Brady looks sharp despite Colts beat Buccaneers 27-10 in preseason finale

It’s a brief, short one, yet Tom Brady’s preseason debut has left a clear and strong impression. He still has his game helmet on.

On their first and only series of the preseason, after the planned 11-day training camp break ended, Brady had led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a field goal. Yet, the Indianapolis Colts' backups fought back for a 27-10 victory on the Saturday night finale. While looking sharp, Brady had completed six of eight passes for 44 yards in the no-huddle offense.

“I’ve played a lot of football in my day — a lot of practices, a lot of games, and a lot of seasons. I’m ready to go,” Brady said.

After returning to practice Monday, Brady has been asked about the reason for his time off in his first interview. He had no intention to provide any additional details on the topic besides he has a lot of things to do at the age of 45.

Nevertheless, the seven-time Super Bowl champion is still a huge presence in the Tampa Bay locker room.

Brady’s performance

Bucs head coach Todd Bowles initially planned to give 10 snaps to Brady. However, he outperformed himself by precisely running an 11-play, 66-yard drive, even converting a fourth down on the series with settling for a 30-yard field goal as the only minor setback.

Leonard Fournette, the running back, Mike Evans also Julio Jones, the receivers, were all playing on the field. With Brady, they all sat out during the 55 minutes of the final. It seemed like Brady is not the only one who was being examined in this preseason finale.

“If you go up-tempo in the preseason, teams are less likely to pressure you,” Bowles said. "You’re able to get everybody involved early. We wanted everybody to get a good feel for the game and get in sync.”

The Colts had dominated the first quarter and most of the starters with Matt Ryan, who succeeded to bring his team a winning point on his final series alongside the score made by Deon Jackson with his 1-yard touchdown run.

“Good finish to the preseason,” Colts coach Frank Reich said. “We wanted to come in here and accomplish some things. We saw some things we wanted to see, got guys out.”

Tampa Bay gained back their victory thanks to Ke’Shawn Vaughn’s touchdown run. Indianapolis was back at a 14-10 lead following Phillip Lindsay’s 2-yard run, while a 45-yard touchdown run by Sam Ehlinger helped the Colts to move ahead.

“I’ve known Tom for a long time and I’m always impressed with his consistency, his dedication to take care of himself, it’s amazing,” Ryan said. “He’s throwing it as good as he ever has and to me that’s incredibly impressive.”

Possibility in line changes

For now, protecting the 45-year-old Brady would be the Bucs’ main focus while the regular season will start soon. Particularly after the offensive line took two more hits on Saturday.

Guard Nick Leverett’s shoulder and Robert Hainsey’s left ankle were unfortunately injured and they had to leave the game early with no possibility of coming back for the game. The coach, Bowles, stated that both of the players would undergo X-rays in the following two days. However, speculating on the potential duration of their absences, they refused the idea.

Injured Pro Bowler, Ryan Jensen, who left the practice field injured, substituted with Hainsey on Saturday. Meanwhile, the Buccaneers also need a substitute for retired Pro Bowl guard, Ali Marpet, and guard, Aaron Stinnie, who has a knee injury.