The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and quarterback Tom Brady lost to a Carolina Panthers team that traded away Christian McCaffrey.
Last week, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers, who played both Kenny Pickett and Mitch Trubisky at quarterback. The season has not gotten off to the way many had expected it to go not just for the Buccaneers, but also quarterback Tom Brady. They had the chance of a get-right game, as they took on a Carolina Panthers team in Week 8 that had just traded star running back Christian McCaffrey to the San Francisco 49ers.
Instead, the Buccaneers were embarrassed by the Panthers, losing 21-3. The game featured it all, such as Mike Evans dropping a wide-open touchdown pass, and Brady throwing some really bad passes.
During and after the game, Twitter users asked out loud if it was time for Brady to finally retire.
NFL Twitter believes Tom Brady should retire
NFL Hall of Famers Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers, two of the greatest players in league history, are losing to P.J. Walker and Taylor Heinicke today. This provides irrefutable evidence that the XFL (2020) was a superior football league to the NFL
— Rodger Sherman (@rodger) October 23, 2022
Tom Brady showing some frustration on the field. pic.twitter.com/HM6CbkHTb1
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) October 23, 2022
Tom Brady is simply stopping a division rival from securing the no.1 overall pick pic.twitter.com/TVHqiKZRPM
— Mike Wright (@FFHitman) October 23, 2022
Beating Tom Brady feels good even when you’re tanking
— Tate Frazier (@tatefrazier) October 23, 2022
tom brady should retire soon as this game is over.
— Tony x (@soIoucity) October 23, 2022
The Bucs are awful. Tom Brady should have retired. #Steelers #NFL
— Blitzburgh (@Blitz_Burgh) October 23, 2022
There's a very real chance that a team with Tom Brady, Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and Leonard Fournette is the NFL's worst offense.
— Paul Charchian (@PaulCharchian) October 23, 2022
Three of the worst throws of Tom Brady's career come in consecutive fashion on that goal line stand
— Will Brinson (@WillBrinson) October 23, 2022
Would Tom Brady just retire in the middle of the season?
— Adam Rank (@adamrank) October 23, 2022
The game was scoreless for most of the first half, which would not have been the case had Evans caught that would-be touchdown pass from Brady. But, that all changed when Panthers quarterback P.J. Walker hit top wide receiver D.J. Moore for 20-yard touchdown pass. Then, late in the third, the Panthers gave themselves a two-touchdown lead on a 19-yard run by Chubba Hubbard.
From there, the game was essentially over.
Brady completed 32-of-49 pass attempts for 290 yards. On offense, the Buccaneers were a brutal 2-for-12 on third down conversion attempts.
After the team were removed from the playoffs by the Los Angeles Rams, Brady announced his retirement. Around one month later, he announced he was returning to the Buccaneers for the 2022 season.
Seven games in, the Buccaneers look far from Super Bowl contenders. While there is time to turn things around, things are starting to look bleak for the former powerhouses the previous two seasons.