Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady has seen “a lot of bad football” this season.
After four weeks of play, only the Philadelphia Eagles (4-0) remain unbeaten. Almost half the league — 15 out of 32 teams — has a 2-2 record. Only the Houston Texans are without a win, though they tied the Indianapolis Colts in Week 1.
While it’s only Week 5, four of the current division leaders missed the playoffs last season.
It all goes back to the quality of football for the Buccaneers QB.
“I think there’s a lot of bad football from what I watch,” he told reporters Thursday. “I watch a lot of bad football. Poor quality of football. That’s what I see.”
Brady might have a point: Teams are scoring 21.9 points per game through the first four weeks, a pace that would be the league’s lowest mark since 2017. In fact, most offensive scoring stats are the lowest they’ve been since that year.
Brady didn’t point to any specific player or team, but the Detroit Lions are a perfect example of the NFL’s parity: they have the highest-scoring offense, having scored 140 points this season, but have allowed a league-leading 141 points.
The 45-year-old is not immune to subpar play himself in the midst of a very un-Tom Brady-like 2022 season. While his completion percentage (68.4) is higher than his career average (64.2), he’s thrown only six touchdowns in four games, well off the numbers he’s put up in his first two seasons with Tampa Bay; he had 40 touchdowns in 2020 and 43 last season.
He’s averaging 264.5 yards per game so far this season, 30 fewer yards than his Bucs average of 297.5. His stat line looks closer to his 2019 numbers in his last season with New England. Even though the Patriots had a 12-4 record and won the AFC East, Brady posted his worst numbers with the franchise (4,057 yards, 24 touchdowns) since 2006.
Brady is still eighth in the league in passing yards, fifth in completion percentage and has protected the ball well, throwing only one interception.