Brady likens Bucs' 2022 season to iconic Holyfield-Tyson boxing bout
Despite coming off an overtime loss Sunday to the Cleveland Browns that dropped them to 5-6, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are still in first place in the NFC South.
That fact has Tom Brady seeing similarities between his team's 2022 campaign and the iconic 1997 boxing match between Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson.
"You are a reflection of what your record says you are, and we have a losing record. But the best part is we're still in first place in our division again, which is hard to imagine," Brady said on the latest episode of his "Let's Go!" podcast. "It was like when Evander Holyfield got bit in both his ears and still won the fight against Tyson. It wasn't pretty, but he still got the job done."
Tampa Bay's five wins are easily the fewest among division leaders after 12 weeks. The Falcons, who lost to the Bucs in Week 5, sit second in the NFC South with a 5-7 record.
| # | Team | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Buccaneers | 5-6 |
| 2 | Falcons | 5-7 |
| 3 | Panthers | 4-8 |
| 4 | Saints | 4-8 |
The Buccaneers, who won 24 games combined in 2020 and 2021, have particularly struggled on offense this year, averaging only 18.2 points per contest.
"No football team has everything figured out for four quarters every game, every week. It's impossible," Brady said. "There's times where you have three really good quarters, (there are) times where you have four good quarters. Most of the time, you probably have two really good quarters. The good teams have three good quarters and the bad teams have one good quarter.
"Everyone has the chance to do it, but how well can you do it consistently over the course of a game and then, ultimately, a season? Being 5-6, I'm frustrated with the fact that we have not played well enough to be better than 5-6."
Tampa Bay will try to get back into the win column versus the New Orleans Saints in Week 13. The Bucs beat the Saints 20-10 in Week 2.
Only five teams in the Super Bowl era have reached the playoffs with a losing record. The last club to do it was the then-Washington Football Team in 2020 with a 7-9 campaign.