Manny King John
The Tom Brady and Belichick soap opera was a show everyone wanted to see. The reunion on Sunday Night Football bought an audience of 28.5 million across NBC, Peacock and other digital platforms. That was the second-highest Sunday Night Football rating game ever, after Dec 30, 2012, Dallas vs Washington game drew 30.3 million.
Tom Brady’s return to Gillette Stafuiim began with a dramatic clip of 20 seasons playing for the Patriots soundtracked by Adele’s ‘Hello. As the song say ‘hello from the other side, a camera pans to Bilchick face looking unamused, sending Twitter into a freezy.
Brady and Belichick stood on opposite sides of the field for the first time in 20 years. As the rain poured, the mental chess match was intense and seemed to favour Belichick. Tom Brady had thrown 10 TDs and over 1000 yards in three games; last night, Brady went for 0 TDs and 269 yards. Belichick confused the twenty-one-year veteran with many defensive looks, rushing three, then rushing 4, dropping back in zone coverage, then switching to man coverage, etc. Belichick brilliance was on display last night as we watched a rare sight of Tom Brady looking confused after the snap.
Mac Jones was almost able to say he beat the GOAT in his old house, throwing for 2 TDs and 1 INT. But with a Tampa bay made field goal at the two-minute mark in the fourth quarter followed by a late 56-yard field goal miss by Patriots Nick Folk, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers pulled off the win over the New England Patriots 19-17.
Tom and Belichick, after the game, hug it out in the middle of the field and report by ESPN’s Ian Rapoport; Belichick went to the Buccaneers locker room post-game and spoke to Tom Brady 1on1 for at least twenty minutes.
Last night, Tom Brady and Bill Belichick dominated football Sunday just as they have been doing for the past twenty years.
