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Monday 14 September 2020 14:38, UK
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers introduced Tom Brady this offseason in hope of replacing an erratic Jameis Winston with some seasoned ball security.
Brady's transition was far from seamless in that respect on Sunday night as he threw two interceptions in a 34-23 defeat to the New Orleans Saints on his debut for the team.
The six-time Super Bowl champion ran in for the first touchdown of the game on a superb opening drive but was picked off twice either side of half-time, the second seeing Janoris Jenkins pounce on a telegraphed pass for a 36-yard pick six.
He finished 23 of 36 passing for 239 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions and saw a couple of perfectly-weighted deep-balls intended for Mike Evans and Scotty Miller denied by pass interference.
"I certainly think poor execution and that's what it comes down to," said Brady after the game. "It's a game of execution.
"Obviously, they made more plays than we did and I just made some bad, terrible turnovers and it's hard to win turning the ball over like that. I obviously have to do a lot better job."
The sloppy Bucs gave up nine penalties throughout, with interior defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh and Vita Vea both guilty of neutral zone infractions, Evans being flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct in an altercation with Marshon Lattimore and Jordan Whitehead handing the Saints a touchdown with a 33-yard defensive pass interference penalty.
Tampa's offensive line were also overpowered by the Saints' impressive front seven at times, rookie tackle Tristan Wirfs enduring a tough introduction to the NFL up against Cam Jordan.
Head coach Bruce Arians cited the interceptions and penalties as defining factors in the game.
"One was a miscommunication between he and Mike [Evans]," Arians said of Brady's picks.
"He thought Mike was going down the middle - it was a different coverage - Mike read it right. He should have been across his face, but Tom overthrew it. The other one was a screen pass with an outlet called. He threw the outlet and it was a pick-six. Bad decision.
"He came out lighting it up - we go right down the field and score a touchdown. I wouldn't say he was out of sync at all until we started screwing it up. We didn't run the ball as well as I thought we would on the edges.
"We had some success [and] we had some good drives and we had some really poor drives. But the turnovers and the penalties were the key."
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