The Atlanta Falcons missed the chance to move into top spot in the NFC South as interim Carolina Panthers head coach Steve Wilks guided his side to a 25-15 victory on Thursday.
Panthers running back D'Onta Foreman starred with 31 carries for 130 yards in rainy conditions, including a third-quarter touchdown to complete a seven-play 84-yard drive at Bank of America Stadium.
The Falcons, who slipped to 4-6, were well beaten throughout, yet got within one score with 2:56 remaining in the fourth quarter when QB Marcus Mariota found a wide open KhaDarel Hodge to make it 22-15. Falcons kicker Younghoe Koo, who had made 71 consecutive extra points coming into the game, inexplicably missed the conversion, having spurned one earlier too.
Marquin Haynes sacked Mariota for the second time to end Atlanta's final drive, with Eddy Pineiro's 37-yard field goal padding out the margin.
Mariota made numerous unusual decisions throughout and was sacked five times. He completed 19 of 30 pass attempts for 186 yards with two touchdowns and one interception, linking up with rookie Drake London for a third-quarter TD after trailing 13-3 at half-time.
Laviska Shenault Jr scored the only first-half touchdown, exploding down the sideline on a 41-yard run after P.J. Walker's swing pass.
Walker, who was preferred to Baker Mayfield, completed 10 of 16 passes for 108 yards, highlighted by a 43-yarder to Terrace Marshall Jr, leading to Foreman's touchdown run in the third.
The win improved the Panthers to 3-7, with Wilks having presided over two wins from five games in interim charge.
The Atlanta Falcons missed the chance to move into top spot in the NFC South as interim Carolina Panthers head coach Steve Wilkes guided his side to a 25-15 victory on Thursday.
Panthers running back D'Onta Foreman starred with 31 carries for 130 yards in rainy conditions, including a third-quarter touchdown to complete a seven-play 84-yard drive at Bank of America Stadium.
The Falcons, who slipped to 4-6, were well beaten throughout, yet got within one score with 2:56 remaining in the fourth quarter when QB Marcus Mariota found a wide open KhaDarel Hodge to make it 22-15. Falcons kicker Younghoe Koo, who had made 71 consecutive extra points coming into the game, inexplicably missed the conversion, having spurned one earlier too.
Marquin Haynes sacked Mariota for the second time to end Atlanta's final drive, with Eddy Pineiro's 37-yard field goal padding out the margin.
Mariota made numerous unusual decisions throughout and was sacked five times. He completed 19 of 30 pass attempts for 186 yards with two touchdowns and one interception, linking up with rookie Drake London for a third-quarter TD after trailing 13-3 at half-time.
Laviska Shenault Jr scored the only first-half touchdown, exploding down the sideline on a 41-yard run after P.J. Walker's swing pass.
Walker, who was preferred to Baker Mayfield, completed 10 of 16 passes for 108 yards, highlighted by a 43-yarder to Terrace Marshall Jr, leading to Foreman's touchdown run in the third.
The win improved the Panthers to 3-7, with Wilks having presided over two wins from five games in interim charge.
The Jacksonville Jaguars have added a wide receiver but will not be able to field new recruit Calvin Ridley until 2023 at the earliest.
It emerged on Tuesday the Atlanta Falcons have traded the suspended Ridley to the Jaguars in exchange for a complex draft compensation.
The Falcons will receive two draft picks that will range from a maximum compensation of a 2023 fifth-round selection and a second-rounder in 2024.
Ridley, 27, is suspended through at least the conclusion of the 2022 season for betting on NFL games during the 2021 season.
His suspension was handed down in early March, and he may not apply for reinstatement until February 15, 2023.
Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke said: "We are excited to welcome Calvin Ridley to our organisation and the Duval community.
"This is an opportunity to add a proven playmaker to our already talented wide receiver room as we continue to build our roster for 2023 and beyond. We are looking forward to finishing strong this season and integrating Calvin into our programme at the appropriate time."
The intricate nature of the trade was reported by NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. If Ridley gets reinstated by a certain date, the Falcons will receive a fifth-round pick in 2023. If not, it will be a sixth-rounder.
If he makes the Jaguars in 2024, the pick becomes at least a fourth-round selection. And if he reaches a certain playing-time milestone, the pick is a third, while if he signs a long-term deal with the Jaguars, the pick is a second-rounder.
Ridley placed his bets over a five-day span in November 2021, when he was away from the team to focus on his mental health and was on the reserve/NFI list. The league opened an investigation and concluded there was no insider information on the betting activity and none of the coaches or players on the Falcons were aware or involved.
Ridley, who is slated to make $11,116,000 in 2023 on the final year of his rookie contract, appeared in just five games in 2021, catching 31 passes for 281 yards with two touchdowns.
This came after he totted up 1,374 receiving yards in 2020 to finish tied for fifth in the NFL.
A first-round pick by the Falcons in 2018, Ridley had 217 catches for 3,061 yards and 26 TD receptions over his first three seasons. His TD reception total is tied for the 20th most in NFL history by a player through his first three pro seasons.
It's fair to say that, eight weeks into the 2022 NFL season, it has been a year of surprises.
The New York Giants have six wins, the Seattle Seahawks lead the NFC West and two preseason NFC favourites, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Green Bay Packers, have collapsed to 3-5 starts.
This is a campaign in which to expect the unexpected and, as such, three of the top quarterback displays from Week 8 heading into Monday Night Football are entirely in keeping with the theme of 2022.
While one star still shaking the rust off following an injury lay-off delivered the kind of game most have come to anticipate from him, the degree of accuracy displayed by the trio of signal-callers surrounding him at the top of Stats Perform's well-thrown rate chart by the end of Sunday's action was eyebrow-raising to say the least.
And there was one quarterback who tried and failed to find a new team in the offseason who rose above the rest.
Jimmy G's perfect day
There will never be a game that definitively decides the endless Jimmy Garoppolo debate in the Bay Area, where the San Francisco 49ers' quarterback who was meant to be elsewhere this season remains a beloved but polarising figure.
But nobody could argue Garoppolo was not excellent in Week 8 as the 49ers scored 24 unanswered points to sweep the Los Angeles Rams with an emphatic 31-14 win at SoFi Stadium.
So much of the attention in the immediate aftermath was rightly on Christian McCaffrey, who became the fourth player with a touchdown pass, rushing touchdown and touchdown reception in a single game since the 1970 merger in a remarkable performance just 10 days on from his trade from the Carolina Panthers.
However, Garoppolo also deserves a share of the spotlight following what was, by at least one measure, a perfect game from a quarterback frequently criticised for his volatility.
Garoppolo ended the defeat of the Rams with a 100 per cent well-thrown rate. Each of his 25 passes, excluding throwaways, was deemed to be accurate and well-thrown.
He is the 35th player to achieve such a feat and the second this season following Trevor Lawrence for the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 2 against the Indianapolis Colts.
While Garoppolo averaged only 6.76 yards per attempt, he still completed a host of big-time throws, including a third-down touchdown shot to a leaping McCaffrey and a 56-yard bomb down the left sideline to Ross Dwelley that was followed by a perfectly placed ball to George Kittle in the back of the endzone on a sprint out pass that iced the game.
At 4-4 heading into the bye with a star-studded offense and a series of players still to return from injury on defense, the 49ers are ideally positioned for a surge down the stretch. They won't get perfect every game from Garoppolo, but if he maintains a level close to what he produced in Inglewood on Sunday, San Francisco will be a major threat in the NFC.
Air Marcus has Falcons on top
Marcus Mariota had hardly been trusted to throw the ball over the four games prior to Atlanta's wild win over the Carolina Panthers by head coach Arthur Smith.
Only once over those four games had he registered more than 20 passing attempts, but Mariota was allowed to air it out on Sunday, and the Falcons should be delighted by the manner in which he did so.
The former second overall pick delivered an accurate well-thrown ball on 92.6 per cent of his 27 pass attempts, maintaining remarkable accuracy while pushing the ball down field with consistency in a captivating shoot-out.
Mariota averaged 10.15 air yards per attempt against Carolina. Just five quarterbacks – Josh Allen (12.96), P.J. Walker (12.33), Tua Tagovailoa (11.79), Russell Wilson (11.04) and Jalen Hurts (11.04) – were more aggressive in that respect.
Of that quintet, Tagovailoa (82.4 per cent) and Wilson (84.6 per cent) were the only two signal-callers to even post a well-thrown rate of 80 per cent.
Mariota blended accuracy and deep-ball aggression in a way most quarterbacks struggle to replicate and, though he tossed an overtime interception that should have cost the Falcons the game, his performance may convince Smith to diversify his approach and shift to a more balanced attack as the 4-4 Falcons look to make a surprise run at the NFC South title.
Dak looks all the way back
The case could be made that the Cowboys were still running the 'Cooper Rush' offense in Prescott's first game back from a finger injury in Week 7 against the Detroit Lions.
Dallas laboured somewhat in that one before pulling away and, though the Week 8 performance was not a faultless one from Prescott, it was one to breed hope the Cowboys can legitimately contend to go deep into the NFC playoffs with him at the helm of the attack.
Prescott posted a well-thrown rate of 92.3 per cent in the Cowboys' 49-29 win over the Chicago Bears, with arguably his most aesthetically pleasing throw coming on his first touchdown pass as he split safeties Eddie Jackson and Jaquan Brisker on a 21-yard rope to CeeDee Lamb on third-and-nine.
Third down did not prove a challenge for Prescott at any point. He completed five of his six third-down throws for 85 yards and a touchdown, with a Bears defense ill-equipped to stop the Cowboys consistently frustrated when they got into positions to get off the field.
An interception by Jackson was the sole blemish on the day for Prescott, who also had a rushing touchdown, and the room for improvement he clearly still has after a showing of this calibre should be of great excitement to the 6-2 Cowboys as they attack the second half of the season.
Fields fills Chicago with hope
The Bears did not produce the all-round performance to keep pace with the Cowboys, but it was another effort by last year's first-round pick Justin Fields to boost optimism around his prospects of blossoming into one of the league's better quarterbacks.
After finally building a gameplan around his athleticism in the Monday Night Football win over the New England Patriots, the Bears once again leant on Fields' mobility. He threw seven times on the move, with Chicago also implementing play-action and the quarterback bootleg into the attack.
The results were impressive as Fields finished the game with a well-thrown rate of 90.9 per cent while averaging 9.5 air yards per attempt. On top of that, he did not throw a single interceptable pass, though he did have one pick called back because of a roughing the passer penalty.
Fields was perfect on play-action, with all six of his passes from those concepts well thrown, and he would have had significantly more than 151 passing yards to his name had rookie receiver Velus Jones not dropped an outstandingly placed moonball down the right sideline from the Chicago 47-yard line in the second quarter.
But Fields still accounted for three touchdowns, throwing two and rushing for another in a 60-yard display on the ground. Though the Bears' decision to trade defensive stars Robert Quinn and Roquan Smith will play a role in limiting their wins in 2022, the Bears will be increasingly convinced Fields is the right man to rebuild the team around if he continues in this vein of form.
The Carolina Panthers did not place the blame for their defeat to the Atlanta Falcons squarely at the feet of D.J. Moore, despite his hugely costly penalty in the final moments of regulation.
A sublime touchdown pass from P.J. Walker to Moore looked to have stolen victory for the Panthers, tying the game with only 12 seconds left.
But the extra point that would have won it for the Panthers was pushed back by 15 yards after Moore ripped off his helmet in celebration and earned an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
Eddy Pineiro's attempt from 48 yards missed, and the Falcons won 37-34 in overtime after another Pineiro miss.
Moore accepted his mistake, even if he described the celebration as "a natural reaction", as the Panthers slumped to 2-6, now two games back on the 4-4 Falcons in the wide-open NFC South.
Steve Wilks, the team's interim head coach, said: "We didn't find a way to finish. We had too many opportunities to win this football game, and we didn't find a way to get it done. And that falls on me.
"We've got to make sure we're smart enough. Something to learn from. Celebration penalty, big play like that, we've got to keep our poise.
"It was a great job with D.J. coming up with the big play in the end zone. Great pass by P.J. But as a team we've got to make sure that we're smart and just ready. Take it to the next level, next step."
Wilks added: "It didn't come down to that [penalty]. Of course, it would have given us an opportunity to win, but offense and defense, special teams, we could have had it way before then.
"And with me, I'm encouraging [Moore] and trying to build him up. I told him, 'Hopefully we give you the opportunity to come back and win it for us,' which unfortunately we didn't."
Moore had been a hero for the Panthers the previous week as he caught the opening TD pass from Walker in a shock defeat of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
"D.J. is smart enough to understand that's something to learn from," Wilks said.
"Very talented player, glad he's on our team. But moving forward that's something we'll learn from, and we won't make that same mistake."
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' dismal season plumbed new depths as they remarkably lost 21-3 to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.
Tom Brady's Bucs had slipped to 3-3 with last week's unexpected defeat to the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the team now have a losing record for the first time since the legendary quarterback lost his 2020 debut. Only in 2002, when he missed the playoffs, had Brady previously had a losing record at the end of Week 7.
This reverse was perhaps even more surprising than the Steelers upset, as P.J. Walker, Carolina's third-choice QB, led a Panthers team who had traded away star running back Christian McCaffrey this week.
Following that trade with the San Francisco 49ers, Steve Wilks, the interim head coach since Matt Rhule's October 10 firing, insisted: "There's no such thing as tanking when it comes to myself and the guys in that locker room."
The Panthers backed up that statement by dominating Brady and the Bucs, who were held to three points or fewer for the third time in their three seasons together. A Brady offense had three points or fewer only twice in his entire New England Patriots career.
The Bucs were scoreless through three quarters, in which time Carolina scored two touchdowns – Walker with a 20-yard completion to DJ Moore, before Chuba Hubbard, with just six carries through six weeks alongside McCaffrey, ran in from 17 yards.
Ryan Succop's field goal at the start of the fourth quarter was not to set the stage for a dramatic turnaround, as Walker's 29-yard pass to Tommy Tremble completed the job.
Rodgers also loses once more
Brady's fellow veteran Aaron Rodgers also dropped to 3-4 as the Green Bay Packers lost for the third week running, beaten 23-21 by the Washington Commanders.
The Packers have suffered three straight defeats for the first time since 2018, with Rodgers unable to rally late on after a first half in which he had only 47 passing yards – his second-lowest career mark after 15 or more attempts before halftime.
Dak back but defense dominates
Dak Prescott returned from injury as the Dallas Cowboys beat the Detroit Lions 24-6, although the victory owed more to running back Ezekiel Elliott and the team's defense than their QB. Prescott threw for 207 yards and a TD, as Elliott ran in for a pair of scores while Jared Goff was sacked five times and picked off twice.
Joe Burrow, the Cincinnati Bengals' QB, was far more influential as he threw for 481 yards and three TDs in a 35-17 win against the Atlanta Falcons. That yardage ranks third in a regular season Bengals game all-time, although the 525-yard record already belongs to Burrow (v Ravens, 2021).
The Tennessee Titans' Derrick Henry enjoyed a record-setting performance in victory over AFC South rivals the Indianapolis Colts, rushing for 128 yards. He has 1287 career rushing yards versus the Colts, the most of any Titan against any one team.
Kyle Shanahan felt the San Francisco 49ers had opportunities to overcome their swathe of defensive injuries and avoid defeat to the Atlanta Falcons.
The 49ers were favoured to move 4-2 with victory in Atlanta, but instead fell to a 28-14 defeat at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Starting cornerback Charvarius Ward suffered a groin injury in the loss, a week on from fellow starter Emmanuel Moseley sustaining a torn anterior cruciate ligament in the blowout win over the Carolina Panthers.
On defense, the Niners entered the game without star pass rusher Nick Bosa (groin), Javon Kinlaw (knee), and Arik Armstead (foot), as well as linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair (knee) and safety Jimmie Ward (hand). Edge rusher Samson Ebukam battled injury throughout the game.
The Falcons took advantage of the 49ers' plethora of absentees, quarterback Marcus Mariota completing 13 of his 14 pass attempts and accounting for three touchdowns.
Mariota is the third player in NFL history to record at least two touchdown passes, one rushing touchdown and a completion percentage of 90-or-higher (minimum 10 attempts) in a single game, joining Ryan Fitzpatrick (September 24, 2020) and Frank Ryan (December 12, 1964).
The 49ers entered the game allowing just three yards a carry but gave up 168 yards rushing against the Falcons.
San Francisco fell 14-0 behind but recovered to tie things up at 14-14 through a pair of Brandon Aiyuk touchdowns.
"I think we had our chances to overcome," Shanahan said. "We made it harder on ourselves. I'm not taking anything away from them.
"Yeah, that's a big deal missing those people, but we had every chance to still pull that off."
Tight end George Kittle echoed his coach's sentiments, adding: "You could use [injuries] as an excuse but we're the San Francisco 49ers."But I've got to give them props for dictating the entire game in the run game. We were getting knocked back, me included, and we've just got to be better up front in the front seven.
"It [the injuries] does suck. You wish you have your guys out there, but at the same time, I feel like for me, I put a lot of pressure on myself in the fact that I command the defense.
"I'm the one who should get all 11 lined up at all times regardless of who's out there, and everybody else who's coming into the game, they've got to be ready to go no matter what. It's all about being prepared. Regardless of the circumstance, whoever's out there we've got to make sure we're playing to our standard."
The 49ers have consistently battled injuries during Shahanan's tenure, overcoming them to reach the Super Bowl in the 2019 season and the NFC Championship Game last term. In 2020, the Niners finished 6-10 after a year in which they were decimated by injuries and COVID issues.
"The five years I've been here, this isn't anything new. I've seen it," said Warner. "At some point you've got to adjust and guys have got to be ready to go no matter the situation. We've got to find ways to win regardless of the circumstance."
Kenny Pickett could not finish his second NFL start after going into concussion protocol, but the Pittsburgh Steelers ensured their quarterback could celebrate an unlikely first win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Pickett – the first QB off the board in the 2022 NFL Draft – started for the first time in last week's big defeat to the Buffalo Bills.
But the rookie bounced back in some style against Tom Brady, securing a narrow lead before exiting the game midway through the third quarter. The Steelers protected that advantage to win 20-18.
Pickett had thrown his first career touchdown pass to Najee Harris on Pittsburgh's first drive.
A sloppy end to the first half allowed the Bucs to close the gap, but they headed in at halftime without having scored a TD – a first for a Brady team against the Steelers.
Pittsburgh lifted their game again following the restart, trading field goals before a hit on Pickett saw him leave the game, and was then ruled out.
Mitch Trubisky picked up the baton, though, connecting with Chase Claypool for another TD before Brady and Leonard Fournette belatedly responded.
A successful two-point conversion would have tied the game with time left for the Bucs to win it, but Brady's attempt was batted away, and Trubisky saw out only a second Steelers win of the year.
Another New York defeat for Packers on return to Lambeau
The Green Bay Packers gave up a home game to play in London for the first time in franchise history last week, losing to the New York Giants. And a return to Lambeau Field did little to lift Aaron Rodgers and Co., who fell to 3-3 with a 27-10 home loss to the New York Jets.
In fact, the Packers crowd appeared to turn on their team when a blocked punt gifted the Jets – now 3-0 on the road to start a season for the first time since 2010 – a two-TD lead their opponents could not recover from.
The Giants built on their upset of the Packers by doing the same to the Baltimore Ravens. They had trailed Green Bay 20-10 at halftime in Week 5 and were this time down by the same score in the fourth quarter, recovering for a 24-20 win to move to 5-1.
The Atlanta Falcons lost in Week 5 but also had momentum to carry into a matchup with the San Francisco 49ers after a 15-point fourth quarter against the Bucs. Following five straight games decided by seven points or fewer, the Falcons coasted to a 28-14 success.
Ryan extends Jags' miserable road run in AFC South
The Jacksonville Jaguars have not won a road game against an AFC South rival since 2017, a losing sequence of 13 games heading into Sunday's trip to the Indianapolis Colts.
It appeared as though Trevor Lawrence was to lead the Jags to a long-awaited win when the Colts trailed by a point at the Jacksonville 33 with just 23 seconds to play.
But Matt Ryan, having earlier passed Dan Marino (61,361) to climb to seventh all-time for passing yards, completed a pivotal TD pass to Alec Pierce to prolong the Jags' misery.
Atlanta Falcons defensive tackle Grady Jarrett remains "clueless" regarding the controversial roughing the passer call which followed his hit on Tom Brady on Sunday.
Brady equalled the NFL record for most victories by a quarterback against a specific opponent without defeat (11) as he led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a 21-15 win over the Falcons.
However, Atlanta looked set to get a chance to complete a memorable comeback when Jarrett sacked Brady on third down with three minutes remaining.
But referee Jerome Boger called roughing the passer against the 29-year-old, later explaining the decision was made due to Jarrett unnecessarily throwing Brady to the ground.
The call has been met with controversy, with subsequent reports suggesting the NFL's competition committee will discuss amendments to roughing penalties after this season.
Jarrett is yet to come to terms with the decision two days later, saying: "Looking back on it, I'm still kind of left clueless on what I'm expected to do in that situation."
Kansas City Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones was on the receiving end of a similar call against the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday, leading Jarrett to call for change.
"I did see Chris' sack last night, and that was questionable as well," Jarrett said. "All these other things that we can review… I'm not saying that it cost us the game, but it cost us an opportunity to win the game.
"If it's costing people games, it's going to cost people livelihoods. It's going to cost people opportunities. You never know who is going to go down and make a crazy play.
"Obviously this happened to us, the Falcons, but forget all that, it's about the sport. When people watch us to be entertained, to see some game-winning drives and then when you do it right, the right way, that's what makes it so frustrating.
"So let's give the game what the game is owed, and that's the best product we can put on the field."
Speaking on SiriusXM's Let's Go! Podcast on Monday, Brady described the incident as an "unwelcome hug" from Garrett and steered clear of discussing the decision.
"It was a long hug, a long unwelcome hug from Grady," Brady said. "And he was in the backfield all day. So as I said after the games, I don't throw flags.
"What I do throw is tablets, and I didn't have one accessible at that time. He had a hell of a game. I'll leave it at that.
"I woke up this morning, I was looking around the corner everywhere for Grady Jarrett jumping out and hitting me again.
"He played such a good game against us yesterday and I had nightmares last night thinking about him. But I'm glad we're through with that game. I'm glad we won."
Tom Brady denied having any influence over a controversial roughing the passer penalty that helped the Tampa Bay Buccaneers seal a narrow Week 5 victory over the Atlanta Falcons.
The Falcons looked set to get a chance to complete a memorable comeback against Tampa Bay when Grady Jarrett sacked Brady on third down with three minutes remaining.
However, after a conversation, referee Jerome Boger called roughing the passer against defensive tackle Jarrett, giving the Bucs a free 15 yards and a new set of downs, allowing Tampa Bay to ice a 21-15 win.
In a pool report Boger said he called the penalty due to Jarrett unnecessarily throwing Brady to the ground.
Asked in his post-game media conference if he had lobbied at any point in the game for roughing calls, Brady offered a blunt response.
"I don't throw flags," said Brady.
Bucs coach Todd Bowles, for his part, felt the penalty was influenced by the controversy surrounding Tua Tagovailoa, the Miami Dolphins quarterback who was concussed in the Week 4 game with the Cincinnati Bengals when he was tossed to the ground by Josh Tupou.
Boger also made a similar call on a hit on Josh Allen that helped the Buffalo Bills beat the Baltimore Ravens three days later.
"I saw that one being called. I saw it against Tua when he got hit, and in the London game [Packers v Giants]," Bowles said.
"I think they are starting to crack down on some of the things, slinging backs. I don’t know.
"Right now, the way they are calling [it], I think a lot of people would’ve gotten that call.”
The Bucs' win snapped a two-game losing streak and moved them to 3-2, though a team many expected to contend to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl has yet to really deliver a convincing performance.
"Obviously, it's tough to lose two straight at home. You have to earn it in the league. There are no easy games, you've got to play good," Brady added.
"Five games in and we've got a lot of work to do. We're not nearly at the point of where we're capable of being."
Up next for the Bucs is a road game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Tom Brady called on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to improve after he equalled an NFL record by moving to 11-0 in his career meetings with the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.
Brady shook off a shoulder injury to help the Bucs to go 3-2 for the season with a 21-15 home win over their NFC South rivals, cutting a two-game losing streak.
The 45-year-old's 11th straight win against Atlanta saw him equal the record for most wins by a quarterback without losing against a single NFL opponent, matching John Elway's 11-0 return against the New England Patriots and Andrew Luck's perfect record against the Tennessee Titans.
Speaking after the win, however, Brady said he was simply focused on halting the Bucs' alarming slide following recent defeats to the Green Bay Packers and Kansas City Chiefs.
"Yeah, it's obviously tough to lose straight at home, right? And we didn't deserve it, but that's football, you've got to earn it," Brady said.
"There's no easy games, you've got to play good. Certainly, five games in, we've got a lot of work to do.
"We need a lot of people to step up. We've got to get people out there, healthy, playing consistently, we've got to keep practicing, make the corrections and continue to improve."
Brady threw 52 passes throughout Sunday's game, completing 35 for 351 yards and a touchdown.
However, the Bucs were pegged back after storming into a 21-0 lead, and Brady acknowledged they failed to maintain their standards in the second half, adding: "We just had a lot of three and outs, we just weren't very good.
"Bad execution and it wasn't our best in the second half. We've got to learn from it and get better."
Brady was aided by a questionable roughing the passer call against Atlanta's Grady Jarrett late on, when a third-down sack would have given Atlanta the ball with a chance to steal victory late on.
But the Bucs star was unwilling to get involved in debates surrounding the controversial call, simply stating: "I don't throw the flags."
The Atlanta Falcons will be without second-year tight end Kyle Pitts when they play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the NFC South lead on Sunday.
The Falcons ruled Pitts out with a hamstring injury after he was held out of practice all week.
Parker Hesse and Anthony Firkser could see more snaps at tight end, but neither option provides the vertical threat of Pitts, who was drafted fourth overall out of Florida in 2021.
Pitts' absence is another blow for an Atlanta offense that is already missing starting running back Cordarrelle Patterson, who is out at least four games after undergoing a minor knee procedure.
Pitts' role in the offense so far this season has been a point of contention for some Falcons fans. The 6ft 6in tight end has just 10 catches for 150 yards through four games, although he has been targeted 22 times.
The Falcons dropped the first two games of the season but bounced back by beating the Seattle Seahawks and Cleveland Browns the past two weeks. The Buccaneers are also 2-2, coming off losses to the Green Bay Packers and Kansas City Chiefs.
Tom Brady is not short of NFL records, but he has passed himself fit to face the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday and potentially claim a share of another piece of history.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Brady was held out of practice on Wednesday due to a shoulder complaint, having taken a hit in the Week 4 defeat to the Kansas City Chiefs.
But the 45-year-old said on Thursday of his shoulder: "It feels great. I'll be there Sunday."
Brady was never likely to miss a matchup with NFC South rivals Atlanta, who the Buccaneers have a 4-0 record against since signing the legendary QB.
The Falcons and the Bucs are tied in the standings at 2-2 this year, but Brady is 10-0 all-time against Atlanta.
This includes his remarkable Super Bowl LI win while with the New England Patriots and puts him one shy of the Super Bowl era record for the most wins by a QB against a single team without losing.
Should Brady guide the Bucs to another victory on Sunday, he will match John Elway's 11-0 return against the Patriots and Andrew Luck's perfect record against the Tennessee Titans.
Brady would then have the opportunity to own the record outright later in the season, as the Bucs play the Falcons again in Week 18.
The Cleveland Browns ruled defensive end Myles Garrett out for their Week 4 visit to the Atlanta Falcons after the star pass rusher sustained multiple injuries in a car accident on Monday.
Earlier in the week, the Browns had listed Garrett as questionable, but they announced on Saturday he would sit.
Garrett suffered a sprained shoulder and strained biceps in the one-vehicle crash and was hospitalised for several hours after his car went off the road and flipped over.
Speaking to reporters for the first time since the crash, Garrett called it "a hell of an event" on Saturday.
"I feel grateful to be here with what I saw right after and [in] the pictures," Garrett said.
"I'm just grateful not only that I'm alive but that I was able to have so much of my family and the support system that was around me to keep me locked in and keep me focused on taking things day by day."
Police issued Garrett a citation for driving 65 miles per hour in a 45mph zone.
Garrett said he swerved to avoid hitting an animal and lost control of his Porsche when he "overcorrected" his steering on a wet road.
All week, Garrett's team-mates have expressed more concern about his wellbeing than his ability to take the field on Sunday.
"In the grand scheme of life, the best thing is that he's OK," Cleveland quarterback Jacoby Brissett said earlier this week. "When I texted him, I was like, 'man, I'm just glad you're alright'."
Garrett had a career season in 2021 with 16 sacks, 33 quarterback hits and 17 tackles for loss. He has made a solid start this year as he leads the Browns (2-1) with three sacks and five quarterback hits while being tied for the team lead with four tackles for loss and one forced fumble.
"I know he probably wants to [play]," Browns safety John Johnson III said. "But if you asked me, I think he just personally should just sit it out. I think he should just take it easy, man."
Week 4 of the NFL season promises plenty of excitement following a blistering start to the 2022 season.
The season has so far been defined by close finishes. Through three weeks, there have been 18 games decided by three points or fewer this season, the most such games through the first three weeks of a season in NFL history.
A packed crowd at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will hope to see another tight game as the NFL returns to London with the New Orleans Saints and the Minnesota Vikings facing off.
The Washington Commanders travel to face the Dallas Cowboys in a fierce rivalry and the Philadelphia Eagles will look to extend their winning streak against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
With plenty more on the agenda, Stats Perform has used its data to preview this week's games.
Minnesota Vikings (1-2) @ New Orleans Saints (1-2)
A high-scoring affair should be on the cards in London, as the Vikings and Saints have put up 700 points (53.8 per game) over their last 13 regular season matchups dating back to 1995 – more than any other game with at least a dozen meetings.
The Vikings are in very capable hands with Kirk Cousins, who has a career passer rating of 126.7 against the Saints in the regular season, the highest by any QB against a single opponent in the Super Bowl era (minimum 125 attempts).
However, they face a Saints defense that has held opponents to fewer than 250 passing yards and one touchdown pass for nine straight games, a franchise record, while the only team in the last 10 years to enjoy a longer streak was the New England Patriots in 2019.
Chris Olave boasts 268 receiving yards in his first three career games but is yet to score a touchdown, a record which stands as the most since Charlie Wade's 315 yards without a TD in his first three games for the Chicago Bears in 1974.
Washington Commanders (1-2) @ Dallas Cowboys (2-1)
The Cowboys host the Commanders having won both matchups last season, including a 56-14 triumph in Week 14 that stands as the highest margin of victory for either team in the all-time series.
With six sacks in the Week 2 victory against the Cincinnati Bengals and five sacks last weekend against the New York Giants, the Cowboys have recorded five or more sacks in consecutive games for the first time since a four-game streak in November/December 2008.
That will be of particular concern to Carson Wentz, who was sacked a career-high nine times in the Commanders' home loss to the Eagles last week – the most of any QB for the franchise since John Beck was sacked 10 times by the Buffalo Bills in 2011.
Fourth-quarter offense has been a highlight for Washington, though, totalling 455 scrimmage yards (342 passing, 113 rushing) and standing third in the NFL for the most fourth-quarter yards in 2022 behind the Saints (541) and the Indianapolis Colts (456).
Jacksonville Jaguars (2-1) @ Philadelphia Eagles (3-0)
The only 3-0 side to play on Sunday, the Eagles have held the Jaguars to under 20 points in the last four matchups between the two sides stretching back to 2006, tied for the second-longest active such run for Philadelphia behind the six-game streak against the Jets.
In the past two weeks, the Eagles have kept their opponents to under 10 points (8 vs Washington, 7 vs Minnesota) and are the only NFL team this season to achieve the feat in consecutive games, while Philadelphia last went three in a row in that regard in 1980.
The Jaguars are 2-1 at the start of the season for the first time since 2018 and have scored 84 points, the third-most by the team in the opening three games of the season in franchise history (98 in 1997 and 89 in 2017).
Both teams rank in the top five in the NFL for total first downs this season, with the Eagles (73) third and the Jaguars (70) fifth.
Elsewhere…
The Los Angeles Chargers travel to face the Houston Texans having being held to just 26 yards on the ground against the Jaguars last week and have 177 rushing yards in the NFL this season, the fewest in three games in team history.
A total of 572 rushing yards this season places the Cleveland Browns as the NFL's best on the ground this season and they visit the Atlanta Falcons having amassed their highest total through their first three games of a campaign since 1963.
The Seattle Seahawks tackle the Lions boasting seven wins in the last eight matchups against Detroit dating back to 2003, the third-best record by an NFC team against a conference opponent over the past 20 seasons.
The Titans have won each of the last three games against the Colts, including a 34-31 win in overtime last season. A victory this weekend would make this Tennessee's outright longest winning streak against Indianapolis (also three straight wins between 1988 and 1992).
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
