National

Tom Brady sets two NFL records on one play

ATLANTA — Tom Brady holds so many NFL records, he's now gathering them up two at a time. Midway through the second quarter of Sunday's game against the Falcons, Brady fired a quick five-yard pass to Russell Gage. The completion gave Tampa Bay a first down, but it also gave Brady two NFL records: most attempts and most completions in a single season.

The completion gave Brady 486 completions on the year, breaking the record set by ... Tom Brady in 2021. The attempt was Brady's 728th for the season, breaking the record of 727 held by Matthew Stafford in 2012. Brady needed nine completions and 12 attempts to break the two records, and thanks to a successful initial drive for a touchdown, he got both at once.

Tampa Bay has already clinched the NFC South and will host at least one home playoff game next week. Given that Sunday's game is meaningless for anything beyond stats accumulation, it's reasonable to ask why Brady and the rest of his starters were even in the game at all.

"We can get better at a lot of things that we need to work on," Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles said Monday, "and we don't need our foot off the gas."

Starting the game gave Brady a chance to set a couple more records. Finishing it would likely be an exercise in futility.

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Contact Jay Busbee at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or on Twitter at @jaybusbee.