If Monday night’s wild-card loss to the Cowboys was Tom Brady’s final appearance with the Buccaneers, it was certainly not a highlight of his three-year tenure. Tampa Bay’s offense struggled to score in the 31–14 loss, and in the second half, he caught heat for what looked like an attempt at a dirty takedown of a Dallas defender.
Early in the third quarter, Chris Godwin fumbled after catching a pass from Brady. Safety Malik Hooker recovered the ball and was eventually taken down by Julio Jones. Eventually, the fumble was overturned, but the Buccaneers were forced to punt on the drive, trailing 24–0.
During Hooker’s fumble return, Brady approached him from behind and seemed to attempt a soccer-style slide to tackle the defender.
Tom Brady is as dominant a player as the NFL has seen, and plenty of opposing fans are ready to see him move on because of his exploits with his arm. However, he’s not one that has generally been hit with the “dirty player” tag. That was the case after the play with Hooker, however.
Brady finished his season with a 35-for-66 passing performance, throwing for 351 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Now, public attention turns toward what the future holds for the legendary quarterback: will it be one more go-around with the Buccaneers, a second retirement or a move to a third team in pursuit of Super Bowl number eight?
