On October 3, 2021, during week 4 of the 2021 NFL season, the defending Super Bowl LV champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the hosting New England Patriots by a score of 19–17 on NBC Sunday Night Football.
The Patriots fanbase warmly welcomed Brady back to Gillette Stadium before the game,[3] but quickly turned their attention to rookie quarterback Mac Jones.
[5] From 2000 to 2019, head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady had led the New England Patriots to one of the most successful tenures for any team in NFL history, winning six Super Bowls together in that timespan.
[9] The Patriots, however, struggled without Brady in 2020, suffering their first losing season since 2000 and missing the playoffs for the first time since 2008,[10][11] with former Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton playing as the starter that year.
[1] Prior to the game, NBC Sports released a promotional video set to Adele's "Hello" featuring a montage of Brady in his Patriots and Buccaneers tenures with the tagline "The Return".
[17][18] Hours prior to the game, Patriots owner Robert Kraft greeted Brady outside the visitors' locker room and the two exchanged warm words.
While the Patriots fans gave quarterback Tom Brady a warm reception prior to the game,[21] the cheers turned to boos when he took the field with the Buccaneers offense, as he was now on the opposing team.
[23] As Brees was on the sideline for the game as part of the Sunday Night Football broadcast team, he witnessed Brady overtaking his record in person and applauded the accomplishment.
[25] The drive resulted in placekicker Ryan Succop scoring a field goal to give Tampa Bay an early 3–0 lead with 4:49 left in the first quarter.
On the next Patriots drive, quarterback Mac Jones was intercepted by safety Antoine Winfield Jr., allowing Brady to lead Tampa Bay down the field again.
Due to a rib injury suffered the previous week by tight end Rob Gronkowski, who also played for the Patriots from 2010 to 2018,[26] Tampa Bay struggled to score in the red zone.
[27] Mac Jones threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jonnu Smith on the first play of the fourth quarter, returning the lead to the Patriots 14–13.
With running backs Leonard Fournette and Ronald Jones the leading rushers on the night, Tampa Bay's more balanced offense again drove into the red zone, but had to again settle for a field goal.
Trailing 19–17, Mac Jones drove the Patriots into Tampa Bay territory, aided by a pass interference call on safety Jordan Whitehead.
[31] Drawing in 28.5 million viewers nationwide, Brady's return to New England became the second most-watched Sunday Night Football game on NBC after the Dallas–Washington 2012 season finale to clinch the NFC East.