Brady compares Bucs' season to bizarre Holyfield-Tyson fight

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK

Tom Brady compares Buccaneers' season to bizarre Evander Holyfield-Mike Tyson fight

By Max Steele | Last updated 11/29/22

He still has both ears, but Tom Brady feels banged up.

On his "Let’s Go!" podcast on Monday, Brady compared Tampa Bay's ugly season to a legendary boxing fight: Evander Holyfield vs. Mike Tyson. In the 1997 heavyweight bout, Iron Mike was disqualified for biting off a piece of Holyfield's ear.

"In a crazy way, we're still in first place. It was like when Evander Holyfield got bit on both his ears and still won the fight against Tyson. It wasn't pretty, but he still got the job done," Brady said.

The Buccaneers (5-6) are barely hanging on to first in the lousy NFC South and below .500 after an overtime loss to the Browns on Sunday. Media, of course, have delivered shots.

Difficult to overstate how much Todd Bowles and Buccaneers coaching staff did to hurt their team today. Predictable play calling that neither maximized their talent or attacked the Browns' weaknesses. Completely passive in key situations. Just embarrassing stuff.
— Benjamin Solak (@BenjaminSolak) November 27, 2022

In his 23-year NFL career, Brady has never finished a season with a losing record as a starter, so 2022 has given him a new perspective.

"Life's got a way to humble us all," he said.

Tampa Bay can't afford many more humbling losses. The Falcons (5-7) are only a half-game behind in the division, and the Bucs have a challenging upcoming stretch.

On Monday night, they play the Saints (4-8), who haven't lost at Raymond James Stadium in four years, followed by games at the 49ers (7-4) and at home against the Bengals (7-4).

Have the Bucs bitten off more than they can chew? We soon may find out.

More must-reads: