Bruce Arians blames Tom Brady for Sunday’s loss

The emotional head coach didn’t mince any words when talking about Tom Brady’s two interceptions on Sunday.

This NFL offseason, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers openly said that they were a good quarterback away from competing for a playoff spot in 2019. So, they allowed Jameis Winston to hit the open market, and replaced him with former New England Patriots signal caller Tom Brady. The Buccaneers fan base entered the season spoiled, expecting them to push the New Orleans Saints out of their perch in the NFC South standings. On Sunday, that didn’t happen.

Brady completed 63.9-percent of his passes for 239 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions in the team’s 34-24 loss. The first pick came in the second quarter after he and wide receiver Mike Evans had a bit of miscommunication, resulting in the throw going directly into the hands of Saints safety Marcus Williams. Brady’s second interception arrived in the third quarter, where a pass flew into the grasp of New Orleans cornerback Janoris Jenkins, who immediately returned it for an uncontested touchdown.

During the postgame press conference, head coach Bruce Arians didn’t mince any words when discussing the two interceptions. In fact, Arians said that they were Brady’s fault, straight up.

“One was a miscommunication between he and Mike [Evans],” Arians said, via 247 Sports. “He thought Mike was going down the middle. It’s a different coverage. Mike read it right. He should’ve bent across his face, but Tom just overthrew it. The other one was a screen pass with an outlet called. He threw the outlet, and there was a pick six. Bad decision.”

Still room for growth in Tampa

Arians is known for telling it like it is, regardless if you’re a six-time Super Bowl champion. Brady learned just that on Sunday.

After Brady recorded the red zone rushing touchdown in the first quarter, he followed it up with two interceptions. However, he did rebound later on, as he hit tight end O.J. Howard for a nine-yard touchdown on the drive after the pick-six. Brady would later hit Evans on a two-yard score in garbage time.

Plenty of NFL teams had to work out the kinks on the fly because there was no preseason action due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Those were instead replaced with intra-squad scrimmage games, which is nothing like playing an opponent.

Expect Brady and Arians to study the Week 1 game tape to ensure similar errors aren’t made next week against the Carolina Panthers. They can’t afford to be two games behind the Saints from the onset of the 2020 season, especially with how competitive the NFC is.