Tom Brady continues to perform at a high level, despite being closer to 45 years old than he is to 40. Brady is showcasing to the NFL world his play wouldn't decline with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, becoming the oldest quarterback to throw five touchdown passes in Tampa Bay's 38-31 win over the Los Angeles Chargers. Brady finished 30 of 46 for 369 yards with five touchdowns and one interception (117 rating), throwing all five touchdown passes to five different receivers.
"I thought he just played outstanding," said Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians. "I just have to coach him up better on that one play and just get it coached better. He played fantastic and was lights out in the second half."
The play Arians is talking about was Brady's interception, which was returned by Michael Davis 78 yards for a touchdown -- Brady's fourth pick-six in his last six games. Brady recovered in the second half, going 15 of 17 for 263 yards and three touchdowns, finishing with a perfect passer rating of 158.3.
"We put ourselves in a pretty good hole and we were going to have to dig our way out of it," Brady said. "That's just the way football works sometimes – just have to tighten some things up. We made some plays in the third quarter and made some good plays in the fourth quarter. Started the game well [and] finished the game well – that middle part – we have to figure out how to play 60 minutes well."
Brady surpassed Warren Moon (40 years, 342 days old) as the oldest quarterback to toss five touchdown passes in a game, accomplishing the feat at 43 years and 62 days old. Only three quarterbacks have thrown for five touchdown passes in a game over 40 (Brady, Moon, and Drew Brees) with Brady becoming the first quarterback to do it twice.
Brady also had his 34th comeback victory with his team trailing by 10+ points, the most in NFL history. He also recorded his 222nd regular season victory, passing former teammate Adam Vinatieri for the most wins by a player in league history. Brady is also just three touchdowns (552) behind Drew Brees (555) for the most passing touchdowns in NFL history.
Through the quarter mark of the year, Brady has completed 65.2% of his passes for 1,122 yards with 11 touchdowns and four interceptions (99.4 rating). He's tied for the most passing touchdowns through four games in franchise history and needs just 250 passing yards in his next game to surpass Jameis Winston for the most passing yards through five games in team history.
The Buccaneers have a quarterback they can believe in with Brady, as Tampa Bay (3-1) is off to its best start since 2011. That season, the Buccaneers finished 4-12 -- which likely won't be the case with Brady under center.
"Tom is never behind in his mind," Arians said. "So we can always make plays to win games."
