Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady’s postgame press conference after a Week 10 loss to Washington was a brief one, but he stuck around a bit longer on Monday night.
The difference was that the Bucs beat the Giants 30-10, which left Brady with time to watch his backup Blaine Gabbert run out the clock with a smile on his face. The smile remained in place when he took the podium to speak to reporters.
“We played better,” Brady said. “Better for all of us when we play better.”
Brady was 30-of-46 for 307 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception that caromed off of wide receiver Mike Evans’ hands. Brady would find Evans for a touchdown later, he hooked up with tight end Rob Gronkowski six times for 71 yards in Gronk’s return from a back injury, and even scrambled 10 yards for a first down that set up a field goal. It wasn’t a perfect performance, but it left Brady feeling that the team can get closer to that point over what’s left on the schedule.
“Every day that goes by is closer to the end of the season. Every game is more important, cause there’s fewer of them and you don’t get any of them back,” Brady said. “We’re at a decent point, but we can play a lot better than we played. 7-3 through 10 games, there’s a lot to learn from. Hoping our best football’s ahead of us.”
The Colts are next up for the Bucs and their recent play suggests they’ll be a thornier opponent than the 3-7 Giants turned out to be on Monday night.