Tom Brady says Buccaneers are ‘in a better place’ heading into the bye week as team prepares for stretch run

This past weekend, Tom Brady became the first quarterback to win a game in four different countries, as his Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Seattle Seahawks, 21-16. For the first time since Weeks 1-2, the Buccaneers are on a two-game winning streak, and back in first place in the NFC South with a 5-5 record.

For the Buccaneers, this season has been full of ups and downs, but they now control their own destiny in the postseason race. During his “Let’s Go!” podcast, Brady said that his team is in a much better spot heading into the bye week, following their come-from-behind win over the Los Angeles Rams, and their international victory over the Seahawks.

“I think we’re in a better place obviously than we were five quarters ago,” Brady said, via NFL.com “And, you know, we found a way to beat the Rams, which was a great win for our team. And then to go to Germany and win to get to 5-5 before the bye was a big goal for all of us. So, look, I think it’s a challenging year in the NFL.

“I watched a lot of the games, highlights from yesterday and, you know, there’s a lot of teams that are — some that are just playing very, very well — Minnesota to go into Buffalo, that’s a very tough thing to do. The Eagles have played very consistently all year. I think the Chiefs have played very consistently all year. So, you know, other than that it’s kind of a hodgepodge of wins and losses and good games and bad games and which defenses show up, which quarterbacks show up.”

Brady is right. The NFL playoff standings are pretty wild to look at right now. The AFC East is led by the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets, the Dallas Cowboys are in third place in the NFC East behind the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles and then the Minnesota Vikings are the new kings of the NFC North, and look like legitimate Super Bowl contenders.