TAMPA — A first half that seemed destined to fizzle ended with a flourish Sunday at Raymond James Stadium.
Ageless quarterback Tom Brady set two franchise single-season records on the eight-play, 92-yard touchdown drive that gave his team a 10-7 halftime lead. His 1-yard scoring strike to Le’Veon Bell with 15 seconds to play was his 41st of the season, breaking his own franchise mark established in 2020.
Two plays before, his 24-yard connection to Breshad Perriman on the right sideline gave him the team’s single-season passing yardage record. Brady entered the locker room with 5,113 passing yards this season. Jameis Winston threw for 5,109 two seasons ago.
Prior to that drive, Brady had gone 5-of-10 for 34 yards. He went 6-of-7 for 89 during the scoring march, connecting with five different receivers.
Among them, Mike Evans, who had a 37-yard catch on third and 10. Evans entered the locker room needing only 3 yards for his eighth consecutive 1,000-yard season. In the third quarter, he reached that milestone on a 5-yard reception.
Evans is the only player in NFL history to have that many 1,000-yard seasons to start his career, and it is also is the third-longest streak at any point of a player’s career.
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