Tom Brady finished this year’s 1st Saints meeting with big fantasy numbers. But that doesn’t mean he played well.
Brady helped his Buccaneers fall behind 23-7 early in the 3rd quarter by throwing an INT and losing a fumble. He then brought Tampa Bay back into the lead before tossing a game-clinching pick-6 to CB P.J. Williams.
The specifics are worth noting, because it’s certainly not the 1st time Brady has had trouble with the Saints since moving south. His 61.6 passing grade from Pro Football Focus for that game is his 2nd worst of the year, trailing only last week’s grade vs. the Bills.
Last season found Brady and the Bucs facing the Saints 3 times. Those games produced his 2nd, 5th and 6th lowest passing grades among 20 total appearances.
Last year’s Saints finished the year ranked 3rd in Football Outsiders’ pass-defense DVOA and 2nd in overall defensive DVOA.
This year’s group hasn’t been quite so tough, sitting 11th against the pass and 5th overall heading into Sunday night’s game. But the Saints did just recently return slot CB C.J. Gardner-Johnson and DE Marcus Davenport from injuries.
Brady entered the weekend 2nd in our QB rankings, so we’re obviously not overly concerned about him. But his brief history against the Saints with the Bucs is worth keeping in mind as we try to set differentiating showdown lineups.
Now for the value charts …