It hadn’t happened in more than 15 years, but it happened in Tampa on Sunday night.
Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady suffered the third shutout loss of his career on Sunday night against the Saints, and the first since December 10, 2006, a 21-0 loss to Miami. After that one, Dolphins coach Nick Saban said that his defense figured out Brady’s snap count from studying TV copy of prior games.
Brady’s only other shutout happened in Week One of the 2003 season, a 31-0 loss to the Bills that followed the abrupt release of safety Lawyer Milloy (who joined the Bills). That prompted former ESPN analyst Tom Jackson to declare that the Patriots “hate their coach.”
On Sunday night, Brady completed 26 of 48 passes for 214 yards and one interception. His passer rating was a paltry 57.1. And he’s now 0-4 in the regular season against the Saints since joining Tampa Bay. It’s Brady’s first four-game losing streak against any opponent, for his entire career.
The end result, as Mike Tirico noted as he wrapped NBC’s coverage, was the lowest scoring game of the season. For Brady, his team scored the lowest amount any team could for the third time in his career.
