National Football League

Tom Terrific

Published Oct. 5, 2020 6:12 p.m. ET

Tom Brady is no longer available.

Tom Terrific has taken his place.

Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Chargers started as well as Brady could have hoped – until it didn't.

On Tampa Bay's first drive of the game, Brady put together a 10-play, 75-yard drive that ended in a 3-yard touchdown pass to Cameron Brate, giving the Buccaneers a 7-0 lead.

However, the Chargers would immediately go on to score the next 24 points, aided by a 78-yard pick-6 off of Brady by Michael Davis late in the first quarter.

It continued a worrisome trend for Brady over the last seven games.

Brady closed out the half with a 6-yard TD pass to Mike Evans to cut Los Angeles' lead to 24-14 going into halftime, but rookie quarterback Justin Herbert was effectively outplaying Brady over the course of the first 30 minutes, in Brady's home stadium.

Nevertheless, whatever speech Tampa Bay head coach Bruce Arians gave at half, or whatever Space Jam-like elixir Brady drank during the break, it was GOAT time when the third quarter kicked off.

Brady dialed up two dimes to O.J. Howard and Scotty Miller to give the Bucs a 28-24 lead near the end of the third quarter, and Brady threw one more TD for good measure to start the fourth.

Brady and the Bucs offense scored 24 second half points, while the defense held LA to just 7 points in the final 30 minutes, earning Brady his 222nd career regular season win.

He finished the day with an insane stat-line (especially for a 43-year old QB) and tied another NFL record in the process.

It was enough to impress Colin Cowherd, who early in the day, was down on Brady.

"Yesterday was why they brought Tom Brady into Tampa. It's not about ability – it's about belief. The players stopped believing in Jameis Winston."

The Bucs are now 3-1 behind Brady, having only lost their season-opener on the road against NFC South rival New Orleans.

Through four weeks, Brady is 3rd in the NFL in touchdown passes (11), 6th in passing yards (1,122), and 8th in completions (101). He, Seattle's Russell Wilson and Buffalo's Josh Allen are the only three quarterbacks with 100+ completions and 10+ touchdowns so far this season.

Brady's Bucs are also first in the NFC South.

Given Tom Terrific's hot start, ESPN's Ryan Clark and Dan Orlovsky have seen enough to say that this Tampa Bay team – with Brady at the helm as opposed to Jameis Winston – is for real.

"Everyone on that sideline believes," said Clark. "That's what happens when you bring in Tom Brady, and that's what we all expected when Tom Brady decided to be a Tampa Bay Buccaneer."

Orlovsky also reminded viewers that the Chargers' defensive unit is a force in itself.

"Brady was 6-for-7 on deep balls yesterday [for] 185 yards. He was perfect in the second half. And I just wanna remind everybody: that defense for the Chargers is the same defense two weeks ago that shut down Patrick Mahomes and that Chiefs offense. That is a darn-good defense.

"If I'm the NFC, I'm scared to death of what I saw out of Tampa Bay yesterday because Brady looks incredible."

Former Tampa Bay and Indianapolis coach Tony Dungy spent a large part of his career matching up with Brady while he was in New England, and on Sunday night, Dungy said that he already sees Brady's rhythm coming into play four games into the season.

"Playing against [Brady] for so many years, it's always been about precision and timing, and you just need game reps to get that ... He's gonna get better as the season goes on."

Brady and the Bucs will be on short rest this week, as they travel to take on the Chicago Bears on Thursday Night Football, looking to improve their record to 4-1.

We'll wait to see what happens on Thursday, but for now, like with every Brady victory in recent years, let's sit back and enjoy Tom's weekly celebratory Instagram spot.

Brady and "Big Pimpin'" – Tom, you truly are terrific.

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