All season long, Tom Brady has been consistent about his plans to continue his career next season. Following Monday night’s 31–14 defeat against the Cowboys in the wild-card round, Brady avoided making any declarative statements about what the future might hold or whether he’d made any decision about retirement.
“I’m gonna go home and get a good night’s sleep, as good as I can tonight,” Brady said. “It’s just been a lot of focus on this game. It’s just gonna be one day at a time, truly.”
The loss brought an acrimonious end to Brady’s 23rd year in the NFL. Tampa Bay scuffled to an 8–9 regular season but still won the NFC South. At 45 years old, Brady put up strong numbers, leading the league in completions (490) and pass attempts (733) for the second consecutive season. He finished the year with 4,694 yards, 25 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
But Brady and the Bucs offense were overwhelmed by Dallas’s defense on Monday night. Tampa Bay was held scoreless through its first seven drives, amassing just 136 yards on 41 plays. Brady finished the game completing 35 of 66 pass attempts for 351 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. His 72.2 passer rating was tied for the worst as a Buccaneer in a playoff game, and his 11th-worst among his 48 career postseason games.
