"Man, it's tough" - Tom Brady breaks down Josh Allen's performance vs Patriots
Tom Brady's AFC East dynasty has ended, but another has swiftly risen to take its place.
The arguable "GOAT" has crossed conferences, but has stayed up to date on his former AFC stomping grounds as the NFL playoffs rage on. His former comrades in New England, making their first postseason appearance since his departure after the 2019-20 season, were swiftly eliminated in a 47-17 shellacking at the hands of the Buffalo Bills in Saturday night's portion of the NFL's Wild Card playoff proceedings. Western New York has taken each of the first two AFC East titles since No. 12 moved to earn another championship with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Speaking with podcast co-host Jim Gray, Brady was impressed with the way Allen performed in the freezing conditions Highmark Stadium had to offer on Saturday night. The quarterback earned five touchdown passes and tallied 374 total yards, including 66 rushing.
“Josh Allen played spectacular football in zero-degree weather and was throwing the football extremely well," Brady said.
"They have a lot of talented skill players. Buffalo was pretty unstoppable that night," the famed quarterback told co-host Jim Gray. “Playing in Buffalo, I know how tough it is to play up there. Myself, personally, playing up there found success, obviously, but at the same time they were always challenging games and when those guys get going, man, it’s tough."
Buffalo had a touchdown on all but one of its offensive possessions, the lone exception coming through game-ending kneeldowns. By then, Allen had been lifted for backup quarterback Mitchell Trubisky.
Brady was particularly impressed with Allen's first score of the night. At the end of Buffalo's first possession, Allen fought off a feisty New England pass rush to find tight end Dawson Knox for a leaping, eight-yard score that gave Buffalo a permanent lead and sent Orchard Park into hysterics.
JOSH ALLEN WHAT A PLAY 🤯
Dawson Knox first TD +1300 ✅
https://t.co/uAOjje9rRN
The current Tampa Bay thrower added to his comments, saying, "I saw that first touchdown pass where he was on the sideline and then after the game he said, ‘I was actually trying to throw that away.’ From a quarterback standpoint when that happens you’re like man, things are going your way that day. You think you’re throwing a ball out of the back of the end zone to conserve a field goal, next thing you know your tight end is catching in the end zone for a big way to start the game. It was one of those nights where Buffalo’s offense was almost impossible to stop.”
Tom Brady knows a thing... or 33... about succeeding in Buffalo
The possibility of a Super Bowl headlined by the Brady-Allen matchup remains in play. The pair did battle during Week 14 of the regular season in December, uniting for 671 passing yards and six total touchdowns. Tampa Bay eventually prevailed in a 33-27 overtime decision at Raymond James Stadium.
BRADY TO BRESHAD PERRIMAN FOR THE WIN. #GoBucs #BUFvsTB https://t.co/RCk7taOkiW
Brady knows a thing or two about winning matchups against the Bills at Orchard Park: he amassed a 32-3 record against them as a New England quarterback and added one in the aforementioned December contest. His 33 wins over the Bills are his third-best tally against a single opponent, behind only the equally cursed New York Jets (37) and the Miami Dolphins (36).
With both Buffalo and Tampa Bay winning last weekend (Tampa easily getting by the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC quarterfinals), both Brady and Allen will be in action during the Divisional Round play on Sunday. Tampa Bay will host the Los Angeles Rams in the late afternoon (3 p.m. ET, NBC) while the Bills meet the Kansas City Chiefs in a rematch of last year's AFC title game in the evening (6:30 p.m. ET, CBS).