You never want to get used to losing. But Tom Brady will tend to do that to you.
Brady threw for 368 yards and four touchdowns on Sunday as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers pushed past the Atlanta Falcons with a 30-17 victory.
The Bucs are now 9-3 and their division lead in the NFC South is up to four games. Atlanta is 5-7 and in the bunch that is trailing - and again, even though the Falcons coaching staff is new, this is nothing new to Atlanta, as Brady improved to 10-0 in his career against the Falcons.
He's done that on the Super Bowl level, of course. But his run also includes four straight wins over Atlanta over the last two seasons since making his big move from New England to Tampa Bay.
"I really think there were chances for us to really change the outcome of this game,'' said Atlanta QB Matt Ryan, who might be right ... but who also knows it's Brady who is the best in NFL history at taking advantage of chances.
Brady, 44, completed 38 of 51, passes finding his tight ends for three of his four TDs, while enduring only one big gaffe, when Atlanta defensive lineman Marlon Davidson recorded a surprising pick-6 for a three-yard return just before halftime that cut Tampa Bay's lead to 20-17 at the break.
But the Bucs kept on trusting their passing game, as they did to begin the game, when Brady passed the ball on the first 13 plays of the game.
Oh, and he completed 11 passes on the drive, capped by a Leonard Fournette catch-and-score that really set the tone for the day.
The Falcons had their moments, with runners Cordarrelle Patterson and Mike Davis doing their best to answer. But when Atlanta wasted an early chance for a lead when it settled for a field goal after having first-and-goal from inside the 1?
Well, maybe even more tone was set.
Matt Ryan, trying to do his best to match Brady - and again, all too accustomed to falling short in head-to-head meetings - was sacked five times. And in the end, familiarity with Tom Brady breeds Atlanta contempt, but also respect. Ten straight reasons for respect.
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