For almost four quarters Monday, the Buccaneers looked dead. But "almost" is the key word there, and Tom Brady is the chief reason. Despite trailing by 13 points in the final five minutes of a rematch with the Saints, Tampa Bay stormed back with Brady at the helm, pulling off a 17-16 victory to improve to .500 atop the NFC South. The quarterback's strong finish didn't just save the Bucs' night; it improved their path to a division title. It also made history, both personally for Brady and in NFL record books.
By guiding Tampa Bay to victory, the 45-year-old Brady secured his 44th career come-from-behind win in the fourth quarter or overtime, surpassing former Colts and Broncos great Peyton Manning for the most ever. (Manning, coincidentally, was covering the matchup on ESPN2's alternate "Monday Night Football" broadcast.) The stat has been recorded since 1960.
Monday's win also marked Brady's second career 13-plus-point fourth-quarter comeback, after the QB famously led the Patriots from down 19 to beat the Falcons in Super Bowl LI, at the end of the 2017 season. (That comeback will soon be dramatized on the big screen, with Brady set to play himself in Paramount's "80 for Brady.")
Here's a look at other career marks and NFL records set in the comeback against the Saints, per CBS Sports research:
First career win down 13+ points in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter, including playoffs Latest go-ahead passing touchdown (0:03 left) in his career 56th career game-winning fourth-quarter drive, extending an NFL record Most career single-game completions, pass attempts and yards in the final six minutes of the fourth quarterBrady and the Bucs (6-6) remain in first place atop the NFC South after the win. They'll return to action in Week 14 against the 49ers, who just lost Jimmy Garoppolo, Brady's former Patriots teammate, to a season-ending injury.
