Should Buccaneers fans panic over Tom Brady and team's sluggish start to 2022 NFL season?
Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had an ideal start to the 2022 season. They jumped out to a 2-0 record in what appeared to be an incredibly weak NFC South division. Since then? The team is 3-5, and a game behind the 4-4 Atlanta Falcons, adding to the weak narrative for the division.
Brady, of course, is also dealing with personal distractions in the form of a divorce. That may or may not have contributed to this bad start, but the reality is that the team is still right in the race for the postseason. However, should fans be panicking and expecting the worst?
Tom Brady gets the benefit of the doubt once again
Are we supposed to count Tom Brady out this time around? Yes, at some point, he is going to slow down and eventually retire, and stick to that decision. Yet panicking, at this point, may be premature.
Week 7 was a true disaster as the Buccaneers fell, 21-3, to a weak Carolina Panthers team. Yet again, Brady had some personal issues he was dealing with during the week. He also still threw for 290 yards in that loss.
The real problem with Tampa Bay is the lack of a running game. Leonard Fournette ran for 127 yards in the Week 1 win over the Dallas Cowboys. But since then, 65 yards has been the high mark for any Tampa Bay rusher in a game. Unless Brady is throwing for well over 400 yards every week, which he is not, this is a glaring problem.
So how can the team turn things around and reach the postseason? The important thing to remember is that, even at 3-5, the Buccaneers are just one game out of the division lead. They also beat the Falcons once this year, meaning they can earn the tiebreaker with another victory over them in Week 18. Brady and the Bucs also took down the 3-5 New Orleans Saints once this year to this point.
Eight or nine wins may be enough to take the NFC South. It would be a shock if Brady alone can't lead his team to such a record. While his personal life may be a struggle, he is first in passing yards in the NFL through Sunday. So it's not like he's Matt Ryan and totally collapsing in front of our eyes.
Tom Brady has been counted out in the past. As fans may recall, his Buccaneers were 7-5 in 2020, stumbling into a Week 13 bye. They responded by not losing again en route to a Super Bowl victory. He was also counted out during his time with the New England Patriots, only to move to Florida and immediately win a title.
So until he shows he is truly declining, he gets the benefit of the doubt. Tom Brady has earned that much after two straight decades of historic dominance in the NFL.