'Come on Man!': Tom Brady Reminded of Final Patriots Throw by New Teammate
As the Tampa Bay Buccaneers embark upon on another Super Bowl trek, they're perhaps hoping that quarterback Tom Brady doesn't emulate his time as a New England Patriot ... at least the final part, anyway.
During a break in Tampa's prep for Monday's NFC Wild Card showdown against the Dallas Cowboys (8:15 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN), Brady was asked to sign a special keepsake. Impromptu autograph sessions are perhaps nothing new for the legendary quarterback and have, in fact, become more common amongst opponents during postgame scrums as Brady's future generates further questions.
This request, however, came from a Tampa teammate and concerns perhaps one of the most cursed artifacts in Patriots history: newcomer Logan Ryan granted Brady the ball used on the final pass of his New England career, which served as the punctuation mark of a 20-13 defeat in the 2019-20 AFC Wild Card round.
At that time, Ryan was repping the victorious Tennessee Titans, who clinched the upset victory on his pick-six from Brady in the final minute. They'd use the momentum gained from that upset victory in Foxboro to pull off another improbably win over the top-seeded Baltimore Ravens in the following weekend's AFC Divisional round. Brady would inadvertently avenge Ryan and the Titans' ensuing loss to the Kansas City Chiefs: after signing with Tampa Bay, his Super Bowl MVP effort denied Patrick Mahomes and Co. consecutive championship victories and secured his record-extending seventh championship victory.
Reminded of his dreary Foxboro coda, Brady expressed his mock outrage over Ryan's request on social media.
Ryan signed with Tampa Bay in March but has been limited to nine games due to a foot injury sustained in Week 4. His path previously crossed with Brady's during a shared four-year term in New England (2013-16). Ryan recovered in time for the Buccaneers' December slate, helping them clinch the NFC South division title.
Though Tampa (8-9) enters the postseason with a losing record, their fortunes statistically improve with Ryan in the lineup, posing a 5-4 mark in his nine appearances.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
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