He did it again.
Trailing by one point with 1:24 left in the fourth quarter, Tom Brady led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers down the field to set up a 36-yard field goal by Ryan Succop that propelled the Bucs to a 31-29 win over the Dallas Cowboys in the first game of the 2021 NFL season.
The final drive culminated a stellar performance for the 44-year-old quarterback, who finished with 379 yards, four touchdowns, and two interceptions -- one coming on a halftime Hail Mary pass -- on 32 of 50 passing.
ESPN Stats & Info reports Brady has now successfully led 49 game-winning drives in the fourth quarter or overtime during his career, trailing only Peyton Manning (54) and Drew Brees (53).
Many Twitter watching the game live pointed out that Dallas had left the seven-time Super Bowl champion with just enough time to pull off yet another miraculous late-game performance.
There was, however, some controversy on Brady's final drive.
The Bucs got a crucial first down when Brady connected with wide receiver Chris Godwin on a 24-yard reception on second down.
Many Twitter users argued that Godwin -- who redeemed a crucial fumble in the red zone that set up Dallas' previous scoring possession -- had pushed off cornerback Jourdan Lewis, which would have resulted in an offensive pass interference and negated the first down.
Regardless, the defending Super Bowl champion Buccaneers will start the 2021 season with a 1-0 record, and Brady, along with veterans Antonio Brown (5 receptions, 121 yards, TD), Godwin (9 receptions, 105 yards, TD), and Rob Gronkowski (8 receptions, 80 yards, 2 touchdowns), already seem to be in midseason form.
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