In the battle of old vs. new, veteran quarterback Tom Brady came out on top in Sunday’s matchup between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Justin Herbert’s Los Angeles Chargers -- showing the rookie just how he got those six Super Bowl rings.
Herbert, the No. 6 overall draft pick who got his start after Tyrod Taylor suffered an injury in Week 1, told reporters on Friday that he grew up being “a huge Tom Brady fan.”
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“The opportunity to line up across him is going to be really cool.”
Herbert held his own as the Chargers dominated for much of the first half with a 24-7 lead. A pick-six to give them the edge certainly didn’t help but Brady is no stranger to playing catch up.
Late in the second quarter with just 28 seconds left at 3rd and goal, Brady connected with Mike Evans to cut the lead down to 24-14. The Buccaneers returned for the second half ready to comeback; Brady threw a deep 28 yard touchdown pass to tight end O.J. Howard.
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He found wide receiver Scott Miller a short time later for a 19-yard touchdown, giving Tampa Bay the lead, 28-24, with 52 seconds left in the quarter.
But Herbert wasn’t down yet -- he threw a monster 72-yard touchdown pass to Jalen Guyton to give the Chargers the lead, 31-28, at the end of the third quarter.
Brady and Herbert were going touchdown for touchdown but the veteran sealed the rookie’s fate when he threw his fifth touchdown of the game, not only giving the Bucs the 35-31 win but also becoming the oldest player in NFL history to throw for five touchdowns in a game at 43 years old.
A 25-yard field goal with 2:40 left would hand Tampa Bay the win.
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Brady threw for 369 yards and overcame a 17 point deficit in the second quarter to improve the Bucs record to 3-1, the franchise’s best season start since 2011.
Herbert completed 20 of 25 passes for 290 yards and three touchdowns for the Chargers (1-3), who've lost three straight.
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