 3,611 |
(* Stafford and the Rams play on Monday night.)
Brady's 363 yards on Sunday resulted in the 106th 300-yard game of his career. Only Brees, with 123, has more. Brady got over that mark in overtime, as he completed four of four passes for 71 yards on the game's final drive. That drive covered 94 yards after the Bills Matt Haack punted the ball out of bounds at Tampa Bay's six-yard line early in the extra period. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, that was the longest overtime drive in more than two decades. The Dallas Cowboys had a 95-yard overtime touchdown drive on Sept. 12, 1999 to beat Washington, 41-35.
Brady put up his 363 passing yards against a Bills defense that came into the game allowing a league-low 165.3 passing yards per game. This was the 15th time in his career that Brady has played a regular-season game against the NFL's top-ranked pass defense, and he now has a 13-2 record in those outings. He is also 9-0 in such games played at home.
Brady also has a history of overwhelming success against the Bills, though this was the first time he had faced Buffalo as a Buccaneer. Brady has now won 33 of his 36 starts against the Bills.
Tom Brady vs. the Bills
Record as a Starter: 33-3
Touchdowns-Interceptions: 72-25
Passer Rating: 98.2
Ten of Brady's 31 completions ended up in the hands of wide receiver Chris Godwin, who just one week earlier had set a new single-game franchise record with 15 receptions at Atlanta. Godwin is now just the third player in team history to record double-digit receptions in back-to-back games.
10-Plus Receptions, Consecutive Games, Buccaneers History
| Player | Game 1 | Game 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Chris Godwin | 15 at Atlanta, 12/5/21 | 10 vs. Buffalo, 12/12/21 |
| Mike Evans | 11 at Tennessee, 10/27/19 | 12 at Seattle, 11/3/19 |
| James Wilder | 10 vs L.A. Rams, 11/25/84 | 11 at Green Bay, 12/2/84 |
Godwin, who last week moved into third place on the Buccaneers' career receptions record also now has the third-most single-season receptions in franchise annals.
| Player | Season | Recs. |
|---|---|---|
| Keyshawn Johnson | 2001 | 106 |
| Mike Evans | 2016 | 96 |
| Chris Godwin | 2020 | 92 |
| Mark Carrier | 1989 | 86 |
| Mike Evans | 2018 | 86 |
| Chris Godwin | 2019 | 86 |
Godwin's 10 catches on Sunday produced 105 yards, giving him 1,054 on the season and his second career 1,000-yard season. That was also his fifth 100-yard game of the current campaign and the 16th of his career. Only his teammate, Mike Evans, has done that more often.
Most 100-Yard Receiving Games, Buccaneers History
| Player | Seasons | 100-Yd. Games |
|---|---|---|
| Mike Evans | 2014-21 | 30 |
| Chris Godwin | 2017-21 | 16 |
| Mark Carrier | 1987-92 | 15 |
| Kevin House | 1980-86 | 14 |
| Vincent Jackson | 2012-16 | 13 |
Godwin's two straight 100-plus yard outings have vaulted him into the league's top five in that category in 2021.
2021 NFL Leaders in Receiving Yardage
| Player | Team | Receiving Yards |
|---|---|---|
| Cooper Kupp* | Rams | 1,366 |
| Justin Jefferson | Vikings | 1,288 |
| Davante Adams | Packers | 1,204 |
| Chris Godwin | Buccaneers | 1,054 |
| Ja'Marr Chase | Bengals | 1,035 |
(* Kupp and the Rams play on Monday night.)
Brady also connected with Evans six times for 91 yards and the aforementioned 13-yard touchdown in the second quarter. That was Evans' 11th touchdown catch of the season, tying for the fourth-most in franchise history. There are now five individual seasons of 11 or more touchdown receptions in Buccaneers history and four of them belong to Mike Evans.
Most Touchdown Receptions, Single Season, Buccaneers History
| Player | Season | TDs |
|---|---|---|
| Mike Evans | 2020 | 13 |
| Mike Evans | 2016 | 12 |
| Mike Evans | 2014 | 12 |
| Mike Evans | 2021 | 11 |
| Mike Williams | 2010 | 11 |
Evans also grabbed a tie of first place in that category in the NFL in 2021, though his co-leader still has a game to play in Week 14.
2021 NFL Leaders in Touchdown Receptions
| Player | Team | TD receptions |
|---|---|---|
| Cooper Kupp* | Rams | 11 |
| Mike Evans | Buccaneers | 11 |
| Ja'Marr Chase | Bengals | 10 |
| Adam Thielen | Vikings | 10 |
| Five players tied w/ | 8 |
(* Kupp and the Rams play on Monday night.)
Tampa Bay's offense did not turn the ball over in Sunday's overtime win, and won the turnover battle, 1-0, thanks to Richard Sherman's second-quarter interception. Sherman, who just returned from a three-game stint on injured reserve, recorded his first pick as a Buccaneer but he is the NFL's active leader in that category.
NFL's Active Interception Leaders
| Player | Team(s) | INTs |
|---|---|---|
| Richard Sherman | Seahawks/49ers/Buccaneers | 37 |
| Marcus Peters | Chiefs/Rams/Ravens | 31 |
| Devin McCourty | Patriots | 30 |
| Joe Haden | Browns/Steelers | 29 |
| Harrison Smith | Vikings | 29 |
The Buccaneers also sacked Josh Allen three times, with Shaquil Barrett and Devin White each getting one of their own and then splitting the third. For Barrett, those 1.5 sacks increased his team-leading total in 2021 to 9.0 and left him with four more games to get one more and have his second double-digit sack season in as many years with the Buccaneers. Barrett is also third in the NFL in sacks since joining the Bucs in 2019.
Most Sacks, NFL, 2019-21
| Player | Team(s) | Sacks |
|---|---|---|
| T.J. Watt | Steelers | 45.5 |
| Myles Garrett | Browns | 37.0 |
| Shaq Barrett | Buccaneers | 36.5 |
| Aaron Donald* | Rams | 33.0 |
| Trey Hendrickson | Saints/Bengals | 30.5 |
(* Donald and the Rams play on Monday night.)
Additional Miscellaneous Notes:
* The Buccaneers scored 33 points in Sunday's win, marking the eight time this season they have reached 30 points in a game, including all six home games. The Bucs have won all eight of those games, which includes a 6-0 mark at home.
* Tampa Bay leads the NFL in scoring with 31.5 points per game. The team's 410 points overall is the most it has ever scored through the first 13 games of a season, well past the 378 points it had at this point in 2019 and the 370 it had last year.
* RB Leonard Fournette's 47-yard touchdown run in the first quarter against Buffalo was the team's longest run of the season so far. It gave Fournette his 10th TD of the season (eight rushing, two receiving), matching his career high from his rookie campaign in Jacksonville in 2017. This is the first time the Bucs have ever had two players score 10 or more touchdowns in the same season.
* Fournette also now ranks fifth among NFL running backs in 2021 in scrimmage yards with 1,199. The only backs with more are the Colts' Jonathan Taylor (1,684), the Steelers' Najee Harris (1,270), the Chargers' Austin Ekeler (1,265), and the Bengals' Joe Mixon (1,238).
* Rob Gronkowski caught five passes for 62 yards on Sunday. He now has 604 regular-season receptions in his career, becoming just the 10th tight end in league history to hit that mark.
