Antonio Brown’s debut overshadowed by Tom Brady’s epic fail
Antonio Brown had a quiet debut with the Buccaneers in a blowout loss to the Saints.
Antonio Brown made his long-awaited return to the field Sunday night as a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was reunited with Tom Brady after a brief stint together in New England last season and had a chance to make a splash in primetime.
The only problem was Brady looked like a high school quarterback at times and the Bucs trailed 31-0 at halftime against a dominant New Orleans Saints team. Brady finished with 209 yards on the night and Brown didn’t have much of a chance to do anything is his debut.
A quiet night for the loud receiver
The Bucs took a risk by bringing Brown back after he was reinstated by the NFL. Sunday was a humbling moment for him as he didn’t have much to celebrate other than simply returning to play.
Brown finished with three catches for 31 yards on five targets. He also appeared to stop running his route on Brady’s second of three interceptions on the night. This appeared to be miscommunication rather than Brown being lazy.
The Bucs are still 6-3 and Brown saw a good amount of playing time Sunday night. He was not exactly eased in and should be a major factor on offense given Brady can pull it together after this awful outing.
Antonio Brown played 76% of the snaps, the third most among Bucs WRs. He had 5 targets and 3 catches for 31 yards in his first game with the Bucs
— Michael F. Florio (@MichaelFFlorio) November 9, 2020
Using the word “quiet” in association with Brown is a good thing if it means he put his head down, worked, and had a huge game. In this case it is used because there just wasn’t much of anything going on for him and his new offense against the Saints.
This game may end up being an anomaly for Brady and the entire team. The important thing for Brown is getting comfortable with the offensive system and avoiding situations where the wrong route leads to an interception.
Once he is comfortable, avoiding distractions is the next key. Realizing he didn’t just show up and dominate could serve him well as he joins a team facing real adversity after a hot start.